IRMCO® CASE STUDY
Industry: Automotive
Components: Tube Bending
Material: 409 Stainless Steel
Fluid Technology: IRMCO GEL® 980-000
Number of parts trialed: 5,000
Client Objective
Reduce lubricant usage – too much lubricant was being used and wasted on the floor and around the bender.
Improve automotive tube bending parts cleaning – energy and chemical costs for cleaning was unnecessarily high.
Improve automotive tube bending tool life – to reduce costs and improve uptime.
Improvements Achieved
- By replacing a pigmented paste with IRMCO GEL® and with controlled application, automotive tube bending lubricant consumption was reduced by 50%
- IRMCO GEL® was removed with a plain water first stage reducing cleaning costs
- IRMCO GEL® provided a controlled and consistent barrier on the tooling, increasing mandrel ball and wiper die life.
Business Value
- The reduction in automotive tube bending lubricant usage resulted in more than $30K in annual savings
- Reduction in washer disposal volume saved $25K
- Tooling life for the mandrel ball and wiper die increased on an average of 25%
