Manufacturing has become increasingly complex for stamped part-makers, driven by the need for advanced components, rising material costs and shorter lead times. Prelubes are critical for ensuring quality part production while protecting profit margins.
Consider these fluids as an all-around metalworking solution, extending tool life, minimising material waste and improving the drawing and forming capabilities of metals. Next-generation prelubes, like those in the WEDOLiT catalog, take these benefits to new heights.
WEDOLiT N 22-3 is a non-water soluble, thixotropic deep-drawing agent designed to overcome the challenges of cold-forming coated carbon steels. It’s well-suited for electro-galvanised zinc, zinc-nickel coated and aluminised-sheets, as well as other types of metals and alloys. The multi-purpose fluid offers additional benefits, such as corrosion protection, near room temperature applicability and easy cleaning.
Formulated to meet the fluid requirements of automotive manufacturers across the globe, N 22-3 offers the same great benefits of conventional prelubes while greatly reducing production times and usage rates as well.
Combine Multiple Steps and Fluids Into a Single Product
Many steel coil suppliers ship their products with prelube already applied, though manufacturers often need to apply an additional forming fluid in order to carry out stamping operations. But next-gen prelubes like N 22-3 support forming, drawing and corrosion protection applications without the need to apply a secondary forming fluid. This saves a step in the production process and reduces costs, since the anti-corrosion and forming fluids are combined into one product that only needs one application. The corrosion protection properties provide in-process protection that extends all the way through the end of the manufacturing process.
Creates a Uniform Film
Many prelubes disperse after application, creating dry spots on coils. If these areas aren’t found and fixed with spot lubrication, parts might become rejected during the manufacturing process — requiring reworking or scrapping later on, slowing production, wasting material, and driving up supply costs.
N 22-3 creates a stable, uniform film over coils, so inspections and spot-treating are no longer necessary, greatly increasing throughput without the need to rework parts.
Less Mess
“Crying coils” are an unfortunate reality with many prelubes, where fluids leak out of the coils and onto the shop floor. This contributes to the creation of dry spots, as well as hazards that must be routinely cleaned. Allocating labour to this will increase production time and costs from the consumption of more cleaning agents and time. The oil that leaks off coils will also need replacement with more prelube, increasing fluid costs.
WEDOLiT’s superior stability prevents the crying coils phenomenon, so that the forming oil stays where it’s supposed to: on the coil.
Multi-Metal Compatibility
WEDOLiT N 22-3 was designed specifically for the challenges of coated carbon steel forming, but it’s compatible with a wide array of steel and nickel alloys. Reducing the number of fluids in a shop limits application steps and cuts down on production times. It also minimises the amount of storage space needed for different fluids and supply costs, as fewer products need to be purchased.
Easy Removal and Disposal
N 22-3 creates a film strong enough to protect metals from corrosion even after the drawing process. Excess product can then be removed with minimal effort. Organic solvents or mild alkaline cleaning agents are all that’s needed to clean fluid from the metal without disturbing the phosphate conversion coating.
A Shortcut in Production
Coils treated with prelube can be more expensive than raw workpieces. However, the savings in cost and time can far outweigh higher material costs. Prelubes have long helped manufacturers control their costs, but next-generation fluids can actually reduce production times. Combining numerous production steps and capabilities into a single product like WEDOLiT N 22-3 is an effective way to streamline jobs, improve throughput and reduce labour costs.
To learn more about how WEDOLiT can improve production time and other aspects of your operation, email us at [email protected].
