4406 CLEANLINESS CODE TO BE

4406 Cleanliness Code To Be

BS ISO 4406 specifies the code to be used in defining. Most hydraulic component manufacturers require a certain ISO cleanliness level for warranty purposes, to ensure proper function and for a long, trouble-free life. The ISO 4406 cleanliness code has gained world-wide acceptance as a means of communicating the cleanliness of a hydraulic fluid.

Its method has been developed to test and measure the average size and quantity of particles within a given volume of fluid, which in this case is one milliliter.The particles are measured by specialized machines using a laser to count the size and number of particles breaking the beam as they flow past. This standard is world-wide, which for the fluid power industry and its plethora of global organizations, is quite astonishing in and of itself.ISO 4406:1999 is the current method for coding the level of contamination by solid particles, as spelled out by the International Organization for Standardization, which is more affectionately known by its acronym, ISO. Although the standard for oil cleanliness has changed over the years, weвЂ™re at a point in history when we all seem to agree on the method to test and express fluid contamination. We refer to the size and quantity of particle contamination when discussing cleanliness, and so that we are all on the same page, standards were created for measuring and expressing this quality. The most critical quality of hydraulic fluid you should consider is that of cleanliness.

Each number represents a range, and in the example, 22 represents between 20,000 and 40,000 of the 4- Ојm particles in just one milliliter of fluid, even though the machine measured 22,340 particles. Both numbers are rare extremes, as even new oil has infinitely more particles than 0, and if you have 2.5 million of any given particle size, youвЂ™re in a whole heap of trouble.If you refer to the attached diagram, you can see the numbers are first expressed in 4 Ојm, with 6 and 14 Ојm following, respectively. The number of particles of each size is expressed as a single number between 0 and 28, where 0 is exactly zero particles, and 28 represents up to 2.5 million particles per ml. This allows for both easy expression and forgiving test results, as no particle counter can accurately measure every single 4-Ојm particle in a milliliter of fluid. To give you an idea of how fine even the largest 14-Ојm particle is, note that it is only just over ВЅ a thousandth of an inch.Each of the defined particle sizes are expressed in a given range, rather than the actual particles measured in the test. The particle sizes are 4, 6 and 14 Ојm, chosen because of their potential to cause damage between moving surfaces separated by full film lubrication, such as the spool and body in a directional control valve.

A piston pump manufacturer would specify at least 19/17/14, for example.So now that youвЂ™re familiar with the ISO cleanliness code, you can monitor and decipher your quarterly oil sample reports (you are sampling your oil quarterly, right?). Because this system is now a worldwide standard, hydraulic manufacturers publish minimum requirements of ISO 4406 cleanliness. This means that an ISO Code of 22/18/13 has quadruple the particles as an ISO Code 20/16/11, so donвЂ™t be misled by small increases in the ISO Code.

Iso 4406 Cleanliness