Metal-Forming, Drawing and Stamping

Product Highlight:  IC 1211-X

Product Type:  Chlorinated Straight Oil Metal-Forming Lubricant for Severe and Extreme Operations

Customer: Metal Spinning, Deep Drawing and Stamping Operation

Objective: Replace a Costly and Complicated Paste and Applied Plastic Lubricant Combination

Description: The customer, utilizing all types of formable metals and manufacturing a multitude of short-run components, applied a heavy-duty paste via roll coaters with a subsequent application of plastic sheeting (placed over the applied paste and fed perpendicularly to the presses) in an effort to provide an additional barrier between the work pieces and tooling. For the operation we surveyed, the parts were manufactured in a 3-stage draw process, requiring the paste and plastic to survive the heat and stretching necessary for effective performance. While this combination was mostly successful in its stated mission, removing the plastic prior to cleaning was a laborious and time-consuming process. Despite this additional layer of plastic, scoring was evident on the ridges of some components, resulting in less-than-desirable levels of scrap. For those parts where scoring was not an issue, the removal of the paste was also very difficult, requiring highly alkaline wash chemistry, a reduction in the life of the washer baths, long exposure times and high nozzle pressures in their spray washers.

ICC representatives surveyed their operations and determined that IC 1211-X would accomplish their stated goal: replace the paste/plastic combination with a superior lubricant alternative. Internal laboratory testing was performed by ICC on the most-difficult-to-draw metals utilized by the customer and provided that data once testing was complete.

Conclusion: The customer switched to IC 1211-X, a highly chlorinated straight oil lubricant engineered for severe to extreme metal-forming operations, and they realized immediate benefits. IC 1211-X eliminated the plastic sheeting and the applicators, thereby dramatically reducing the operating costs and production times of their press lines. The existing roll coaters were sufficient to apply IC 1211-X, negating the need to purchase and install alternate lubricant applicators. IC 1211-X eliminated all scoring on the manufactured components, dramatically reduced scrap and lengthened the life of the tooling. IC 1211-X also proved much easier to remove in their wash lines, and the waste oils are now skimmed and hauled off for recycling, increasing the effective operational life the washer baths.

Despite the fact that the customer switched to a nominally more expensive heavy-duty metal-forming lubricant, the ancillary costs associated with their operations were considerably reduced, thereby significantly diminishing their overall manufacturing costs while improving the quality of their manufactured components.