MANITOU GROUP ensures the cleanliness and reliability of its products with a depollution bench
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Based at Ancenis, the group’s headquarters is also a production site for telehandlers used for work at medium and great heights. The group has 11 production sites throughout the world, including 5 in France (Ancenis, Candé, 2 sites at Beaupréau, and Laillé).
MANITOU Group, a world leader in rough-terrain handling, invents, produces, distributes and services material for construction, agriculture and industries.
The Group’s product ranges include: rough terrain fixed, rotating and construction telehandlers, rough terrain, semi-industrial and industrial forklift trucks, compact loaders (skid-steers) on wheels and on tracks, articulated loaders, backhoe loaders, mobile elevated work platforms, truck mounted forklifts, warehousing equipment and accessories.
Thanks to its 3 iconic brands, Manitou, Gehl and Mustang by Manitou, and its network of 1,500 dealers worldwide, the group offers the best solutions by creating optimum value for its customers.
Avec un siège social à Ancenis en France, le groupe enregistre un chiffre d’affaires en 2017 de 1,6 milliards d’euros dans 140 pays, et emploie 4 400 collaborateurs résolument orientés vers la satisfaction client.
THE PROBLEM
Manitou used a filling-depollution bench for the cleanliness of the Boom hydraulic systems. The purpose of this filling and test bench is to reproduce the telescopic hydraulic power in order to extend the boom, perform tests and clean the hydraulic systems.
The bench in question was becoming obsolete with an under-capacity in relation to the production rates due to strong growth. It would risk slowing down the new production rate and become a “bottleneck”.
Between April and June 2018, the production of booms increased by 22 and 33% depending on the types of products.
The problem was complex for both the level of cleanliness and the management of hydraulic oil levels.
Indeed, some of the oil returns from the boom after tests, but the remaining oil stays in the boom. In addition, there is complement from an auxiliary line which brings oil from the plant entry (start of the process to put oil in the assembly).


THE ID SYSTEM FLUID SOLUTION

Monitoring supervised by MANITOU GROUP

Manitou, who has been working with ID System Fluid for several years on the cleanliness of hydraulic fluids, tasked them to retrofit this filling and depollution bench.
ID System Fluid, based on its 10 years of experience and its teams coming from different backgrounds, provided a solution guaranteeing the level of cleanliness required for these new production rates which can still absorb a 25% rise.
A particle counter continuously controls the level of cleanliness. This counter is guaranteed by a succession of filtration stages aiming to distribute the contamination by size and quantity in order to minimise operating costs but also ensure compliance with the ISO 4406 code (standard validating the cleanliness of hydraulic systems).
ID System Fluid proposed tanks with different capacities to simplify the process. High performance HY-PRO filters were installed as well as more economical filters to trap the coarse pollution. Everything is monitored by Manitou who has taken the responsibility.
The secondary tank in which the Boom test flows return recovers the pollution due to the assembling of parts, the production of hoses and pipes and that due to the manufacturing process and the routing of the different components. Ce réservoir d’une capacité de 800 litres est maintenu en propreté au code 18/16/13.
RESULTS
The main tank, with a 1,200 litre capacity, usually reaches values close to ISO 16/14/10 guaranteeing an exceptional level of cleanliness for the “Boom” equipment, which results in a wear and damage free operation for many years.
Depending on the amount of solid contamination found in the boom hydraulic systems, one boom comes out clean every 2 minutes of treatment, with a level of cleanliness that complies with ISO 18/16/13 at least.
MANITOU garantit ainsi à ses clients des engins présentant des niveaux de propreté en adéquation avec les composants hydrauliques.

Écran digital de visualisaton du code pollution indiquant à un moment donné la valeur en cours de traitement.

Réservoir principal de capacité 1200 Litres où l’huile est amenée aux flèches via 2 pompes de puissance en classe de propreté.

Secondary tank with a 800 litre capacity where oil is dialysed continuously. It is the return tank for Boom tests.