When Valve Research & Manufacturing of Deerfield Beach, FL, purchased a Zebra Snapdragon™ portable oil removal system, they gained three weeks of productivity. Purchased to upgrade the preventative maintenance program of their CNC lathes and mills, the machine removes oil from machine coolant without stopping production. The Snapdragon is made by Zebra Skimmers of Solon, OH.

"The most important factor in choosing a system to clean our coolant was change-out," says Kevin Lacy, manufacturing engineer for Valve Research, a manufacturer of soleniod valves for the aerospace industry. "Everything else the system could do was a bonus."

Lacy wanted a machine that would pay for itself in less than a year. Before the Zebra Snapdragon was introduced to the shop, Valve Research had to change coolant in its 10 CNC machines four times a year. For each change-out the machines were down for four hours. That's about 160 work hours or nearly four work weeks of lost productivity.

The company was using a less sophisticated coolant cleaning system. With the new process coolant is cleaned regularly and changed only one time each year. That saves the company more than $6,000 in lost production time, coolant supplies and used-coolant disposal costs. The bonus is a healthier work environment for machine operators.

"We saw the Zebra Snapdragon and thought we'd give it a shot," says Lacy. "We'd been using Zebra products in the past so I knew the quality of the products was pretty solid." The Snapdragon is rolled on heavy-duty casters from machine to machine. Using quick-connect fittings, it's instantly ready to treat each of the 25 to 50 gallon reservoirs on Valve Research machines. Skimming takes about an hour or less without supervision.

This system's double-diaphragm air pump is superior to centrifugal pumps in its ability to transfer oil and water without mixing the two. A 500-micron stainless steel filter never needs replacing, while the hammerhead floating skimmer needs little space and adapts to fluctuating fluid levels. The Snapdragon's unique design allows the operator to remove pure oil without wasting any coolant. The skimmer digests dirty coolant and tramp oils through its intake hose and collects all unwanted contaminants in the upper part of the holding tank. Clean coolant is returned to the sump from the bottom of the holding tank.

Because the Snapdragon is portable, a single system can service up to 20 different machines, thus eliminating downtime and the need for multiple skimmers. Zebra Skimmers offers a variety of floating and fixed skimming attachments that enable their equipment to accommodate almost any application.

The Zebra Snapdragon is available with a removable 36-inch high, 20-gallon holding tank assembly. This feature simplifies cleaning and guards against contamination, especially in machine shops that use more than one type of metalworking fluid.

"We listened to the needs of our customers," says Chris Littman, general manager of Zebra Skimmers, "and responded with a tank that can be emptied in less than one minute using its convenient siphon capability."

"The Zebra Snapdragon was an affordable choice and it adapts to our needs," says Lacy.