Across the industrial sector, we work with businesses to overcome challenges and develop solutions to new problems. Here’s how we help make it happen.
Castrol has been providing gear oils to the wind sector since the early ‘80s, and has played a crucial role in helping it to become the $94.5bn market it is today. And the key to that success has been a stringent focus on research, development, and becoming fully immersed in the wind industry.
The renewables market is only going to grow as companies and countries move away from fossil fuels, and the speed of that growth will owe a lot to wringing efficiencies out of renewable technologies wherever possible.
That’s where Castrol comes in.
Castrol is passionate about harnessing its relationships with customers, distributors, employees, investors and original equipment manufacturers to figure out the wind sector’s key challenges so that we can come up with the most viable and effective solutions.
Castrol’s research into gear oils revolves around the following core aims:
With the industry continually evolving, it is essential that Castrol designs products that are not only capable of delivering optimal performance today, but can increase the effectiveness of wind technologies going forward.
Much of Castrol’s research in this area has been to understand the value of Optigear Synthetic X, and to discover exactly how it benefits wind turbine operators.
Through the use of a highly accelerated life test (HALT), which can accurately predict a product’s lifespan and its long-term performance levels, it was discovered that Optigear Synthetic X could improve turbine performance by as much as 1% when compared to the nearest competitor.
The true value of any product or solution can only be determined when put into a real-life scenario. By working with a large customer, it was quickly established that by using Optigear Synthetic X, wind turbine operators could see savings of as much as $3,700 per year, per turbine.
As part of Castrol’s dedication to taking a more environmentally-conscious approach to all aspects of its operations, all gear oils are now carbon neutral.
The green revolution is going to continue in the years and decades to come, and Castrol is dedicated to being at the centre of the global shift towards greener, more renewable energy production.
To ensure safety and quality of parts, a Major US Aerospace manufacturer has stringent requirements to approve coolants for manufacturing parts that go in to their airplanes. Gaining approval takes the sponsorship of a Tier 1 part supplier to prove out the coolant's technology and performance.
So Castrol and Fort Walton teamed up to run trials and receive the OEM approval for Hysol SL 45 XBB. The product met the tough standards and received OEM approval.
FORT WALTON
Fort walton machining case study
A next-generation metalworking fluid created specifically for the aerospace industry and approved by major manufacturers. This soluble cutting fluid is designed for grinding, milling, turning, drilling, reaming, tapping and broaching a range of aluminium and titanium alloys, and is suitable for machining ferrous alloys.
Upon implementing Hysol SL 45 XBB, this customer observed a 60-80% increase in equipment life, less emulsification all without using chloride and biocide.