Setting new operating standards with plant-based industrial lubricants and metalworking fluids that are safe for people and the environment.
SAFE LUBE industrial lubricants and metalworking fluids provide an alternative for environmentally responsible companies who appreciate and understand the need to use non-toxic, environmentally-safe products. The new SAFE LUBE technology unlocks the inherent benefits of plant-based oils and botanical additives without compromising performance or changing operating procedures. The key advantage of using SAFE LUBE products are improved life cycle maintenance of equipment, parts and surfaces. Generally, SAFE LUBE products have a higher heat tolerance with more stable viscosity and higher flash point. SAFE LUBE products are free of Volatile Organic Carbons (VOCs), readily biodegradable under USEPA 560/6-82-003, and are not reportable under SARA, TSCA or RCRA.
SAFE LUBE products are:
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SAFE LUBE products do not contain:
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Petroleum fractions
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Sulfur
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Chlorine
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Synthetics
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Heavy metals
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Industrial Lubricants
The formulations used for the SAFE LUBE industrial lubricants rely on state-of-the-art botanical additives and vegetable base oils to create safe and effective alternatives to hazardous petroleum-based products. SAFE LUBE products do not contain halogens, synthetics or toxic compounds known to be harmful to people or the environment.
The SAFE LUBE formulations rely on the natural benefits of plants to create industrial lubricants with superior performance. Without changing equipment or procedures, SAFE LUBE products can replace petroleum or synthetic products in virtually any application. SAFE LUBE industrial lubricants rely upon the proven advantages of fatty acid esters mixed with degummed soy or Canola base-oils with zero hydrocarbon additives.
The key advantages of using SAFE LUBE industrial lubricants are its anti-oxidant and anti-wear properties, which extend the life of metals, seals, and gaskets for reduced life cycle maintenance costs. SAFE LUBE products are ideal for any application where leaks or spills may occur in an open environment such as shipping terminals, construction sites, or mining operations.
 Industrial Lubricants:
Metalworking Fluids:
The new SAFE LUBE metalworking fluids represent state-of-the-art botanical technology for all types of metalworking applications without the use of toxic, hazardous chemicals. By using SAFE LUBE metalworking fluids, you create a user-friendly workplace by reducing or eliminating skin and lung irritation. Disposal costs, penalty fees, and fire hazards are dramatically reduced or eliminated by using SAFE LUBE products.
 SAFE LUBE metalworking fluids replace the need to use traditional chlorine, sulfur or other extreme-pressure additives. SAFE LUBE metalworking fluids utilize a unique reaction of 100% botanical components, which provide equal or better performance than extreme-pressure additives. Further, the new metalworking fluids are 100% water-soluble (no emulsifiers) and resolve most cleaning problems. The development of these new botanical additives allows SAFE LUBE to formulate “load carrying” capability into individual products for specific applications while optimizing performance. SAFE LUBE products actually have a longer fluid life with improved tool performance.
SAFE LUBE metalworking fluids can be used for most metal alloys including carbon steel, copper, brass, high alloy stainless, cast iron, aluminum, and all strategic aircraft metals. SAFE LUBE metalworking fluids may be sprayed, wiped, dipped or brushed on and used for most industrial applications.
Metalworking Applications
- Fabricating
- Forming
- Stamping
- Cutting
- Turning
- Milling
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- Bending
- Rolling
- Burnishing
- Punching
- Reaming
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- Sheering
- Drawing
- Sawing
- Extruding
- Grinding
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Metalworking Fluids:
About the Chemistry...
Early lubrication technology was entirely based on straight petroleum oil designs, which served as base stocks for metalworking and metal forming lubricants. Use of animal fats was common to impart "wetting", or surface coating. The E.P. (Extreme Pressure) theory of lubrication applied to all applications and offered performance advantages with both metalworking and metal forming applications.
These same technologies were also utilized in the evolution of petroleum oil in water emulsions. These emulsions could be diluted with water, offering significant price savings. Emulsifier technology advanced to accommodate use of chlorinated paraffins and sulfurized fats and oils into lubricant designs in pursuit of versatile performance. These designs offered both boundary lubrication and extreme pressure performance.
During this evolutionary period of lubricant technology, metal parts produced were commonly cleaned with chlorinated solvent such as 1,1,1-trichlorethane. Their labeling as "ozone depleters" has recently led to regulatory scrutiny of these cleaning solvents and initiated their ultimate demise in industry.
Regulatory restrictions continued to the extent that work-place VOCs, use and disposal of chlorinated solvents, and restrictions on chlorinated paraffins are leading many in the industry to look for alternatives without the regulatory overhead of conventional products.
Design preference may be governed by such factors as raw material availability, environmental regulations, or global market trends. An example of one global market trend is the endorsement of rapeseed-based technology in Germany to improve environmental compatibility of the metalworking fluid. Similarly, there currently prevails in Europe a strong preference for chlorine-free metalworking lubricants to satisfy various waste-disposal and regulatory trends. GEMTEK is committed to approaching this challenge with non-petroleum, non-E.P. product designs that meet individual product application criteria while insuring regulatory stability throughout this decade.
About the Lubricants...
Temperature Stability: SL-Products remain stable at high temperatures and do not exhibit hydrolytic instability which is the tendency to form "drop-out" precipitation. Viscosity is stable at 100° F and 210° F just like petroleum oil products. The RBOT test is run at 250° F and the products have past stability testing at these temperature levels. The SL-Hydraulic Fluids and SL-Gear Lubes remain stable to flash point levels of >500° F.
Shear Resistance: The SL-Hydraulic Fluids and SL-Gear Lubes are shear resistant. This is because they do NOT contain any "viscosity improvers" which are common to petroleum types. Therefore, they contain no high molecular weight or long-chain polymer chemistries which can be susceptible to shear. The SAFE LUBE fluids utilize straight-chain botanicals in the C16 - C18 carbon chain lengths. This design is shear resistant and accommodates a truly biodegradable design.
Oxidative Stability: Oxidation stability is determined via the Rotary Bomb Oxidation Test (ASTM D2272). The SL-Hydraulic Fluids and SL-Gear Lubes utilize the same exact additive package to achieve this oxidation stability and, therefore, yield positive results on this test.
Viscosity: The viscosity of the products are established via precise blending of different botanical additives which exhibit their own unique viscosities and allow viscosity control without utilization of "viscosity-improvers" which are common to petroleum designs. The quality control testing on the botanical raw materials confirm proper blending of viscosity to the desired ISO specifications. Viscosity is maintained throughout normal use due to absence of any shearing susceptibilities.
Barrier Film Formation vs. Extreme Pressure Agents: The SAFE LUBE fluids provide both boundary lubrication and extreme-pressure performance. The latter is achieved by the use of a sulfurized botanical additive. This dual performance design promotes longevity of the SAFE LUBE fluids and does not tend to exhibit additive depletion like petroleum oil designs.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
The SAFE LUBE Hydraulic Fluid was sent to an independent laboratory for performance evaluation:
- SL-Hydraulic 46
- SL-Hydraulic 68 ISO 46 ISO 68
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ISO 46 |
ISO 68 |
| Test: |
ASTM D2266/D4172 4-Ball Wear Test |
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mm @ 20 kg |
0.46 |
0.43 |
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mm @ 40 kg |
0.49 |
0.60 |
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| Test: |
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ASTM D2272 Rotating Bomb Oxidation |
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(Bath Temp = 150ºC) (Pass = <25.4 psi Drop) |
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16 |
Test results indicate that the SL-Hydraulic Fluids passed the standard lubricity performance requirements on the 4-Ball Wear Test. The SL-Hydraulic Fluid 46 provided the most consistent lubricity performance at both test loads. RBOT results showed that both SL-Hydraulic Fluids passed performance requirements for oxidation-resistance.
It should be noted that since the SL-Gear Lubes utilize the reacted botanical additives which enhance load-carrying capability of the lubes, it is reasonable to assume that 4-ball results for the SL-Gear Lubes would likely be as good as or better than the SL-Hydraulic Fluids. Likewise, it is reasonable to assume that the SL-Gear Lubes will exhibit the same good results on the RBOT test as the SL-Hydraulic Fluids because they both utilize the same oxidation-inhibitor at the same level for both classes of products.
About the Metalworking Fluids...
 The SAFE LUBE metalworking and forming products incorporate water-based designs, which contain no petroleum oil, toxic components, or heavy metals, but rely on renewable botanical resources. The most immediate performance challenge with this approach was to discover botanical chemistries, which could replace the traditional use of chlorine, sulfur or other extreme-pressure additives. GEMTEK met this challenge by utilizing a unique reaction of a 100% botanical component, which, once reacted, provided as good or better performance than E.P. agents. Further, these new product designs were 100% water-soluble and resolved most cleaning problem situations. The development of these new botanical additive packages allowed GEMTEK to formulate "load carrying" capabilities into individual products for specific applications while optimizing performance and economics without pollution concerns.
As the name implies, these fluids are used for metal forming or shaping. They are usually very viscous because it has been proven that high viscosity materials, which are very thick, give the best performance for metal forming. These products are often referred to as "draw and stamp compounds". They typically are applied to the metal via spray, roller-coat, flood, or manual application. SAFE LUBE Forming Fluids lay down a thin layer of high film coating, which accommodates the metal forming process.
All metal forming lubricants follow three basic designs:
Straight Oils: Used neat (100%). Water is viewed as a contaminant in straight oil systems.
Soluble Oils: Consist of oil-based concentrates, designed to be diluted with water to form milky emulsions.
SAFE LUBE Fluids: 100% water-based containing no petroleum oil. These are true plant-based chemical solutions.
SL-Grinding Fluid & SL-Cutting Fluids:
Metalworking grinding and cutting share both similarities and differences relevant to performance specifications. The one commonality they share is that the final machining process must yield a quality acceptable part that meets required tolerances. Economies incurred in order to achieve the desired quality ranks high as being of secondary importance.
 Grinding invokes metal-removal machining which usually removes the metal at a very minimal amount per pass. While speed-and-feed rates usually vary with every operation, grinding is usually done at faster speeds because it usually targets specifications for the surface finish of the completed part. At the same time, consideration for the rate of wear of tooling or carbide-inserts can greatly impact economics.
Since every machining process has its own set of variables, the lubricant used must be formulated to compensate for these variables by balancing performance criteria which accommodates the various range of applications. The most important lubricant contributions for grinding are: 1) Heat transfer and 2) Rust protection. Lubricity is minimized because it can interfere with surface finish quality if present at too high levels. As a result, SL-Grinding Fluid emphasizes rust protection and minimizes lubricity in its design. Wetting is also formulated at the proper level to keep metal fines flushed away from the contact point so as not to interfere with the surface finish. Generally, grinding coolants are the least expensive design compared to cutting fluids. This is because high load-carrying chemistry is not necessary for most grinding applications, while the opposite is true for a cutting fluid. If the work-piece being machined is thin-gauge metal stock, then maybe a grinding coolant could handle the job.
But, as a rule, grinding coolants do not make acceptable cutting fluids due to lack of lubricity that allows heat (friction) to build up. This causes premature wear of tooling as well as reduces sump life.
Cutting requires lubricity. Cutting forces usually are much greater than grinding and tend to generate more friction build-up. This characteristic can cause part-welding, build-up of metal fines and even tacky build-up of the lubricant itself on the machine.
Premature tooling wear is more crucial. SL-Cutting Fluids are very potent cutting oils designed to prevent the above-mentioned problems and can handle the most difficult cutting operations. Cutting metal may involve the more non-challenging jobs, such as milling, or the most difficult, such as broaching. Gear hobbing, gun drilling, and many more applications require the high lubricity design of SL-Cutting Fluids in order to maintain quality and economics. Grinding fluids could not be effective for these cutting jobs. However, it is possible that high dilution rates of cutting oils could likely perform normal grinding applications to acceptable tolerances. However, the high dilution rates in this scenario would likely sacrifice rust-protection for parts and machine, dilute too much the inhibitors which are designed to preserve tool life, and may promote rancidity problems.
SL-Grinding Fluid and SL-Cutting Fluids contain a full inhibitor package to achieve compatibility with both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Each product is designed for maximum performance for the application for which they were designed.
Recommended dilutions:
SL-Grinding Fluids:
1:10 for Precision Edge Grinding
1:20 for General Purpose Grinding
1:40 for Light-Duty Grinding
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SL-Cutting Fluids:
1:10 to 1:20 for Broaching
1:20 for Heavy Duty
1:40 for General Purpose and Milling |
SL-Forming Fluids:
Metal-forming requires a lubricant design, which will actually accommodate deformation of the metal. Starting as flat sheets or coil stock, the lubricant must form a barrier between the die and work-piece to allow the metal to “stretch” as desired without breakage, scoring, welding to die or out-of-specified tolerance. A cutting fluid may successfully complete metal-forming if the metal is thin-gauge and graded DQ (Draw-Quality).
SL-Forming Fluids are for heavy-duty metal-forming. It is used at a 1:5 ratio for light-gauge metals and at a 1:1 or straight for extra difficult jobs. Metal-forming lubes must withstand tremendous forces over a wide surface area of metal. For this reason, GEMTEK designed the SL-Forming Fluids to be “super-wetters,” with high botanical content to achieve maximum load-carrying capabilities. Typical metal-forming pressures exerted on metal during formation are usually 500-tons or more. The lubricant film must remain intact and continuous to meet these demands. GEMTEK recommends only SL-Forming Fluids for metal-forming operations.
Recommended dilutions:
SL-Forming Fluids:
1:1 For Heavy-Duty
1:5 for Moderate to Light-Duty
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
SAFE LUBE products are tested by an independent laboratory for performance evaluation:
SL-Cutting Fluid TD:
| Test: |
ASTM D3233A Falex Automatic EP |
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Dilution: |
5.0% |
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Coefficient of Friction: |
0.06 |
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Temperature Before, °F: |
72 |
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Temperature After, °F: |
149 |
The Falex Automatic EP Test was chosen for evaluating the SL-Cutting Fluid TD because it is the most common lubricity test run on these types of industry products. The product was tested at 1:20 (5%) dilution in 8 grain tap water. Test results show that the product yielded an impressive 0.06 Coefficient of Frication value. Heat transfer characteristics during the test duration before and after also showed similar good performance. It should be noted that the SAFE LUBE product is recommended at 1:40 (2.5%) dilution.
SL-Forming Fluid HD:
| Test: |
Horizontal Draw Bead Simulator |
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Dilution: |
Concentrate |
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Hold-Down Pressure: |
1000 Lbs. |
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Metal Type: |
CRS |
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Draw Bead Score (DBS #): |
223 |
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Rating: |
Good |
Horizontal Draw Bead Simulator test results showed acceptable results, however, the test method responds to design criteria which influence viscosity, coating-thickness and presence of petroleum. It should be noted that the SAFE LUBE product is not designed for use in concentrate form as tested. SL-Forming Fluid HD currently enjoys wide market application in the 1:1 to 1:5 dilution range.
To say that all metalworking and metal-forming lubricants are the same is like comparing a bicycle to an automobile. While both may facilitate motion, the complexity of their design differs significantly. Whether grinding, cutting or metal-forming, greatest efficiency requires the proper lubricant for the job. This is why GEMTEK provides the best state-of-the-art range of products available for metalworking applications.
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SL-Tapping Fluid