We are keen to help NZ cutting fluid users gain a better understanding of how to choose, use and maintain their cutting fluids, with the intended result that they SPEND LESS OVERALL on their tooling and cooling because they make BETTER CHOICES when selecting, purchasing and using their tools and fluids.
How do we do this?
We offer a zero impact test & analysis of customers’ cutting fluids with a follow-up report on our findings, usually with a no obligation recommendation of what they should do to get better ROI from their coolant spend.
What’s involved?
Typically, it starts with a conversation around more general topics, such as issues with tool life, or finish quality, or it could be a question about the coolant itself – “why does it always smell so bad?”, for example.
If we suspect that your coolant is at the heart of your problem (and this is the case much more often than you might think) we’ll arrange a convenient time to come and see how you’re selecting and using your cutting fluid. We don’t need to distract or interrupt any of your staff, we’ll take some samples of your mixture and your water supply and do a bit of observation, that’s about it. We’ll then analyse the samples, some tests can be carried out there and then but some others may require more time or further processing back at our premises.
The end result will be a brief report on the findings and (if warranted) recommendations on how to fix and avoid the problems found.
All of this is at no cost to you, with absolutely no obligation to buy anything from us. Of course, we want you to get the best out of your spend on coolants and cutting fluids, because we want all our customers to be successful, growing businesses, but you can completely ignore any recommendations if you decide that’s best for you, we’re not going to pressure you into anything.
Why is our advice better than other suppliers?
Most NZ coolant suppliers are either resellers (not specialists) or coolant companies (dedicated specialists) but at Wolfmach, we occupy a different space in the coolant landscape, because we don’t focus on supplying a product, we look at providing solutions to customer problems. We’ve been providing quality tooling to customers for decades, we’re the best-know bandsaw blade supplier in NZ, we supply pretty well anything that is used to remove metal in the engineering field and we only sell products that we believe will provide a benefit to the customer. Now that might sound a lot like the kind of thing marketers love to say in brochures and catalogues, and of course to some degree it is, but it’s also true, and it's what makes Wolfmach different. We know our industry at a much deeper level than any reseller could hope to reach – after all, we’re carrying out many of the same processes in our own workshop, too. And, of course, the oil company reps are all very knowledgeable about their product range but they don’t tend to be users of their products as well.
It might be a bold statement to make, but we don’t think any other NZ coolant supplier can match our unique combination of product expertise, customer understanding and industry experience and the more we talk to customers about their fluid-related costs, the more we stand by that statement. And the more we save them money.
What have we discovered?
Our experience has been quite varied and there is no ‘standard’ situation that we encounter when talking to customers about their cutting fluid, every customer is unique in some way, so knowledge and experience are critical factors in being able to help find solutions. But we can say that there are certain probabilities, things that we know we are more likely to find when we test a customer’s coolant. The most common issues are down to:
Microbial infection, often at levels where they are damaging but not obvious.
It’s inevitable that microbial contamination of circulating cutting fluids will happen. The fluid touches everything from the workpiece to your workers’ skin and the fluid itself is often full of chemical nutrients, making your sump a hospitable environment for many bacteria and fungi. While these invaders can be kept below levels that are easily noticed (through bad odours, clumping or slimy fluids, etc.), we often find them present in quantities that can cause machine corrosion or workpiece discolouration or other problems. At these levels, they can also be affecting the pH of your fluids, making it an even more suitable environment for more microbial growth, which can result in health concerns.
Coolant concentration.
Coolant concentrates evaporate at different rates to the water that they are mixed with, and the complex chemical balance also changes over time and use. Incorrect concentration affects the cooling, lubrication & protection performance of the fluid leading to shortened tool life and reduced output quality.
Wrong coolant choice for the application or conditions.
Not all coolants are right for all situations. Most times, poor coolant choice is simply down to a lack of understanding how to determine which one is right for you. We’ve seen products recommended or chosen with no consideration for water supply hardness, water pH, process criteria or environmental factors, or even just on purchase cost priorities. Of course, pretty much any coolant is better than none, so they all sort of work to a point, but we know most customers can save money overall by selecting the best-suited formulation for their specific circumstances, which is why we do the analysis.
Old, stale or poor condition coolant (lack of coolant maintenance)
Again, this is pretty much down to a lack of understanding, but we don’t know of any other coolant suppliers in NZ who take the time to set their customers up with the knowledge they need to properly monitor and maintain their coolant. In fact, we don’t think it’s widely understood how costly using poorly maintained coolant can be. We’ve seen customers save money by adopting good coolant maintenance regimes, with significant improvements in tool life, output quality, cycle times, machine downtime and OSH issues.
Of course, there are other problems that we see, but almost all visits show up at least one of the above concerns.
How often do we find significant problems?
It depends what you call significant – really bad problems are usually obvious and customers don’t need us to point them out. But we almost always find hidden issues that, if properly addressed, will provide better profits for our customers, sometimes thousands of dollars per year, and we’d consider that very significant.
How do you make sure your cutting fluid is right for you?
Well, if you’re interested in getting more from your spend on cutting fluids, you should get in touch with us today to arrange a full coolant health check. It's free, there are no obligations to buy anything from us, and we’d be very surprised if it didn’t prove valuable to you.
