Metal cutting fluids put F1 team in pole position
29 Nov 2011
Hannover, Germany – ExxonMobil’s recently introduced range of Mobilcut water soluble metalworking fluids, are helping the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 cars to gain a competitive edge on the track.
The new Mobilcut series, alongside products such as Mobilmet neat cutting oils, Mobil DTE hydraulic oils and Mobil Vactra slideway oils, are in use at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, helping the team to realise new component designs and machine new metals and compounds.
The Mobilcut water soluble metalworking fluids are designed to offer long service life and reduce maintenance downtime, thereby increasing machine tool efficiency, availability and productivity. The fluids are also said to be easy to monitor and meet the latest health and safety regulations.
The Mobilcut 100, 200 and 300 series lubricants respectively, comprise milky emulsions, high performance micro-emulsions and fully synthetic fluids, designed to offer long service life, good operator acceptability and easy waste management.
The micro-emulsion cutting fluids in particular have been designed for applications and operations where flexibility, inventory management and machine downtime are of paramount importance. From cast iron and carbon steels to aluminium, from drilling and grinding to reaming and tapping, they are said to provide multi functionality and high machining performance in critical machine tools.
ExxonMobil’s industrial lubricants and tailor-made services make our machines run more smoothly and efficiently, according to Simon Roberts, operations director at McLaren Racing.
“As well as Mobil Industrial Lubricants, including the new Mobilcut product, we get a great deal of support from ExxonMobil,” said Roberts. “Whenever required, we have their people on site to look at the cutting fluids and lubricants we are using. They take samples, analyse the oil and work with our own engineers to help ensure our machines are performing at their optimum.”
The Mobilcut series products have been designed to be fully compatible with Mobil hydraulic and slideway oils, including the new Mobil DTE 10 Excel hydraulic oil and the Mobil Vactra way oil.
By eliminating the problems associated with cross-contamination of different lubricants within the machine tool, ExxonMobil said its complete, lubrication package offers benefits of extended fluid life-time, lower maintenance costs and an improved working environment.
At the McLaren Technology Centre machine shop, Mazak machine tools are used to facilitate the turning, milling and drilling processes with high accuracy and efficiency. The Mazak machine tools, including the two new Mazak Hyper Variaxis 630 machines, use both the Mobilcut 200 series and Mobil Vactra in combination, as well as Mobil Velocite for spindle lubrication and Mobil DTE hydraulic oil.
Other machine tools used for carbon components, precision tooling and smaller pattern work at the facility are lubricated using the new high performance Mobilcut 200 series as the water soluble cutting fluid and Mobil Vactra for the horizontal slideways.
“We only recommend the best lubricants to our customers,” said Damien Cleugh, European marketing manager, Mazak Europe. “The two new Hyper Variaxis machines which have been recently installed offer a new level in speed, performance and accuracy in metal cutting and that is why we have recommended Mobil Industrial Lubricants to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.”
“Whether a company specialises in producing components for F1 cars, nuts and bolts, complex gear sets or high precision valves, keeping its equipment running efficiently is the key to optimising performance and productivity,” said Umut Urkun, industrial lubricants marketing advisor, Europe Africa & Middle East, ExxonMobil Lubricants and Petroleum Specialties.
