Date: Jul 08, 2011 Source: Environmental Protection Agency (
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Cutting fluids used during the machining process can pose risks to human health and the environment. Creare, Inc., has created the Indirect Cooling System (ICS), which is a low-cost system that indirectly cools the cutting tool without the use of cutting fluids. Creare's ICS prevents the environmental and occupational health problems caused by conventional cutting fluids and reduces the cost of the process compared to both dry cutting and jet cooling with a synthetic coolant. ICS increases tool life by up to 700 percent and decreases part production costs while improving final part quality. The ICS cools the cutting tool indirectly using an inert working fluid. This provides several additional environmental and cost benefits, including zero toxic emissions. The system produces only inert gas that can be vented easily into the environment without further treatment, and the gas is produced at a flow rate 250 times lower than with conventional direct cooling. Additional environmental benefits include reduced energy usage, ability to reuse waste materials, and reduced generation of wastewater. Creare has developed its ICS for lathe turning (EPA, Army) and milling (Navy) and has commercialized its approach by licensing the technology to MAG IAS, a world leader in metal-cutting machine tools and automated composites equipment for the aerospace industry. To date, the firm can trace more than $670 million of revenues at Creare, the firm's spin-offs, and technology licensees to commercialization of Creare SBIR projects.
