GB2594919A

GB2594919A - A system and a separation for removing contaminants from cutting fluid

Info

Publication number: GB2594919A
Application number: GB2004787.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thompson Steven
Original assignee: Fluid Maintenance Solutions Ltd
Current assignee: Fluid Maintenance Solutions Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-01
Filing date: 2020-04-01
Publication date: 2021-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-01
Also published as: GB202004787D0; GB2594919B

Abstract

The system 200 includes a tank 109 which receives swarf 110 and cutting fluid 112 from a machining process 102. A pump 118 extracts cutting fluid contaminated with swarf from the tank. A filtration system 120 removes at least some of the swarf before the cutting fluid is reused in the machining process. A separator 130 is arranged between the pump and the filtration system. The separator comprises a hydrocyclone 132 which receives the cutting fluid and swarf. The hydro cyclone separates the swarf from the cutting fluid by vortex separation before the cutting fluid reaches the filtration system. The filtration system may include a consumable medium such as a roll of paper, polyester, or viscose. A separator includes a hydrocyclone to receive cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from a machine process. The hydrocyclone separates the swarf from the cutting fluid and oil using vortex separation. The hydrocyclone transfers the cutting fluid and oil into an inlet of a chamber. The tramp oil is separated from the cutting fluid as it flows around barriers in the chamber by virtue of a difference in the relative density of the tramp oil and cutting fluid.

Description

A System and a Separator for Removing Contaminants from Cutting Fluid

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and a separator for removing contaminants from a cutting fluid.

Background of the Invention

Machining materials such as metal can lead to the production of a large quantity of waste material called swarf. Swan f typically collects in a tank at the bottom of the machine tool where a conveyor belt may move a bulk of the swarf into waste bins for disposal or recycling.

A continuous stream of cutting fluid irrigates the cutting tools to prevent the cutting tool or workpiece from overheating and to provide lubrication. Used cutting fluid also collects in the tank. The cutting fluid recirculates around the machine tool in a closed-loop -the cutting fluid is pumped out of the tank and sent back for cooling/lubricating the cutting tool.

Inevitably, the cutting fluid gets contaminated by swarf that has fallen off or missed the conveyor. Therefore, the cutting fluid is typically filtered before being reused. The cutting fluid can also become contaminated by tramp oil, which is oil and lubricants from the machine tool that get washed out by the cutting fluid.

Existing filtration systems typically use a disposable filtration medium (such as filter paper) to separate the swarf and the cutting fluid. However, disposable filtration medium filtration systems are not particularly reliable. There are often gaps around the filter paper which allows swarf to fall into the "clean" cutting fluid. The filter paper is typically stored on a roll and as the filter paper becomes clogged with swarf, new filter paper is pulled off the roll and the old filter paper is disposed of in a waste bin. However, when new paper is pulled off the roll, this can dislodge swarf into the "clean" cutting fluid.

Also, the cost of using and disposing of disposable filtration medium is expensive and to reduce costs many operators use cheap materials with comparatively large pore sizes which may not catch finer swarf particles.

Waste filter paper with swarf attached may be dumped in landfill because is not usually economically viable to remove the swarf from the paper for recycling. This is potentially wasteful, particularly in the case of high value alloys. Alternatively, the waste filter paper may be classified as hazardous waste and have to undergo expensive waste treatment.

Disposable medium filtration systems do little to deal with the build-up of tramp oil in the cutting fluid which can lead to bacteria breeding in the cutting fluid, representing a significant health hazard to machine operators. The tramp oil will also block the pores of the disposable medium, reducing efficiency and increasing the amount of filter paper waste generated.

Hydrocyclone based filtration systems are better at extracting swarf, particularly fine swarf particles. However, this comes at a capital cost which can be as much as ten times that of a disposable medium filtration systems. Also, there is a significant legacy of installed disposable medium filtration systems which industry is unwilling to replace while they are still operational, and in any case scrapping all of this working equipment is wasteful.

Therefore, it would be desirable to find an improved way to remove contaminants from cutting fluid without having to replace existing disposable medium filtration systems.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for removing contaminants from cutting fluid. The system comprises a tank configured to receive swarf and cutting fluid from a machining process. A pump is configured to extract cutting fluid contaminated with swarf from the tank. A filtration system is configured to remove at least some of the swarf contaminating the cutting fluid before the cutting fluid is reused in the machining process. A separator is arranged in between the pump and the filtration system. The separator may comprise a hydrocyclone configured to receive the cutting fluid contaminated with swarf, and the separator may separate at least a portion of the swarf from the cutting fluid by vortex separation before the cutting fluid reaches the filtration system.

By placing a separator between the pump and the filtration system, the exiting filtration system can be augmented, improving the amount of swarf that can be removed from the cutting fluid, without having to replace the existing filtration system. Improving the amount of swarf that is removed from the cutting fluid before the cutting fluid is reused in the machining process reduces cutting tool wear and damage to the machine tool that might be caused by abrasive wear from the swarf in the cutting fluid, and reduces the risk of surface contamination of the finished workpiece. The separator reduces the burden on the existing filtration system, which makes it economical to use a better quality filter medium, such as a filter medium with smaller pore size. Although this may increase the cost of the filter medium, since the filtration system has to handle less swarf the paper needs to be replaced less frequently reducing the overall cost. This also means that more swarf can be captured for recycling and less will be sent to land fill bundled up with the disposable filter medium. Also, because the hydrocyclone based separator augments the existing filtration system and does not need to act alone, this reduces the cost and performance requirements of the hydrocyclone compared to one which must act alone.

The hydrocyclone may direct the swarf towards a drain of the separator. A valve may be configured to selectively or periodically remove the swarf via the drain. The valve may be selectively operated (e.g. manually) by an operator. Alternatively, the valve may be electronically controlled to open periodically, for example, after a certain time period has elapsed or when a certain level of swarf is measured in the drain.

The valve may be a pinch valve. The pinch valve may comprise a compressible tube which is compressed by a pneumatic pincher. Such a pinch valve is able to cope with swarf of various sizes without becoming blocked as the pinch valve provides a large clear opening and is not adversely affected by abrasive swarf particles which may block or damage other kinds of valve.

The tank may comprise a conveyor to transfer swarf from the tank to a waste receptacle (eg, a waste bin or hopper) and the swarf removed from the separator is deposited on the conveyor. The swarf that is removed from the separator could be dumped straight into a waste receptacle for disposal or recycling. However, the swarf may still be wet with cutting fluid so depositing it on the conveyor instead allows any remaining cutting fluid to drain into the tank. This means that the swarf that is collected in the waste receptacle is drier and also means that less cutting fluid is wasted. Alternatively, the swarf that is removed from the separator may be directed to a "drain box", e.g. prior to manual disposal of the swarf into a waste receptacle.

The cutting fluid may be contaminated with tramp oil. The separator may be configured to separate the tramp oil from the cutting fluid before the cutting fluid is reused in the machine process. The tramp oil may be separated from the cutting fluid based on the relative density of the tramp oil and the cutting fluid.

The tramp oil may be configured to float on the surface of the cutting fluid. The separator may have an outlet adjacent to the surface of the cutting fluid for removing the tramp oil.

The filtration system may comprise a consumable filtration medium to separate the swarf from the cutting fluid. For example, the consumable filtration medium may comprise a roll of paper, polyester or viscose. The consumable filtration medium may have a pore size of one of: less than 150 pm; less than 50 pm; less than 20 pm; less than 15 pm; and less than 10 pm. By having an in-line separator in addition to a consumable medium filtration system, it becomes economical to use a more expensive grade of consumable filtration medium with smaller pore sizes, rather than less efficient filtration media that may have pore sizes greater than around 150 pm. For example, polyester which typically has pore sizes of less than 10-15 pm.

The pump may be associated with the filtration system. That is, the original pump that was provided for the consumable medium filtration system and is not a special pump specifically designed for the separator and hydrocyclone. Instead, the hydrocyclone has been designed to produce a vortex suitable for separating the swarf from the cutting fluid using the existing consumable medium filtration system pump without a new pump having to be provided.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a separator for removing contaminants from cutting fluid. The separator may comprise a hydrocyclone configured to receive cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from a machining process. The hydrocyclone is configured to separate at least a portion of the swarf from the cutting fluid and oil using vortex separation. A housing forms a body of the hydrocyclone and encloses a chamber. The hydrocyclone is configured to transfer the cutting fluid and oil into an inlet of the chamber. The chamber comprises an outlet and a plurality of barriers arranged between the inlet and outlet around which the cutting fluid and tramp oil flows. At least a portion of the tramp oil is separated from the cutting fluid as it flows around the barriers by virtue of a difference in the relative density of the tramp oil and cutting fluid.

The separator comprises a housing which encloses the hydrocyclone and the chamber for removing tramp oil into a single unit, greatly reducing the size of the separator as compared with existing hydrocyclone filtration systems, and also incorporating swarf and tramp oil removal into a single compact device. The barriers help to remove tramp oil by increasing the flow path and controlling the flow rate, allowing the tramp oil to separate from the cutting fluid through their intrinsic density difference.

The hydrocyclone may receive cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from a pump which extracts cutting fluid from a tank collecting swarf and cutting fluid from a machining process. The hydrocyclone may be configured to create a vortex for separation of the swarf and cutting fluid based on the pump capabilities. That is, the original pump that was provided for the existing filtration system can be used, and it is not necessary to provide a special pump specifically designed for the separator and hydrocyclone. Instead, the hydrocyclone has been designed to produce a vortex suitable for separating the swarf from the cutting fluid using the existing filtration system pump without a new pump having to be provided.

The tramp oil may float to the surface of the cutting fluid. The separator may have tramp oil outlets arranged adjacent to where the cutting fluid and tramp oil flows over the barriers.

A lamella plate may be provided between the hydrocyclone and the barrier. The lamella plate may diffuse flow, increasing the surface area for the cutting fluid to pass over which allows the tramp oil to agglomerate helping it to separate from the cutting fluid more quickly.

The vortex may be configured to direct swarf to a drain. A valve may be configured to selectively or periodically remove the swarf via the drain.

The barriers partially block and direct the flow of cutting fluid between the inlet and the outlet of the chamber. Barriers may have openings (such as slots) adjacent to an end of the barrier. Adjacent barriers may have slots which are positioned at opposite ends of the adjacent barriers (e.g., a slot in a first barrier may be towards a top end of the separator while a slot in a second adjacent barrier may be towards a bottom end of the separator). This arrangement of slots may generate a meandering flow path for the cutting fluid which forces the cutting fluid to change direction in flow to help separate out the tramp oil as the tramp oil itself may contain fine particles of swarf.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a system comprising the separator according to the third aspect.

The system may further comprise a tank configured to receive swarf and cutting fluid from a machining process. A pump is configured to transfer cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from the tank to the separator for removal of at least some of the swarf and the tramp oil. The separator has a cutting fluid outlet configured to transfer the cutting fluid back to the tank. This allows the separator to function in a dialysis mode, without the need for any separate filtration system, by continuously extracting and cleaning swarf and tramp oil from the cutting fluid in the tank before returning the cleaned cutting fluid back to the tank.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a prior art system for removing contaminants from cutting fluid; Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a system for removing contaminants from cutting fluid according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 3 is a three-dimensional view of a separator for use in the system of Figure 2.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 illustrates a prior art system 100 for removing contaminants from cutting fluid 112. This example shows a CNC lathe 102 where a workpiece 104 is being shaped by cutting tool 106. During the machining process, parts of the workpiece 104 are cut away leading to a swarf 110 being produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. The swarf 110 falls to the bottom of the CNC lathe 102 where much of it lands on conveyor belt 114. The conveyor belt 114 transports the swarf 110 that lands on it out of the CNC lathe 102 and into waste bin 116 where it is collected for disposal or recycling.

To prevent the cutting tool 106 and workpiece 104 from overheating, which could lead to damage to the cutting tool 106 and/or workpiece 104 and can lead to poor cutting quality, nozzle 108 provides a continuous flow of cutting fluid 112 which acts to cool the workpiece 104 and cutting tool 106 and also acts as a lubricant between the cutting tool 106 and workpiece 104.

The used cutting fluid 112 falls to the bottom of the CNC lathe 102 where it lands in tank 109 which collects the used cutting fluid 112. Not all of the swarf 110 will have been intercepted by the conveyor belt 114, some is likely to fall around the sides of the conveyor belt 114 into the tank 109. The conveyor belt 114 has a mesh surface that helps to drain cutting fluid 112 from the swarf 110 before it is collected in the waste bin 116 but also means that smaller particles of swarf may fall through the mesh into the tank 109. Moreover, since the conveyor belt 114 is continuously moving, some swarf 110 may be dislodged by the movement of the conveyor belt 114 into the tank 109. As a result, there are multiple ways in which the cutting fluid 112 in the tank 109 tends to become contaminated with swarf 110.

The internal moving parts of the CNC lathe are lubricated with a variety of oils and lubricants. The cutting fluid 112 tends to washout some of the oils and lubricants. These washed out oils and lubricants are referred to as tramp oil. The tramp oil tends to collect in the tank 109, further contaminating the cutting fluid 112.

Since a large quantity of cutting fluid 112 is used during the machining process, it is typical to recirculate the cutting fluid 112 in a closed loop. However, before the cutting fluid 112 can be reused it needs to be cleaned to remove as much of the swarf 110 as possible. If the swarf 110 is not removed from the cutting fluid 112 before reuse in cooling and lubricating the machining process, the presence of swarf 110 in the cutting fluid can lead to a variety of problems. For example, the nozzle 108 may become blocked by swarf. Also, contaminated cutting fluid 112 can result in the failure of cutting tool 106, surface damage to the workpiece 104, or damage to components of the CNC lathe 102 through abrasive wear. Therefore, it is important to remove as much of the swarf 110 from the cutting fluid 112 as possible before it is reused.

The cutting fluid 112 is pumped from the tank 109 by pump 118 to a filtration system 120. The filtration system 120 has a roll 122 of consumable filter medium in the form of a roll of filter paper 123. Filter paper 123 from the roll 122 is extended across the cutting fluid collection tank 124. Pump 118 pumps cutting fluid 112 contaminated with swarf 110 onto the surface of filter paper 123. The cutting fluid 112 tends to pass through the filter paper 123 whereas at least some of the swarf 110 is trapped on the surface of the filter paper 123. In this way, cutting fluid 112 collects in the cutting fluid collection tank 124 and the swarf 110 collects on the filter paper 123. As the amount of swarf 110 builds up on the filter paper 123, new filter paper 123 is pulled off of the roll 122, and the used filter paper 127 contaminated with swarf is discarded into waste bin 126. This process is repeated continuously.

There are various problems with this kind of filtration system 100. For example, as new filter paper 123 is pulled off the roll 122, this can agitate the swarf 110 sat on the paper 123, causing it to be dislodged into cutting fluid collection tank 124, contaminating the cutting fluid 112. Also, a large amount of filter paper 123 is used in this process and therefore there tend to be economic drives to choose a cheap filter paper material. However, cheap filter paper tends to have larger pore sizes which makes it more likely that not all of the swarf 110, particularly very fine particles, will be trapped by the filter paper 123. As a result, the cutting fluid 112 in the cutting fluid collection tank 124 tends to become contaminated at least with very fine particles of swarf.

The cutting fluid 112 in the cutting fluid collection tank 124 is pumped out of the cutting fluid collection tank 124 by pump 128 back to the CNC lathe 102 for reuse in cooling and lubricating the machining process. Although, not shown in this figure, there may be an intermediate tank to store cutting fluid 112 until it is needed and returned to nozzle 108.

Although some of the disadvantages with consumable filter medium filtration systems can be overcome by using different technology, such as a hydrocyclone based filtration system, hydrocyclone based filtration systems are expensive -typically the capital cost is as much as 10 times that of a consumable filter medium filtration system. Also, there is a legacy of installed consumable filter medium filtration systems which are still in operation and operators are loathed to replace these when they are still working. The applicant has realised that improvements can be made to improve the efficiency and overcome some of the problems with existing consumable filter medium filtration systems without requiring total replacement, at much lower cost than alternative technology.

Figure 2 shows an example of an improved filtration system 200 which overcomes some of the problems with consumable filter medium filtration systems. A separator 130 has been placed in between the tank 109 and the filtration system 120 to remove some of the swarf 110 before the consumable filter medium filtration system 120. The separator 130 also removes at least some of the tramp oil 138 which is not usually removed by the consumable filter medium filtration system 120.

The existing pump 118 that formally pumped cutting fluid 112 to filtration system 120 is redirected to pump cutting fluid 112 to separator 130. The separator 130 has an inlet 131 for cutting fluid 112. The inlet 131 directs the cutting fluid 112 into a hydrocyclone 132 and the shape of the hydrocyclone is shaped such that the existing pump 118 creates a vortex in the hydrocyclone 132 which drives the swarf 110 towards the swarf outlet 135 while driving the cutting fluid 112 and any tramp oil 138 contaminating the cutting fluid 112 into the chamber 146.

A valve such as a pinch valve 134 is attached to the swarf outlet 135. The pinch valve 134 consists of a compressible tube and a pneumatic pincher 136 which squeezes the tube shut or can be released so that the compressible tube expands to allow swarf 110 to be removed from the separator 130. The pinch valve 134 is operated selectively, for example, manually under the control of an operator, or periodically, for example, after a predetermined length of time or when the level of swarf 110 reaches a particular threshold.

Any tramp oil 138 that is suspended in the cutting fluid 112 will tend to float to the surface of the chamber 146 by virtue of the fact that it is less dense than the cutting fluid 112.

The tramp oil 138 can be removed from outlet 140 arranged adjacent to the surface of the tramp oil for disposal or recycling. An outlet 142 arranged below the surface of the tramp oil 138 adjacent to the body of the cutting fluid 112 in the chamber 146 can be used to remove the cutting fluid 112.

The cutting fluid 112 travels under gravity or is pumped to the existing filtration system 120 where the cutting fluid 112 is once again directed over filter paper 123 which is extended across the top of cutting fluid collection tank 124. The filter paper 123 catches much of the swarf 110 and the cutting fluid 112 passes through the filter paper 123 into the cutting fluid collection tank 124. As before, new filter paper 123 is pulled off the roll 122 as the filter paper 123 gets covered in swarf 110 and the waste filter paper 127 and swarf is dumped in waste bin 126.

However, because the separator 130 has removed a significant portion of the swarf 110 before it reaches the filtration system 120, there is much less swarf 110 for the filter paper 123 to collect. As a result, less filter paper 123 is used meaning there is less waste filter paper and less swarf 127 disposed of with the filter paper. The waste filter paper typically goes to land fill because it is difficult to remove the swarf from the filter paper, so this means that less material is going to land fill.

Also, and most significantly, because less filter paper 123 is being used, is it economical to use a much higher quality of filter paper 123. For example, materials that are more expensive such as polyester with smaller pore sizes become economically viable since much less is used. As a result, much more swarf 110 is caught by the filter paper 123 and much less swarf 110 ends up contaminating the cutting fluid 112 in the cutting fluid collection tank 124, including much less fine swarf particles that might have previously remained in the cutting fluid even after filtering. As a result, the purity of the cutting fluid 112 which is pumped by pump 128 back to the machining process for reuse is much higher. This reduces the risk of early cutting tool failure from contaminated cutting fluid 112 and also greatly improves the cutting quality since there is less or no swarf 110 in the cutting fluid to damage the surface of the workpiece 104.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of the separator 130 in more detail. The separator 130 is a single device which houses both the hydrocyclone 132 (for separating swarf 110 from the cutting fluid 112) and a chamber 146 above the hydrocyclone 132 (for separating the tramp oil 138 from the cutting fluid 112), providing a particularly compact device for removing both swarf 110 and tramp oil 138 from cutting fluid 112.

The cutting fluid 112 is pumped into the separator 130 by pump 118 into inlet 131. The inlet 131 directs the cutting fluid 112 into the hydrocyclone 132. As mentioned previously, the hydrocyclone 132 is shaped such that the velocity of the cutting fluid 112 generated by the pump 118 into the hydrocyclone 132 causes a vortex which spins the swarf 110 separating it from the cutting fluid 112 by vortex separation. The swarf 110 is directed towards the swarf outlet 135 to which a valve (such as pinch valve 134) can be attached to control outflow of the swarf 110.

The cutting fluid 112 is driven upwards into the chamber 146 by the action of the hydrocyclone 132. The chamber 146 may contain a lamella plate (not shown). The lamella plate diffuse the flow of cutting fluid, increasing the surface area for cutting fluid 112 to pass over which allows the tramp oil 138 to agglomerate and separate from the cutting fluid 112 more quickly.

To separate the tramp oil 138 from the cutting fluid 112, the separator 130 has a series of barriers 150 which divide the chamber 146 into sections and modify the flow path of the cutting fluid 112 though the chamber 146. The barriers 150 help to separate out the tramp oil 138 which may itself contain fine particles of swarf 110.

The level of cutting fluid 112 in the chamber 146 builds up until the cutting fluid 112 can pass through the slot-shaped opening 152a near the top of the first barrier 150a into the space between first barrier 150a and the second barrier 150b. The second barrier 150b has a slot-shaped opening towards the bottom of the second barrier 150b which allows cutting fluid 112 into the next inter-barrier space between the second barrier 150b and the third barrier 150c. The third barrier 150c has a slot-shaped opening 152c towards the top of the third barrier 150c which allows cutting fluid 112 to pass into the inter-barrier space between the third barrier 150c and the fourth barrier 150d once the level of cutting fluid is sufficient. The fourth barrier 150d has a slot-shaped opening towards the bottom of the fourth barrier 150d which allows cutting fluid 112 into the space between fourth barrier 150d and outlet 142.

This arrangement of barriers 150 causes the cutting fluid 112 to meander around the barriers controlling the flow rate and increasing the path length through the separator 130 helping the tramp oil 138 to separate from the cutting fluid. The tramp oil 138, being less dense than the cutting fluid 112 will tend to float to the surface of the cutting fluid 112.

By controlling the flow rate the barriers encourage the tramp oil 138 to float to the surface where it can be extracted through tramp oil outlets 140a-c which are located at the point where the cutting fluid 112 can pass over the barriers 150 and at the point where the tramp oil 138 will have floated to the surface of the cutting fluid 112.

Overflows 144 near the inlet and the outlet of the separator 130 are provided in case more cutting fluid 112 has entered the separator 130 than the separator 130 can handle to avoid overflow.

The swarf 110 that is removed from the separator 130 may be directed back onto the conveyor belt 114. Any cutting fluid 112 that is mixed with the swarf can pass through the mesh structure of the conveyor belt 114 and the swarf 110 can be passed by the conveyor belt 114 into the waste bin 116 for disposal or recycling. Fine swarf may pass through the mesh conveyor belt 114, so alternatively the swarf 110 removed from the separator 130 may be directed to a separate collection chamber (drain box) to capture the fine swarf.

Although the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, the skilled person will appreciate that various modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.

For example, although the invention has been described in terms of a CNC lathe, the skilled person will appreciate that the invention is applicable to any kind of machining process. For example, the invention may be applied to cutting, milling, turning or grinding processes or any other machining process known to the skilled person.

Although the invention has been described as providing a separator in combination with a consumable filter medium filtration system, the skilled person will appreciate the separator could be used alone (for example, in a dialysis type filtration system), or in combination with any other filtration system known to the skilled person where it is desired to improve the performance of the filtration system.

Although the separator has been described as having four barriers 150a-d, any number of barriers can be provided as necessary to remove a desired amount of tramp oil from the cutting fluid.

Claims

Claims 1. A system for removing contaminants from cutting fluid, the system comprising: a tank configured to receive swarf and cutting fluid from a machining process; a pump configured to extract cutting fluid contaminated with swarf from the tank; a filtration system configured to remove at least some of the swarf contaminating the cutting fluid before the cutting fluid is reused in the machining process; and a separator arranged in between the pump and the filtration system, wherein the separator comprises a hydrocyclone configured to receive the cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and to separate at least a portion of the swarf from the cutting fluid by vortex separation before the cutting fluid reaches the filtration system.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hydrocyclone directs the swarf towards a drain of the separator and a valve is configured to selectively or periodically remove the swarf via the drain.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the tank comprises a conveyor to transfer swarf from the tank to a waste receptacle and the swarf removed from the separator is deposited on the conveyor.
4. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the cutting fluid is contaminated with tramp oil and the separator is configured to separate the tramp oil from the cutting fluid before the cutting fluid is reused in the machine process wherein the tramp oil is separated from the cutting fluid based on the relative density of the tramp oil and the cutting fluid.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the tramp oil is configured to float on the surface of the cutting fluid and the separator has an outlet adjacent to the surface for removing the tramp oil.
6. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the filtration system comprises a consumable filtration medium to separate the swarf from the cutting fluid, for example, the consumable filtration medium comprises a roll of paper, polyester or viscose.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the consumable filtration medium has a pore size of one of: less than 50 pm; less than 20 pm; less than 15 pm; and less than 10 pm.
8. The system of any preceding claim, wherein the pump is associated with the filtration system.
9. A separator for removing contaminants from cutting fluid, the separator comprising: a hydrocyclone configured to receive cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from a machine process, wherein the hydrocyclone is configured to separate at least a portion of the swarf from the cutting fluid and oil using vortex separation; and a housing forming a body of the hydrocyclone and enclosing a chamber, wherein the hydrocyclone is configured to transfer the cutting fluid and oil into an inlet of the chamber; wherein the chamber comprises an outlet and a plurality of barriers arranged between the inlet and outlet around which the cutting fluid and tramp oil flows, wherein at least a portion of the tramp oil is separated from the cutting fluid as it flows around the barriers by virtue of a difference in the relative density of the tramp oil and cutting fluid.
10. The separator of claim 9, wherein the hydrocyclone receives cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from a pump extracting cutting fluid from a tank collecting swarf and cutting fluid from a machining process, wherein the hydrocyclone is configured to create a vortex for separation of the swarf and cutting fluid based on the pump capabilities.
11. The separator of either of claims 9 or 10, wherein the tramp oil floats to the surface of the cutting fluid and the separator has tramp oil outlets arranged adjacent to where the cutting fluid and tramp oil flows over barriers.
12. The separator of any of claims 9 to 11, further comprising a lamella plate between the hydrocyclone and the barrier.
13. The separator of any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the vortex is configured to direct swarf to a drain and a valve is configured to selectively or periodically remove the swarf via the drain.
14. A system for removing contaminants from cutting fluid, the system comprising the separator according to any of claims 9 to 13.
15. The system of claim 14, further comprising: a tank configured to receive swarf and cutting fluid from a machining process; a pump configured to transfer cutting fluid contaminated with swarf and tramp oil from the tank to the separator for removal of at least some of the swarf and the tramp oil; and wherein the separator has a cutting fluid outlet configured to transfer the cutting fluid back to the tank.