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Ford works

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses ..." (Henry Ford). The first car to be produced in the Ford works in Cologne was the Model A. (Photo: Ford Cologne)

Only stainless steel can withstand aggressive cooling lubricants

Every day, seventeen casting machines in the Ford works in Cologne, Germany, produce hundreds of gearbox casings and other aluminium components. Previously, the emulsion required for cooling and lubrication was supplied through a 2.5 kilometre ring system made of galvanised steel piping. However, the galvanised steel suffered steady corrosion on account of the aggressive components of the cooling lubricant. At first, the damage could be contained, but in the end leaks needing attention were occurring up to ten times a month. That made neither operational nor economic sense: A new piping system made of more robust material had to come.

Stress testing in Viega's laboratory

There were already several piping systems supplied by Viega in use in various production facilities at the Ford works in Cologne. Their good track record meant that the 14 members of the maintenance team decided to take advantage of Viega's competence for this task as well. To start with, all metal pipe materials were examined in Viega's Attendorn laboratory to test their capacity to resist the aggressive cooling lubricant. In exhaustive test series over a period of three months, the Viega technicians investigated the interrelationships between the cooling lubricant, the various materials and differing pressures and temperatures.

And the winner was: Sanpress Inox

Not a single non-ferrous metal fulfilled the stringent requirements – pipes of these materials would indeed be destroyed by the emulsion after just a few months. The final result of the laboratory research: Only Sanpress Inox, the pipe made of corrosion-free chrome-nickel stainless steel, fulfilled all of Ford's quality requirements. Also, thanks to the press connecting technology, Sanpress Inox pipes are well able to cope with any peak pressures that can occur in industrial scenarios. Another benefit of this material can be seen in the fact that stainless steel pipes are subject to much lower degrees of deposition.

To make absolutely sure that the practice agreed with the theory, the experts cut out a piece of the pipe six weeks after it had been installed in Cologne. It still looked brand new, and the operational practice confirmed Viega's test results completely.  

Object Ford works
Location Cologne, Germany
Year 2006
Object Type Renovation
Area of use Industry
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