You pay to have fluid brought into and
removed from the facility. How often and
how much is determined on the size of
your shop and the quality of the fluid
you are using. Here are some tips
to get the most out of your fluid.
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All shops are not the same
Don't think that a fluid used by a friend at
another shop will work just as well at your
shop. Employees, machines, and plant
environment vary from shop to shop, some times
from area to area within a shop. But, a
recommendation goes along way and you can start
by calling your friend's supplier and have them
visit to discuss the issues you are facing.
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Shop on quality not price
Price of the fluid does not necessarily equate
to quality. Make the fluid prove its value.
How do you do this? Test it. Most
fluid suppliers have a trial program if your
willing to prove their product.
What do you look for? Track tool life, sump
life, operator friendliness, foaming, foreign
oil rejection, just to name a few. For
example, if the tool life is the same for the
current product as it is for the new product,
but the new product lasts twice as long in the
sump and is more, divide the drum cost by two
and then compare the new price to the old.
More times than not, you will be saving money
with the new product.
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Be open to testing fluids periodically
Be open to a fluid trial. Technology
changes rapidly and it is important to see what
is out there. Besides, what do you have to
loose? If the trial is successful you have
improved your process, if it isn't then you have
the peace of mind that your using a better
fluid. I recommend setting aside a time
each year to test fluids. As the
information comes in, gather it and then contact
the suppliers a few weeks before you want to run
tests. Set up what criteria you are
looking for, have the supplier agree, and then
share the results with them. This makes
you and them better.
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Types of water based fluids
The type of fluid required by your operation
also has a bearing on how much fluid is used.
A heavier fluid (water soluble oil) will stay
with the chips as they are carried out where a
thinner fluid (synthetic) will drain quickly and
thus require less make up.
Water Soluble Oil - Uses oil along with other
additives as its main make up thus it has the
most oil content in the concentrate than other
water based cutting fluids. Milky, opaque
fluid. Most carry off with chips of all
the fluids except straight oil.
Semi-Synthetic - Uses oil, synthetic additives,
and water in its make up. Translucent
fluid similar to 1% milk. Less carry off
compared to water soluble oil but more than
synthetic.
Synthetic - Uses only synthetic additives and
water as its main make up. No oil content,
synthetic or otherwise. Transparent clear fluid.
Least carry off of all the fluids.
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Contaminants
Water based fluids fail due to bacteria, fungus,
mold, tramp oils, high TDS (total dissolved
solids), foreign fluids such as solvents and
machine cleaning aids.
Under dilution of water based fluids or the
fluid package may allow bacteria, fungus and
mold to grow. Run the fluid at the
recommended concentration so the protection
package in the fluid is adequate, if the problem
continues, don't settle for mediocrity, get a
different fluid. Tramp oils should be
removed because anaerobic bacteria grows between
the surface of the coolant and the bottom of the
tramp oil. The life span of bacteria is
quick and when it dies it gives off a sulfur or
rancid odor. TDS comes from the tap water
or the metal fines dissolving in the fluid.
If the TDS becomes to high it will not allow the
fluid concentrate to stay blended with the water
and thus split. Foreign oils come off of
parts from different areas of the shop or from
the material being worked. The only thing
to do about that is to wash the material before
putting it in the machine center or requesting
from your supplier not to use a rust / corrosion
inhibitor. Solvents are a big no no, as
they will cause a fluid to breakdown very
rapidly. Window cleaner and spray
lubricants are the most common around the shop.
Use cleaners that are compatible with the fluid
being used. Your supplier should have
recommendations.
Oils fail due to an abundance of dirt and fines,
thickening over time, loss of additives,
contamination from foreign fluids such as water,
bar feed oil, way oil, hydraulic oil.
Straight oil doesn't wear out it only gets
dirty. Although, at some point, the
contamination of way, bar feed, and hydraulic
oils may take a toll on cutting performance.
By filtering out the
metal fines and trace water, most oils can be
brought back into specifications for cutting.
Your supplier should be able to analyze the oil,
determine what additives need to be added back
and at what ratio. It is a lot less
expensive adding a five gallon pail of additive
versus hauling away the old oil and buying a new
drum.
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How do you extend the fluid life?
Keep it as clean
as you can for as long as you can.
The most common way to extend water based fluids
is to remove tramp oils and metal fines.
Both these contaminants are breeding grounds for
bacteria, mold and fungus.
Equipment available are disk, belt and rope
skimmers, oil coalescers and centrifuges.
Disk, belt and rope skimmers pull off more
coolant than oil and only remove the oil that is
floating in the area the unit is installed.
Coalescers
and centrifuges use pumps to pull the oil into
the unit and will remove free floating oils even
if they are dispersed in the fluid.
Coalescers
are significantly lower cost than centrifuges
and have similar efficiencies.
Oils require simple bag or
cartridge filtration. If water is
present then a water/oil
coalescer cartridge is required. Talk
with an oil filter manufacturer, such as
EdjeTech Services, to determine what level
of filtration is best for your application.
Most oil suppliers can tell you the minimum
level of filtration their oil can handle before
removing additives.
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I need HELP!
A lot of facilities see the fluids as the low
end of the totem pole and thus often overlooked.
But what happens when something goes wrong?
They blame the coolant. The entire machine
center works as one system and if one thing gets
ignored it will eventually cause a problem.
No way oil, the ways freeze. No spindle
oil, the bearings weld together, no hydraulic
oil the spindle wont raise or lower, no coolant
the tools wear out, bad tooling and the parts
fail inspection.
EdjeTech Services is here to lend a helping
hand with as much or as little information as
you require.
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