01 / The challenge
Thick oil and mixed debris complicated production.
A manufacturer of large tunnel-boring machines found elevated iron-containing and other particles in its gearbox oil. The problem extended across the way oil was stored, transferred and introduced to the machines during production.
The oil was ISO VG 320, a high-viscosity gearbox lubricant. Warehouse temperatures could fall to approximately 10°C. At that temperature the oil became harder to move through the transfer and filtration equipment, making pump selection part of the contamination-control problem.
The manufacturer needed gearbox oil filtration before use, during transfer and filling, and through assembly and commissioning. A unit that could move between those tasks would fit the production process.
02 / The approach
Match the pump and filtration stages to the oil.
Assess the oil-handling process
Filtertechnik visited the site to review the operating requirements and contamination-control objectives. The design had to work at different locations around the manufacturing facility.
Capture iron debris before fine filtration
A high-capacity magnetic strainer removed iron-containing contamination ahead of the fine filter. This gave the unit a dedicated first stage for ferrous wear debris.
Pump viscous oil through the fine filter
A gearbox-driven progressing-cavity pump, a positive-displacement design for moving viscous fluids, fed the filtration stage. A 3 µm absolute-rated element provided fine-particle filtration.
Make the unit practical to move
The portable arrangement and a 10-metre retractable power cable supported use around the site. The same unit could serve bulk-oil preparation, transfer, filling and commissioning duties.
03 / The documented outcome
One portable system covered several oil-handling stages.
Filtertechnik designed and manufactured the unit for the application. The case reports removal of iron-containing wear debris and improved oil cleanliness through transfer, filling and commissioning.
The practical outcome was a filtration arrangement suited to the manufacturer’s oil and production process. It combined mobility, a pump selected for viscous oil, magnetic separation and fine filtration in one system.
The 3 µm absolute figure specifies the filter element. Oil cleanliness testing establishes whether the oil delivered to a gearbox meets the machine’s cleanliness target.
- Oil movement
- Pump selected for viscous gearbox oil
- Iron-containing debris
- Magnetic separation before the fine filter
- Fine particles
- 3 µm absolute-rated filtration stage
- Site use
- Portable between oil-handling and commissioning tasks
04 / Applying the findings
Include oil handling in the filtration specification.
For a new gearbox or machine awaiting commissioning, define how the oil will reach the equipment. Storage, transfer lines, filling and assembly all belong in the contamination-control plan. Contamination can also return after a refill, as the wind-turbine gearbox cleanup shows. State the required oil cleanliness and decide where samples will confirm it.
Then specify the oil grade, lowest expected temperature, volume to process, required flow, available power and access. Use those conditions when comparing oil-filtration quotations so that pump and filter selection reflects the application. A nominal flow rate alone does not describe how a unit will handle cold, viscous oil.
Where the contamination includes iron debris, magnetic separation can form a first stage before the fine filter, as it did here. The commissioning check remains the condition of the oil delivered to the machine and its suitability for the equipment’s requirements.