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Month: May 2026

Coolant mist extraction: what the HSE audit will look for in 2026

Posted on by Codeller

The workplace exposure limit for MWF mist is still 1 mg/m³. That has not moved. What has moved is what an HSE inspector will now expect to see on the wall next to the machine.

What's different in 2026

  • LEV thorough examination reports every 14 months, not “annually”. Inspectors are pulling dates now and calculating gaps.
  • Face-fit test records for anyone still relying on RPE, refreshed every two years or after any facial change (weight, dental work, beard).
  • Written scheme of examination for the fluid itself, not just the extractor. That is new for a lot of shops.

Practical fixes

If you inherit a cell with no paperwork, the fastest way to a compliant position is:

  1. Book an LEV test through a P601-competent tester. Two-week lead time is typical.
  2. Move the LEV logbook out of the office drawer and onto the machine. Inspectors want it at the point of use.
  3. Sign off a fluid-management written scheme. A one-pager is fine as long as it names who is doing what, and how often.

The audits we have supported in the last twelve months have all gone well when the paperwork was on the wall, and badly when it was in a file the operator could not find. That is worth more than any spec sheet.

Case study: bringing a 15-year-old YLM back into cycle time spec

Posted on by Codeller

The customer bought this YLM new. It had been on continuous shift work for 15 years cutting mid-run production parts. Nothing had failed. The problem was subtler: cycle time on the reference part had crept from 3:12 to 3:55 over three years and management wanted to know why.

What we found

  • Rapid rates on X and Y were down to 32 m/min from the rated 40. Servo tune had drifted with age.
  • The tool magazine was firing slower than spec. Air pressure at the ATC was at 4.9 bar, not the required 6.
  • Spindle warm-up was taking 40% longer to hit thermal equilibrium. Cooler had a slow leak.

What we did

No parts were failing, so nothing needed replacing outright. The job was tuning:

  1. Rebalanced the servo loops on X, Y and Z. Restored rapids to spec without going near the mechanical side.
  2. Replaced the ATC solenoid and repaired the air supply line. ATC time down from 4.1 s to 2.6 s per tool.
  3. Recharged the spindle cooler and replaced the flow switch. Warm-up back to under 20 minutes.

Result

Cycle time on the reference part came back to 3:16, four seconds off the day-one figure. On a run of 800 parts a shift, that is 27 minutes of recovered production per shift. Two shifts a day, 240 shifts a year: 108 hours of extra spindle time.