Swarf

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Swarf

Swarf (or turnings or chips) are shavings and chippings of metal—the debris or waste resulting from metalworking

Metalworking

Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships, bridges and oil refineries to delicate jewellery....
operations. It can usually be recycled

Recycling

Recycling involves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virg...
, and this is the preferred method of disposal due to the environmental concerns

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement centered on a concern for the Conservation movement and improvement of the environment ....
regarding potential contamination with cutting fluid

Cutting fluid

Cutting fluids are various fluids that are used in machining to cool and lubricate the cutting tool. There are various kinds of cutting fluids, which include oils, oil-water emulsions, pastes, gels, and mists....
or tramp oil

Tramp oil

Tramp oil or sump oil is unwanted oil that has mixed with cutting fluid . It is generated as a byproduct during metalworking operations....
.

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Encyclopedia

Swarf (or turnings or chips) are shavings and chippings of metal—the debris or waste resulting from metalworking

Metalworking

Recycling

Environmentalism

Cutting fluid

Tramp oil

Tramp oil or sump oil is unwanted oil that has mixed with cutting fluid . It is generated as a byproduct during metalworking operations....
. The ideal way to remove these liquids is by the use of a centrifuge

Centrifuge

A centrifuge is a piece of equipment, generally driven by a motor, that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis....
which will separate the fluids from the metal, allowing both to be reclaimed and prepared for further treatment.

The chips can be extremely sharp, and this creates a safety problem, as they can cause severe injuries if not handled correctly. Depending on the composition of the material, it can persist in the environment for a long time before degrading. This, combined with the small size of some chips (e.g. those of brass

Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
or bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other chemical element such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon....
), allows them to disperse widely by piggy-backing on soft materials and also to penetrate the skin as deep splinters.

Disposing of swarf is a tedious but necessary task. For ease of transport and handling, swarf may be compressed into bricks, which greatly reduces associated problems with storing and cost; it also improves material handling for all concerned with its reclamation and recycling.

Optimum cutting efficiencies often generate continuous, spring-like, swarf. This is hard to deal with as it is bulky and can clog the nozzle of a shop-vac. Clean-up and disposal of this continuous-cutting swarf is made simpler by using a cutting tool with a chip-breaker. This results in denser, more manageable waste.

Swarf may also be an archaic term for waste oil or grease, see swarfega

Swarfega

Swarfega is a brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner made by Deb Limited, a United Kingdom company based in Belper, Derbyshire, and is used in engineering and other oily, dirty, manual trades, such as printing....
.