CASE IN POINT Surprising Value in Fluid Recovery Contributed by Mike Hook L ocated in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, Anthony Screw Products Ltd. is a precision machining company that produces a range of custom parts including fittings, washers, nuts, bolts and pulley hubs. Company President Rod Anthony has more than 25 years of experience working in every position in the plant’s manufacturing process. Even with this unique and total understanding of the operation, he has a new appreciation for the value of recycling after partnering with PRAB on a new chip processing and fluid recovery system. “Costs were killing me before I received the new PRAB system,” Mr. Anthony says. “I knew recycling was impor-tant to the environment, but I never considered it from the standpoint of efficiency and cost savings. But now, I realize it should be one of the first pieces of equipment you look at to solve problems in those areas. It just makes complete sense.” Expansion Reveals a Need for New Equipment The privately owned, family-run business began in 1978 with only two multi-spindle automatics in a 5,000-square-foot workspace. Today, the company operates in a facility that is more than four times the size of the original location and runs almost 10 times as many multi-spindles, in addition to CNC lathes and mills and rotary transfer machines. When this expansion prompted a move to a new building, Mr. Anthony took the opportunity to re-evaluate the company’s chip processing and fluid recovery system. A small chip spinner that had been in use for 12 years stood vertically on a ball joint and springs, which needed to be replaced annually. Because of this orientation, the spinner relied on gravity to recover oil from the chips and feed scrap bins. This process was not ideal for a number of reasons: • Almost 50% of the oil in the chips was not being recovered. • The plant was only seeing a 10% return on reclaimed oil (at best). • The chips were not bringing maximum value from the :: (ABOVE) Rod Anthony, president of Anthony Screw Products, estimates the PRAB Oil Recycling System will save $18,000 a year by reducing the number of filter bags used, increasing tool life and decreasing labor needed for clean-ing machines. These savings are in addition to the savings recouped through recycling the company’s oil. 42 PRODUCTION MACHINING :: SEPTEMBER 2019