Ford Van Dyke Transmission Plant - MAG Powertrain news

  News From:       
            
   13900 Lakeside Circle
 Sterling Heights, MI 48313 USA
 (586) 566-2400 
 www.mag-powertrain.com <http://www.mag-powertrain.com>
   
 Contact: Ms. Leslie Strobl
 MAG Powertrain 
 Direct: 856.532.3167
  
 
 (Agency) Dave Schmidt
 Smith-Winchester
 248.352.3333
 david@smith-winchester.com


 IMMEDIATE (November, 2007)
 
Third MAG Powertrain MQL Machining System will be Installed at Ford Facility
for Machining of Transmission Components
 

System design/builder MAG Powertrain is working with Ford Motor Company to
evolve Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) for transmission component
machining processes that improve the plant environment and minimize costs.
 

Sterling Heights, MI  - Manufacturing system builder MAG Powertrain
(Sterling Heights, MI) is installing a Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL)
machining system at the Ford Van Dyke Transmission Plant (Sterling Heights,
MI). This is the second MQL system without any ³wet machining² operations at
the facility. Installation of the new system is scheduled for completion by
the end of 2007. Ford also operates a hybrid system from MAG Powertrain,
with a combination of wet and MQL operations, at the Ford Livonia
Transmission Plant. These systems produce aluminum transmission cases,
converter housings, and valve bodies for Ford¹s 6-speed transmissions.
 

Since coolant systems and chip handling equipment are not required, the new
machining system should provide initial cost savings of 5 to 20 percent.
Total life-cycle costs also are expected to be lower due to the reduction of
coolant, treatment and disposal costs, energy usage, filtration media,
housekeeping costs and other factors.
 

MQL systems of this type are reported to yield yearly savings of
approximately 30,000 gallons of coolant oil, with water reduction of over
250,000 gallons, several thousand yards less of filter media usage, and
large reductions in requirements for compressed air usage (millions less
CFM). Emissions have been improved by a factor of 5X, with floor space
reductions of 5 percent. Ford operates approximately 200 MQL machines in
various systems.
 

It is estimated that annual metalworking fluid usage is approximately 600
million gallons worldwide. The coolant system and the fluids can represent
15% of total life-cycle costs (including the capital equipment) of a
machining system.
 

Enhanced safety and plant environmental improvements are also associated
with the elimination of coolant. Airborne particulate emissions are reduced,
and both floors and machines are cleaner. Skin irritations are less likely.
 

In an MQL machining system, a fine oil mist, achieved by a quick valve that
mixes oil with an air stream, replaces the traditional coolant flooding that
is used to lubricate and cool the cutting tool and workpiece, and flush away
the chips. A redesigned SPECHT® machining center, with angled surfaces
inside the work area, allows chips to be easily evacuated through the use of
an integrated vacuum and safety system. Proprietary algorithms work together
with temperature monitoring and compensation to ensure that no heat-related
distortion takes place.
 

MAG Powertrain initially developed the through-the-spindle oil mist system
for their XHC 241 machining centers that are used in the first two Ford
systems that included MQL capability. The new system at Van Dyke will
include 52 MAG Powertrain SPECHT® horizontal 4- or 5-axis machining centers,
designed for medium to high-volume production applications.
 

With MQL, each operation can have its own lubricity level as opposed to a
centralized coolant system where the mix of lubricant and other fluids is
the same for all operations. Milling, for instance, requires minimal
lubricity, whereas tapping processes typically need more.
 

The chip handling system is another key difference. Steep angles of at least
55º on all surfaces inside the work area, massive chip channels, reverse air
flow, and an integrated vacuum system work together to eliminate the need to
flush chips away with coolant. With MQL, chips do not need to be cleaned or
dried before being reclaimed.
 

In addition, MQL machines are designed to be easily moved and re-located
when production requirements change, since there are no coolant trenches or
overhead piping routes to contend with or re-create.
 

MAG Powertrain, formerly Cross Hüller Ex-Cell-O Lamb, is a business unit of
MAG Industrial Automation Systems. MAG Powertrain designs and builds
manufacturing systems for the automotive, diesel, and heavy industrial
machining industries, serving a global customer base from a network of
regional centers. 
 

Complete information on MQL systems, as well as SPECHT® and XHC 241
machining centers, is available by contacting MAG Powertrain at 13900
Lakeside Circle, Sterling Heights, MI 48313 USA. Phone: 586-566-2400. Visit
www.mag-powertrain.com <http://www.mag-powertrain.com/> .
 

About MAG Industrial Automation Systems:
 MAG Industrial Automation Systems (MAG), Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA,
is a group of leading machine tool and systems companies serving the
durable-goods industry, worldwide, with a large portfolio of
highly-recognized and well-respected brands. With manufacturing operations
on five continents, MAG ranks as a leader in the global metalworking capital
equipment market. Also see www.mag-ias.com <http://www.mag-ias.com> .
 

 
 

 <http://www.swmanager.com/pr/mag_pr/MAG_Wassmer_lrg.jpg>
<http://www.swmanager.com/pr/mag_pr/mag1033/6R_Case_Cutting_lrg.jpg>
 
 Photo Caption: 
 MAG Powertrain XHC 241 horizontal machining center, part of an MQL line at
Ford Livonia, cuts a case for the 6R-series transmission.
 Click  on image to download High Resolution version
<http://www.swmanager.com/pr/mag_pr/mag1033/6R_Case_Cutting_lrg.jpg>
 
 

 
 

 <http://www.swmanager.com/pr/mag_pr/mag1033/specht_op_10_fixt_lrg.jpg>
 
 Photo Caption: 
 MAG Powertrain SPECHT® horizontal machining center designed for cost-saving
MQL machining, one of 52 SPECHT® machines being installed at the Ford Van
Dyke Transmission Plant. Angled surfaces and an integrated vacuum/safety
system allow chips to be evacuated without use of coolant.
 Shown without cutting tools or a workpiece.
 Click  on image to download High Resolution version
<http://www.swmanager.com/pr/mag_pr/mag1033/specht_op_10_fixt_lrg.jpg>

 
 

For Word Doc or to have the image emailed to you, email
david@smith-winchester.com