For a cutting fluid, life is hard. Apart from the obvious stress and general wear of the actual cutting process, it’s exposed to the atmosphere, the machinery and workpieces, even the staff themselves, so it’s no surprise that it gets contaminated and infected.
It’s also prone to evaporation, and spills everywhere from the machines, the tools and the material being worked on. Even if you could keep it perfectly sterile (which you couldn’t even hope to do), it would still be lost through various effects of the process. It’s simply never going to last forever, it’s always going to be a consumable product.
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Why bother looking after it?
The simple answer to this is money.
A well-suited cutting fluid can dramatically reduce your workshop costs, even if it’s not the cheapest option (in fact, often because it’s NOT the cheapest option).
It makes sense to look after your investment to get the maximum ROI from it. The costs of keeping it in good condition are a fraction of the savings you could make by extending its working life and maximising your tool life, productivity and quality.
How much effort does it take?
Probably less than you think.
You may be surprised to learn how little you need to do to greatly extend the sump life of your cutting fluid. Simple monitoring of its acidity can allow you to treat infections BEFORE you need to empty your sump and regular checks on the dilution ratio will ensure you can keep the concentration optimised for performance and protection at all times.
Our recommendations
These simple steps are what we consider the ‘must have’ monitoring and maintenance points to maximise you cutting fluid’s ROI:
- Test and record the pH level of your water supply each time you mix a batch of cutting fluid.
- Have the bacterial load of your water supply tested from time to time, particularly if your cutting fluid is regularly getting infected.
- Take regular pH and refractometer readings of the sump’s cutting fluid, weekly for general users and more frequently for those who consider cutting fluid a critical part of their production process.
- Treat your sump with biocides if the acidity starts to rise (pH reading lowers).
- Ensure your dilution ratio is correct by topping up at the appropriate correction value to re-establish the required concentration.
- Avoid allowing the system to stay stagnant, especially in warmer weather.
- Remove tramp oil regularly.
- Minimise contamination of the cutting fluid.
It's also important to make sure you're using the right cutting fluid formulation for your particular needs, so get a coolant specialist to check out your water supply, work environment and the type of work you'll be doing so that they can recommend the best match for you. For a brief overview of what & how formulations differ, see our article HERE.
If you are having trouble getting acceptable sump life and performance from your cutting fluid, speak to us today for advice.
