Chip Management Advantages
Financial Advantages
Dynamic Chip Management processing provides substantial savings frequently involving a rapid ROI. Inter-Source’s ongoing research and patents have maximized the financial return our systems can provide. Areas of savings include:
Fluid Recovery
A client recently completed an analysis of oil consumption at their facility to determine the impact of Inter-Source chip management investment. The results:
- 2005: Purchased 16,000 gallons of cutting oil
- 2006: Inter-Source 30″ wringer system installed mid-April, only 8,500 gallons of cutting oil required for the year … AND two screw machines were added during this time
- 2007: Trending toward only 6,500 gallons of cutting oil
Reclaiming fluids = Reclaiming dollars
- Money saved by slashing oil purchases by over 60% annually
- Money saved by annually reducing the labor required to handle the processed chips and oil by one full time person
- With the Inter-Source system, reduced the amount of oil sent into the environment by approximately 9,500 gallons
- Significantly lowered the possibility of fines from collateral environmental contamination had a spill occurred
Inter-Source systems recover at least 98% of oils and coolants, guaranteed. More frequently though, the retained moisture content of these expensive fluids falls to less than 1% – dramatic oil and coolant savings. By integrating Inter-Source filtration, the recovered fluids can be returned for immediate use, providing savings from reduced fluid inventory and handling.
Scrap Value
Probably the most remarkable financial benefit of Inter-Source Dynamic Chip Management is in the transformation of scrap into highly demanded commodities.
When scrap exits a machining center, it is a mixture of saturated, multi-sized and multi-shaped chips, and larger solids such as bar ends, parts and tooling.
It is important to separate these solids from other materials, as they command a higher price upon resale. Inter-Source engineers a variety of equipment to accomplish this separation.
Inter-Source components can then reduce chips to a uniform size and extract virtually all fluids. The result is recovered fluids and the most recognized and profitable commodity of chip management–clean, consistently sized, dry chips.
These chips command a substantial resale premium, for two reasons. First, these chips are more marketable as they may be sold to any dealer, not just those with the capability and capacity to dry and size them.
The second reason for their increased profitability? These chips receive a higher price in the competitive dry chip market because of the quality remelt they provide. While the premium varies by market conditions and chip composition, aluminum, for example, often secures double the price.
Some secondary smelters even help pay for equipment to realize the benefit of Inter-Source Dynamic Chip Management.
Due to the competitive world market for chips, many manufacturers now retain chips for internal reuse. Inter-Source innovations for chip storage and staging make this approach more practical and controllable.
This scrap revenue, when coupled with the considerable savings from oil and coolant conservation, provides ample justification for system purchase–even under very aggressive payback requirements.
Labor Savings
Heavy, wet chips require substantial labor for transport, handling, and housekeeping. Inter-Source processing yields dry, manageable chips, greatly reducing labor efforts. If chip processing is fully automated, no labor is needed from the chips’ point of generation to the final destination of all components.
While the degree of automated chip processing will vary by your requirements, the benefits remain consistent. Your Inter-Source investment will provide labor savings and the opportunity to reassign every company’s most important asset–people–to less menial work.
Shipping Savings
A typical 40,000-pound load of wet chips contains about 8,000 pounds of fluid for which you pay shipping costs, even though no value is received. If chips are first dried, profit is received on the entire load.
A second savings results from efficiency. Inter-Source processing reduces chips to a uniform, consistent size, maximizing the weight ratio of each load and allowing significantly more chips to be transported in fewer shipments.
Minimized Environmental Liability
Oil and coolant recovery is just one environmental advantage of Inter-Source chip management. A second advantage is minimizing environmental risk. This advantage is less tangible but certainly more significant, especially to companies striving for ISO 14000 compliance.
This advantage results from the clean and dry chips that may be safely handled and transported without undue concern for collateral damage. The benefit of eliminating this liability must not be undervalued.
Improved Housekeeping & Safety
Automatic handling and transport, as well as Inter-Source’s focus on capture and containment, eliminate typical housekeeping issues. This promotes facility cleanliness, reducing those associated costs and greatly increasing safety.
Compliance Advantages
Responsibly removing fluids from machining waste provides numerous benefits, including compliance with many local, state and federal mandates.
Chip management also helps companies achieve and comply with ISO 14000, an international standard governing environmentally responsible manufacturing.
Inter-Source has worked with numerous clients for whom environmental compliance has been their primary motivation for Inter-Source chip processing. For example, Boeing initially turned to Inter-Source in response to environmental pressures. The solution to their problem did more than resolve the issue of hauling hazardous waste. Inter-Source processing turned their machining waste into a highly valued commodity.
The following is an overview of some of the programs and initiatives that may be applicable to any machining facility. Regulations and interpretations vary by governmental body. Inter-Source recommends you work with the appropriate authorities to determine the requirements for proper management of your machining waste and then work with Inter-Source to make that process profitable.
Federal Regulations
Under Title 40 CFR Part 261 (Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste) and 279 (Used Oil Regulations), the EPA has established regulations governing the generation and disposal of hazardous waste. Since most substances cannot be classified as “hazardous waste” until they are ready for disposal, the best way to avoid costly penalties for regulatory non-compliance is to reduce, reuse, and recycle–instead of dispose. Monetary penalties increase with the amount of waste generated, as does the challenge of tracking and paperwork to prove compliance.
Regulations vary, but the EPA requires that state and local penalties be as strong if not stronger than those at the federal level. The EPA is looking at assigning additional fines and enforcing payment of all non-compliance violations. They will continue to increase the penalties for repeat offenders and assess the monetary fines based on individual companies’ generation of waste products.
ISO 14000
ISO 14000 is a series of voluntary environmental management standards and guidelines established to ensure consistency of environmental protection, while promoting growth of international trade and commerce. These standards simplify registration and labeling, create a framework for evaluating environmental programs, and offer guidelines to secure environmental management excellence worldwide.
ISO 14000 encourages commitment to the protection of the earth. When properly implemented, it can produce an increase in company performance through employee training and awareness with regard to policies of environmental care.
ISO 14000 is voluntary but can be valuable in acquiring business loans, lowering insurance rates, and creating customer/supplier relationships. Many major companies, especially those working in a global economy, require ISO 14000 certification from their suppliers.
Inter-Source & Environmental Responsibility
Inter-Source chip management embraces environmental responsibility in several ways:
Metal Reuse & Recycling: Use of new metals is reduced because automated chip management allows for their reclamation and recycling. Secondary smelters pay top dollar for chips from Inter-Source systems – they are already dry, consistently-sized, and easier to melt than pucked or pelletized machining waste.
Fluid Reduction & Recycling: Machining fluids are reclaimed through Inter-Source chip management. Further filtration allows for significant reduction in the use of new fluids. For example, most Inter-Source customers report reductions in make-up oil of at least 75%.
Reduced Transport: Transport of chips for recycling is more efficient after Inter-Source processing. The clean, consistently sized chips are easily handled and efficiently fill transport containers.
Safe Transport: Inter-Source processing removes 98% of fluids from the chips – guaranteed. This has resulted in Inter-Source-processed chips being classified as a non-hazardous waste, safe for transport.
“Good Neighbor”, “Earth Friendly”: Chip management exhibits environmental responsibility, and is welcomed by governmental agencies, city planners, etc. Political and marketing advantages may be gained by advertising such environmental responsibility.