Manufacturing Technology

Nowadays, people are more and more concerned about environmental impact and its protection, and this includes the cold heading industry. Of course, reducing total costs by using highly performing lubricants is important but the responsible use of such products is also a main topic.

When looking for the most efficient lubricating solution, CONDAT’s ambition is not only to guarantee a high-level of performance, it is also to provide support towards responsible performance that takes into account social and environmental issues. To achieve this, CONDAT provides solutions that allow users to increase productivity and reduce oil consumption, all whilst respecting personnel and the environment.

Increase productivity
Increasing productivity responsibly means, for example, getting the most out of facilities by reducing maintenance downtime with EXTRUGLISS® dual purpose oils. Applied for the lubrication of slides and cold heading operations, EXTRUGLISS products can double the life of baths in service, thus reducing drain intervals by 50% thanks to their high-class properties.

EXTRUGLISS dual purpose oils are formulated to provide both superior lubrication characteristics to machinery and outstanding lubrication for the cold heading process. They eliminate the cross contamination problems generally encountered during cold heading operations.

Also, CONDAT points out that because, in typical cold heading applications, approximately 80% of oil consumption occurs when oil is dragged out of the machine on the surfaces of formed parts, EXTRUGLISS oils are specially formulated to run at lower viscosity to limit oil drag out. They decrease consumption dramatically and lower costs. Compare to standard technologies, EXTRUGLISS oils have proven to reduce lubricant consumption of more than 30% under identical manufacturing parameters.

EXTRUGLISS oils are also formulated to limit soap swelling. With most heading lubricants, wire drawing soaps swell in suspension in the oil, negatively affecting oil performance, and requiring more frequent oil replacement. CONDAT has been able to develop technology that limits this swelling effect. EXTRUGLISS is specially formulated to allow drawing soaps and other contaminants to settle out of the oil, carrying with them abrasive metallic particles. As a result, the lubricant remains clean and provides optimum performance. Time between oil change out is therefore increased, die life improved and oil disposal costs reduced.

Reduce oil consumption
The best waste is no waste. Just like above, EXTRUGLISS and EXTRUDEX ranges can help on this theme. Using the right quantity of lubricant while maintaining high performance is a major issue at CONDAT.

The EXTRUDEX range includes extreme pressure neat cold heading oils that are formulated to supply heavy-duty lubrication. Thanks to their chlorine-free complete additives package, active from low to high temperature, they offer outstanding lubrification for a broad range of operations. Thus, using a minimum and accurate quantity of EXTRUDEX in a process allows the user to reach similar performances compared to standard cold heading oils, at lower cost. EXTRUDEX oils are stand-alone lubricants that can be used only for the die side of the process.

This product range is designed to improve tool life and usage on special deformation such as aerospace alloys and exotic alloys. They also allow homogeneous coating on the parts, which contribute to an optimum surface finish and no deposit on dies and punches. With very high flash points, they are safe lubricants as they reduce risk of fire thus improving security
in workshops.

Secure working conditions and minimised environmental impact
Concerned for the future, CONDAT is committed to a responsible approach and offers its customers technical solutions allowing them to reduce their impact on the working place and the environment.

In June 2019, CONDAT presented EXTRUGLISS HT 268 VP, a premium cold heading oil specially formulated for extreme operations that generate excessive heat (stainless steel, alloy steel with high elastic limit). Even if no regulation for cold heading operations was emitted for BaP generation in cold heading operations, CONDAT would have still developed EXTRUGLISS HT 268 VP to solve BaP emissions problems. This neat cold heading oil is formulated from high-quality, highly refined base oils; it contains fewer residual compounds that may degrade to PAH. Much more stable and pure, it is resistant to oxidation, increasing the life of the baths, and facilitating degreasing, by preventing the formation of sticky residues on the parts. Less volatile, it also limits oil evaporation and mist generation, thus improving the atmosphere in the workshops.

To minimise its impact on the environment, CONDAT has also worked hard on solutions based on renewable raw material. EXTRUGLISS GREEN is a good example of a lubricant development – reducing by 70% the amount of fossil carbon in cold heading oils. For the same performance as non-vegetable based oils, EXTRUGLISS GREEN enables the manufacture of very difficult parts. Thanks to the high-level of lubricity of vegetal base oil (three times more efficient than standard mineral base oils), this product enables some references manufactured initially through machining to be produced with the cold stamping process.

EXTRUGLISS GREEN’s vegetable-based cold heading oils meets high technical requirements, such as section reductions greater than 70% or operations generating enormous pressure on tools (punches and dies) – all whilst increasing the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and reducing tooling budgets. These dual purpose oils can be used for heavy-duty forming operations (screw, bolt, nuts and extrusion’s parts). Their high flash point ensures lower mist and smokes, giving operators a friendly working environment.

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