FIELD OF APPLICATION – AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

The automotive industry includes press shops and body shops, paint shops, machining of engines and gearboxes, plastic injection moulding plants, tyre production, foundries and, more recently, battery production for electric vehicles. All these operations share a single enemy: metal contamination, which causes paint defects, damaged tools and short circuits of battery cells.

Did you know that…? In the cathode materials of lithium batteries, the content of magnetic impurities is monitored at the level of parts per billion – a common working limit is less than 50 ppb. A single iron microparticle can deposit on the anode as a dendrite, puncture the cell separator and cause an internal short circuit.

Introducing a magnetic separator into the production process in the automotive industry helps to significantly improve the quality of the final product, protect machinery and reduce the number of quality complaints. This has a positive impact on the profitability and efficiency of production.

WHERE IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY WILL YOU FIND OUR MAGNETIC SEPARATORS?

Paint shops – car body pretreatment and cataphoresis (KTL)

Weld balls from the body shop, grinding dust and abrasion from conveyors circulate in the degreasing, phosphating, rinsing and cataphoretic painting (KTL/e-coat) baths. Iron adheres to the car body and creates a crater or grain in the paint – followed by sanding and repainting. Barrier and centrifuge filters clog quickly with fine iron and require shutdowns.

The following equipment is most commonly used in paint shops:

The MSP-AC flow-through separator with automatic cleaning without interrupting operation is installed in the circulation circuits of individual baths (bypass or main branch) – ideal for a 24/7 painting line with connection to its control system.

The MVS coolant separators work as a second separation stage – or as separation of the waste material from the MSP-AC magnetic filter. The captured metal impurities, together with the rinsing medium, are further cleaned in a separation vessel. As a result, only the metal contaminants are captured and the rinsing liquid can be reused. The costs of ecological disposal of contaminants are eliminated.

Advantages of the MSP-AC flow-through separators:

• Automatic cleaning without stopping the line – suitable for continuous paint shop operation
• Capture of ferromagnetic particles from 1 µm, no consumable filters
• Integration into the control system of an automated line

Sheet metal press shops and body shops

Oiled sheet metal blanks stick together in stacks – the stacker or robot then picks up two sheets at once and double blanking destroys a pressing tool worth millions. The second challenge is the continuous removal of oily stampings and offcuts from the presses.

The following equipment is most commonly used in press shops:

The MC magnetic sheet separator is mounted on the sides of the stack at the press or robotic stacker: it induces the same polarity in adjacent sheets, the sheets repel each other and "fan out", so only the top piece is picked up. Ferrite models handle sheets up to 3 mm and stacks up to 530 mm high; for thicker and oiled sheets we supply a neodymium version. In our case study, the MC-F 330 sheet separator separates polished sheets of 0.3–0.8 mm in a fully automated operation with a vacuum manipulator.

Stampings and waste from the press are removed by the MD magnetic conveyor – it holds oily parts with a magnetic field, so they do not slip even on a steep incline. In our installation, a system of a straight and an angled conveyor transports stampings at a press rate of 45–60 pcs/min, is mobile between presses and collects the emulsion, which it returns to the press. Handling of sheet bundles and stampings is speeded up by lifting magnets.

Double blanking = a destroyed pressing tool and a stopped line!

Machining of engines, gearboxes and chassis parts

CNC machining of engine blocks, cylinder heads and gearboxes generates fine chip and grinding abrasion in cooling emulsions and cutting oils. This destroys pumps and nozzles, shortens tool life and reduces machining quality.

The following equipment is most commonly used in machining:

The MVS coolant separator is installed at the coolant tank of the machine tool and continuously, without operator intervention, discharges the captured particles into a collection container; flow-through separators belong in the circuits of central fluid management systems.

MSP-S ANCISTRUS is a mobile flow-through magnetic filter with neodymium magnets (16,000 G on the core), a pump and quick couplings, designed to capture ferromagnetic particles from as little as 1 micron from engineering oils and emulsions. You simply connect it to the machine or its tank and clean the liquid. It extends the service life of cutting, grinding and cooling fluids when machining components, thereby reducing the costs of their purchase and ecological disposal, improves the surface of machined parts and extends tool life – all without production downtime, as the circuits can also be cleaned outside operating hours.

Results from practice: emulsion service life extended by 38 % and internally cooled drills by 72 % – return on investment within months.

Plastic injection moulding plants for automotive

Bumpers, interior panels and headlights are injection moulded from granulates and recyclates, where every metal particle means a damaged mould or a defective part. A hidden risk is also posed by the mould tempering circuits, which get clogged with rust.

The following equipment is most commonly used in injection moulding plants:

The TM separators (neodymium, 9,000 G on the core) and SM star-shaped magnets are inserted directly into the hoppers of injection moulding machines; the MSU mobile unit (magnet + free-fall detector) serves several machines.

Flow-through magnetic filters (e.g. MSP-MC EKO 1" N in a version up to 150 °C) protect the tempering circuit of injection moulds from rust, which used to wear out rings and pistons.

You will find the complete solution for plastics on the Plastics and Rubber Industry page.

Foundries for automotive

Engine blocks, cylinder heads and gearbox housings are cast in moulding sands that are regenerated in a closed circuit – iron fragments from knock-out would destroy the mills and the quality of new moulds.

The following equipment is most commonly used in foundries:

The drums are installed on the sand return conveyors behind the knock-out grid, the DND-AC plates above the belts. For abrasive materials we supply drums with a manganese steel shell – in our study from an aluminium foundry, since the installation of the MB 406 F 800 the customer has recorded no wear-through of the shell.

You will find complete foundry applications on the Engineering and Foundry Industry page.

Plant maintenance and waste management

Chips, weld balls and wire fragments on the floors of halls and logistics areas mean punctured forklift tyres and a safety risk; press shops also produce tonnes of saleable sheet metal waste every day.

The following equipment is most commonly used for maintenance and waste management:

Hanging sweepers – manual, in a forklift version or towed behind a vehicle – clean halls and outdoor areas. Magnetic sweepers capture all metal impurities, keeping outdoor roads and car parks clean and safe. Prevent unnecessary tyre punctures!

The plant's scrap management (containers with cut-outs and offcuts) is handled by the EMG-SM scrap electromagnet on a crane or manipulator; the sorted waste feeds into recycling and waste processing.