Long-standing Filtermist customer Lisi Aerospace, trading as Blanc Aero Industries UK, has installed twenty-six F Save devices at its Rugby factory to reduce the amount of energy used by its Filtermist oil mist filters. 

F Save has been specifically developed by Filtermist to optimise the running time of its centrifugal oil mist filters. Using a sensor connected to the machine’s coolant pump or pumps, F Save ensures the oil mist extraction is only operational when it’s needed ie. when the machine tool is being used – saving valuable energy and reducing spend on electricity.

Initial field trials at Lisi showed that energy savings averaging 55% could be achieved by investing in the plug and play devices. Cell Production Engineer, Ryan Pawley, elaborates, “We’ve worked with Filtermist for a long time and have more than 30 Filtermist units on our site on a variety of CNC machines.

“When our Filtermist Account Manager told us about the new F Save solution, we were really interested in finding out how it could improve our energy efficiency and operating costs. The initial trial involved 13 units and we then ordered a further 13 F Saves once the results of the trials were clear.”

The tests were undertaken on three models of Filtermist oil mist filters – S400, FX4002 and FX5002, being used on a variety of machine tools from manufacturers including Doosan, Takamatsu and Earlsdon Technology.

Dataloggers were fitted to the Filtermist units and the coolant pumps on the machines to establish baseline data over the course of a week. This data showed that the extraction was left running continuously to ensure it was operational when the machines were in use. The tests were run in high volume and low volume machining departments, the results were then averaged out and a potential reduction averaging 55% of the current energy usage overall was identified. Actual savings ranged from 34% to 91%, depending on the machine and the production process it is used for.

Calculations using a variety of costs per kWh ranging from 0.071p/kWh to 0.253p/kWh indicated estimated annual savings of just under £2000, rising to just under £7000 at the higher pence per kWh rate.

“As protecting our people from exposure to harmful airborne oil mist particles is important to us, we used to leave the Filtermist units running all the time, whether they were needed or not,” said Ryan. “The F Saves mean that we can be confident our extraction is running when it’s needed and therefore doing the job it was installed to do, but it isn’t wasting energy when the machine is not operational.”

Lisi specialises in the design and manufacture of high-tech metal components including structural and equipment components used in aircraft and helicopters, as well as critical components for jet engines and turboshafts, fasteners and parts used in defence and space applications.

The company’s 16,000m² facility in Rugby produces a wide variety of fasteners that range from standard pin products to more elaborate components including lockbolts and turbine cylinders.

As a responsible global organisation, health, safety and the environment are top priorities for Lisi. The company culture is rooted in six principles: prevention, compliance, continuous improvement, responsibility, communication and sustainability.

“Installing the F Saves touches on most of our key principles,” continues Ryan. “By installing effective oil mist extraction and ensuring it operates when it’s needed, we’re helping to prevent exposure to airborne oil mist particles and comply with COSHH regulations. We are continuously looking at how we can improve - F Save contributes to this from a financial and environmental perspective, and the sustainability aspect is obvious – we are ensuring our workplace is a clean and safe environment for our colleagues, we’re reducing wastage thanks to maintaining an ambient temperature in the machine tool’s enclosure, we’re reducing our heating bills in winter by recycling clean, warm air back into the factory, and most importantly we’re only using energy that’s needed – we’re not wasting it.”

Contact our dedicated oil mist team to find out how much energy you might be able to save by installing F Saves on your Filtermist oil mist filters.