The EPS Surface Ends The Problems of Oil On Steel
THE PROBLEMS OF OIL ON STEEL
Health & Safety Problems
- toxic fumes from welding through oil
- skin irritation from exposure to the oil
- accidents from oiled sheets slipping
out of workers' hands
- inferior welds from welding through oil
- oil fogs the laser lens and plugs filters
- oil on steel degrades laser or plasma
performance, which slows cutting speed
- destacker jams from sheets sticking
- replacing oily gloves 2 - 3 times a day
- cleaning rollers, belts, conveyors to
remove grime that comes with P&O
- oil gums tools, work holding, controls
- more material prep to remove oil & dirt
- more frequent wipedowns/cleanups or
else grimy work areas and machines
- multi-stage paint prep needed to
completely remove oil before painting - high solvents inventory - high exposures
- paint defects (e.g.'fish eye') from oil
contamination of rinse solution
Oil on your flat rolled steel is accepted as a 'necessary evil' to prevent rust. You see the oil. You see the problems it creates, but you may not realize all of its costs.
EPS is functionally interchangeable with HRPO, but can be ordered dry – no oil or other protective coating – because EPS resists rusting when stored in a non-condensing environment.
EPS' oil-free surface solves the problems listed here
to lower manufacturers' cost of handling, fabricating and painting sheet steel.
The absence of oil also helps coil finishing processes, like galvanizing, because the acid bath to strip off HRPO's oil isn't needed when using EPS.
EPS' Oil-Free Surface Boosts Laser Cutting Speed
It's a fact.: Oil on the surface of sheet steel limits laser cutting speeds. So how much can EPS' oil-free surface improve laser performance? In one controlled test, sheets of 14 gauge EPS with no oil lasered up to 62% faster than the benchmark top speed for HRPO. Sheets of EPS with an oil film beat the HRPO benchmark by 37%. Note that as the sheet thickness increases, the oil-free speed advantage lessens. Get full details of the test.
In addition to the speed increase, note that burning through oil generates more 'laser fumes' which can settle out on laser optics and foul the filters of the fume extraction systems quicker – both items that increase the frequency of maintenance tasks.
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