Innovative forming oils without chlorinated additives perform just as well as products formulated with chlorinated paraffins. But are they also more environmentally friendly? And how do they influence production costs and productivity?
The manufacturing industry faces a multitude of challenges, a number of which are technological in nature. For example, if companies want to continue to be successful they cannot ignore digital transformation, otherwise they will be overtaken by more agile competitors. Topics such as process automation and predictive maintenance to minimise downtime are important. They not only allow for a more flexible and more predictable process, but they also reduce costs.
At the same time, sustainability and environmental protection are becoming increasingly important topics. Environmental impact is often a key decision-making criteria when organizations commit to new products. This includes CO₂ neutrality and low energy consumption, as well as water savings and waste avoidance.
These issues are complemented by general health and safety concerns, as well as continuously tightened regulations. One example is the EU regulation on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which largely bans the production, use, and marketing of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in the EU – a performance additive that has often been used in metalworking in the past. Medium chain (MCCP) and long chain (LCCP) chlorinated paraffins are still in use today in many metalworking processes. Due to their eco-toxicological hazard potential, MCCPs in particular are increasingly being considered as high-risk by legislation.
In our whitepaper, Competitive Advantage for Industrial Production, we explore:
- The importance of sustainability and cost control
- Increasing productivity
- An automotive industry case study
Nowadays, innovative forming oils without chlorinated additives perform just as well as products formulated with chlorinated paraffins. They are also more environmentally friendly, reduce manufacturing costs and increase productivity.
Chlorinated paraffins have always been used as high-performance additives in forming processes because they offer good adsorption on tools and workpieces. They also react with the metal surface when under thermal stress during the machining process. This generates a shearable layer which is an additional lubricant between the tool and workpiece. With Iloform CFX, Castrol has succeeded in developing an innovative forming oil portfolio which enables excellent adsorption on the metal surface similar to that of chlorinated paraffins. This means it is also suitable for demanding applications where the risk of corrosion must be reduced. The CFX range of products covers various forming processes and can be used from low-alloyed steels to stainless steels.
From our whitepaper, you’ll learn:
- How you can stop using chlorinated paraffins
- Why the Iloform CFX products are still powerful
- Which applications these forming oils are suitable for, and when they shouldn’t be used
Download the White Paper here.