MACHINING APPARATUS

Abstract: The invention concerns a machine tool, such as a lathe, for machining a workpiece, comprising a frame (1) with power means (2); a machining member (3) for removing material from the workpiece; a gear box (4) for transmitting the driving power required for moving the workpiece and/or the machining member; a guide (5) for supporting the workpiece and/or the machining member; a gear box lubricant space (6), in which gear box lubricant (7) has been provided; a guide lubricant space (8), in which guide lubricant (9) has been provided; and a cutting oil tank (10) with oil conduits (11, 12), in which cutting oil (13) has been provided and from which the cutting oil is conducted to the point of machining for cooling the workpiece and/or the machining member. The invention is characterized in that the guide lubricant (9) and the cutting oil (13) are one and the same lubricant (14).

Description: MACHINING APPARATUS The present invemtion concerns a machine tool as defined in the preamble to Claim 1, such as a lathe, for machining a work piece. In prior art a machine tool is known compris¬ ing a frame with power means, a machining member for removing material from the workpiece, a gear box for transmitting the driving force required to move the work piece and/or the machining means, a guide for supporting the work piece being machined and/or the machining means, an oil space for the gear box con¬ taining lubricant, a lubricant space for the guide containing lubricant, and a cutting oil tank contain¬ ing cutting oil for lubricating and/or cooling the workpiece and the machining member and from which the lubricant is conducted to the point of machining. With the aid of the gear box lubricant the gear box is lu¬ bricated and cooled while the machine tool is running. At the guide, the lubricant eliminates friction, whereby moving the machining means is rendered light. Cutting oil is furthermore employed as cooling fluid at the point of machining when material is being re¬ moved from the workpiece with the machining member. At present, the lubricant for gear box and guide is mineral-based oil, which constitutes problem waste. On the machining means, too, mineral-based oils are used for cutting oil, diluted e.g. with water. As in the course of machining the cutting oil runs into the same container as the guide lubricant, problems arise because the substances differing in type do not mix. The particular problem then encountered is short service life of the oil, and odour detriments which occur. Furthermore, mineral oils produce problem waste and involve considerable disposal costs, and since the cutting oil is frequently diluted with water, separa¬ tion of water from the waste oil is cumbersome and cost-intensive. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the problems discussed in the foregoing. Specifically, the object of the present invention is to bring forth a machine tool in which the cutting oil and the lubricant which become mixed together will not cause any problems like those in the known art described in the foregoing. The object of the invention is further to bring forth a machine tool in which the cutting oil and lubricants used are user-friendly and environment- friendly, meating the standards imposed on environ¬ mental products. Regarding the features characterizing the invention, reference is made to the claims section. The machine tool of the invention comprises a frame with power means, such as an electric motor, and a gear box for providing the driving power required for moving the workpiece and/or the machining means. The machine tool of the invention further comprises a machining member for removing material from the work¬ piece, and a guide for supporting the workpiece being machined and/or the machining means. In addition, the machine tool comprises a lubricant space for the gear box with lubricant, a lubricant space for the guide with lubricant, and a cutting oil tank in which cut¬ ting oil is provided for lubricating and/or cooling the workpiece and the machining member, this cutting oil being conducted to the point of machining. As taught by the invention, the guide lubri¬ cant and the cutting oil are one and the same lubri¬ cant. Thus, the problems caused in the lubricant due to admixing of cutting oil can be eliminated in the machine tool of the invention. The lubricant to be used is advantageously a water-soluble tall oil-based oil, which is biologically dagradable. Significant advantages are thereby gained compared with prior art. inasmuch as the guide lubricant and cutting oil which have become mixed together need not be separated in connection with after-treatment and the spent oil can be disposed of with ease e.g. by burning it. Moreover, using tall oil-based oil is advantageous as to costs compared with use of mineral oil-based oils. In an embodiment of the present invention the gear box lubricant is a water-soluble tall oil-based oil. Thereby the lubrication of all lubricating points in the machine tool is managed with one and the same environment-friendly and user-friendly oil. Advantageously, the lubricant which is con¬ ducted to the machining means is diluted with water, the lubricant containing about 1 to 10% tall oil-based oil, advantageously 5 ± 3%, and the remainder mainly water. Dilution of the lubricant is performed in order to improve the lubricant's cooling properties and to reduce the consumption of tall oil-based oil. The oil is moreover diluted in order to improve the fluidity of the oil. In an embodiment of the invention, the lubri¬ cant contains additives, such as antioxidant, anti- corrosive agent and anti-foam agent. Additives are added to the oil in order to prevent oxidation and foaming and in order to inhibit corrosion of the lu¬ bricated and/or cooled objects. The total proportion of additives in the lubricant is thus less than about 5%, advantageously about 1 to 5%, and most advanta¬ geously about 1 to 3%. Hereby the lubricant meets the standards imposed on environment-friendly products. The present invention is described in the following with the aid of examples, referring to the attached drawing, schematically presenting a machine tool conforming to the present invention. The machine tool depicted in the drawing com¬ prises a frame 1 with power means 2 and gear box 4 for providing the driving power required to move the work- piece and/or the machining member 3. The gear box 4 has a separate oil space 6 of its own, lubricant 7 being circulated therefrom to lubricate the gears. The machine tool depicted in the figure further comprises a machining member 3, with the aid of which material is removed from the workpiece. When metal is being machined e.g. with the aid of a carbide tool, the workpiece and the machining member 3 are both heated, for which reason cutting oil 13 is directed to the point of machining for cooling the workpiece and ma¬ chining member 3. Moreover, the machine tool depicted in the drawing comprises a guide 5 for supporting the work¬ piece which is being machined and/or the machining member, and a guide lubricant tank 8. The machining member 3 is displaced along the guide 5 in a predeter¬ mined direction while the guide is lubricated with guide lubricant 9. A cutting oil tank 10 has been provided in the lower part of the frame 1, whence cutting oil 13 is supplied with the aid of a pump 11 by a separate pipe system 12 to the point of machining when a work piece is being machined. During the progress of ma¬ chining the cutting oil 13 runs off the work piece and the machining members 3 down upon the guide 5 and frame 1, where it becomes mixed with the guide lubri¬ cant 9, running further back to the cutting oil tank 10. In the drawing, that area has been shaded where according to the invention lubricant 14 is pres¬ ent, that is, gear box lubricant 7, guide lubricant 9 and cutting oil 13, all of these being one and the same water-soluble, tall oil-based, biologically de- gradable oil. Since the guide lubricant 9 is undiluted lubricant 14, and since the cutting oil 13 is diluted with water, the mixing just described results in the favourable situation that as the amount of cutting oil 13 diminishes, only water need be added in the cutting oil tank 10. In a study, the tall oil-based water-soluble lubricant of a machine tool according to the invention was investigated as to various characteristics. In the following table some of the characteristics of some lubricants conforming to the invention are presented. TABLE 1 Characteristic Lubricant 1 Lubricant 2 Viscosity, mm 2 /s 40°C 32 46 Viscosity index 220 220 Density, g/cm 3 20°C 0.95 0.98 Flash point, °C 228 234 Congealing point (without -24 -18 additive), °C Heat tolerance, hrs 260°C 12 12 Characteristics studied in the Example were: corrosion, resistance to oxidation, foaming tenden¬ cies, and the substance's emulsifying property. Moreo- ver, samples were subjected to four-ball tests and FZG gear wheel tests. The lubricant samples involved in the study consisted of seven 5-litre sample batches. Table 2 shows the results of the corrosion test. The quality specification for lubricants regard- ing copper corrosion is la, and quality specification for steel corrosion is zero (no corrosion). TABLE 2 Table 3 shows the results of the oxidation resistance test carried out in an apparatus conforming to the ASTM G 525 method. In the test, 100 ml of oil were enclosed in a pressure vessel, this being placed in a water bath. The change of oxygen pressure in the pressure vessel was followed during the test. The unit of pressure in Table 3 is psi. TABLE 3 Time, h Start 12 24 36 48 60 72 Sample 1 120 110 95 85 75 60 47 Sample 2 121 107 90 75 55 40 25 Sample 3 122 70 42 28 18 14 10 Sample 4 115 70 27 17 11 8 5 Sample 5 123 70 32 19 11 7 3 Sample 6 119 70 42 25 15 10 7 Sample 7 124 115 104 95 86 79 _71 The foaming tendency of the samples according to the ASTM D 892 method is shown in Table 4. In the tests, blowing was repeated three times, and the sam- pie temperatures during different sequences were; Seq I = 24°C Seq II = 93.5°C Seq III = 24°C, after 93.5°C TABLE 4 Emulsion characteristics (water separation), according to the ASTM D 1401 method: Sample 1 40-40-0 (20 min.) Water separation took place in 20 min. The water phase was milky. Emulsion: 0 ml. Sample 2 3-0-77 (60 min.) No water separation took place. After 60 min. there was: oil phase 3 ml, water phase 0 ml, and emulsion 77 ml. Sample 3 39-38-3 (30 min.) There was no complete water separation, but emulsion quantity de¬ creased to 3 ml, and therefore the test was discontinued. Sample 4 40-40-0 (10 min.) Complete emulsification took place in 10 min. Sample 5 40-38-2 (25 min.) No complete separation took place, but emulsion quantity decreased to less than 3 ml, so that the test was discontinued. Sample 6 40-37-3 (35 min.) No complete separation took place, but emulsion quantity decreased to less than 3 ml, so that the test was discontinued. Sample 7 0-0-80 (60 min.) No water separation took place; after 60 min. the emulsion quantity was 80 ml. In the case of Sample 7, forming of emulsion took place immediately when water and oil were poured into the same container. Furthermore, four-ball tests were carried out with the samples, applying methods ASTM D 2783 (ten- second test with stepwise increasing load) and ASTM D 4172 (one-houe test with 400 N load) . The tests served to elucidate the wear inhibition and high pressure (EP) properties of the samples. In the test according to ASTM D 2783, the seizing load was 1500 N for all samples. In the one-hour test the abrasion mark diame¬ ters were: Sample 1 0.6 mm Sample 2 0.5 mm Sample 3 1.7 mm Sample 4 1.5 mm Sample 5 0.7 mm Sample 6 1.2 mm Sample 7 0.5 mm Furthermore, on the strength of the one-hour test the inherent wear inhibition properties of Samples 1, 2 , 5 and 7 were good. In the tests made with stepwise raised load, the results found with Sample 1 were ex¬ ceptional: abrasion was minimal all the way up to seizing load. Table 5 presents the damage load grades meas¬ ured as results in the FZG gear wheel tests. TABLE 5 Damage load grade. Sample 1 8 Sample 2 9 Sample 3 8 Sample 4 8 Sample 5 10 Sample 6 9 Sample 7 9 The damage load grade according to the DIN 51354 method is determined from the weight loss of the gears. The identical test procedure, with visual as¬ sessment according to the CEC L-07-A-85 method would in most instances yield a damage load grade one step lower: the tooth flanks showed shearing marks over an area more than one gear breadth in aggregate while the weight loss was minor. Specific abrasion was very low in the case of six samples. The lubricant temperatures also remained comparatively low. In the foregoing the invention has been de¬ scribed by way of example in order to illustrate rhe invention, without in any way confining it.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A machine tool, such as a lathe, for ma¬ chining a workpiece, comprising - a frame (1) with power means (2); - a machining member (3) for removing material from the workpiece; - a gear box (4) for transmitting the driving power required for moving the workpiece and/or the machining member; - a guide (5) for supporting the workpiece and/or the machining member; - a gear box lubricant space (6), in which gear box lubricant (7) has been provided; - a guide lubricant space (8), in which guide lubri- cant (9) has been provided; and - a cutting oil tank (10) with oil conduits (11,12), in which cutting oil (13) has been provided and from which the cutting oil is conducted to the point of machining for cooling the workpiece and/or the machin- ing member, characterized in that the guide lubricant (9) and the cutting oil (13) are one and the same lu¬ bricant (14) . 2. Machine tool according to claim 1, char¬ acterized in that the lubricant (14) is water-soluble tall oil-based oil and is biologically degradable. 3. Machine tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the gear box lubricant (7) is water-soluble tall oil-based oil. 4. Machine tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cutting oil (13) conducted to the machining member (3) is diluted with water, the cutting oil (13) containing about 1 to 10% tall oil- based oil, advantageously 5 ± 3%, and the remainder mainly water. 5. Machine tool according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the lubricant (14) contains oxidation-inhibiting agent for preventing oxidation. 6. Machine tool according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the lubricant (14) contains corrosion-inhibiting agent for preventing corrosion of the objects which are being lubricated and/or cooled. 7. Machine tool according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the lubricant (14) contains anti-foaming agent for preventing foaming of the lubricant. 8. Machine tool according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that the aggregate pro¬ portion of additives in the lubricant (14) is less than about 5%, advantageously about 1 to 5%, and most advantageously about 1 to 3%.

Inventors: KULTALA MATTI, KULTALA, MATTI
Applicants: KULTALA MATTI, KULTALA, MATTI
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B23Q11
IPC codes: B23Q11, C10M173