Automate Coolant Management, Collect Data to Optimize Machining Operations

Process fluids, including coolants, play a crucial role in many production processes, particularly for metalworking operations such as turning, milling and grinding. These fluids are essential for lubrication, cooling and flushing away metal chips and debris, ensuring that machinery runs smoothly and parts are produced to precise specifications. Effective coolant management helps to maintain tool life, reduce wear and tear on machinery, achieve consistent product quality and even reduce downtime from equipment failure. By properly managing coolants, production becomes more reliable, total costs are reduced and productivity is maximized.

As most coolants are water-soluble, target concentration can vary due to natural evaporation or discharge. Karl Kunkel, vice president of business innovation and ventures for Quaker Houghton, explains that to avoid over or under-consuming coolant, the best practice is to monitor concentration consistently. Many manufacturers are still manually collecting samples to send offsite for laboratory analysis. However, by the time results are known, system conditions have changed and any adjustments made are based on outdated results.

Kunkel says that some manufacturers moved to using handheld refractometers for quick, on-the-spot concentration readings. Still, these devices can be unreliable as they can foul due to cross-contamination from multiple fluids. They also need frequent recalibration, introducing more error from user subjectivity. 

“Just determining coolant concentration is quite the manual chore, especially for a high-volume machine shop with multiple CNCs,” he explains. “Using machine-specific automated monitoring, such as Quaker Houghton’s QH Fluidmonitor hardware, enables shops to reliably monitor coolant concentration in real-time while also repurposing manhours to production-specific problems.

The labor-intensive nature of these traditional methods was highlighted in the case of a major aerospace OEM whose operators manually filled CNC machines, requiring as many as three hours each shift. This introduced inconsistencies in coolant concentration and resulted in significant downtime. After implementing QH Fluid Intelligence, the OEM was able to automate coolant delivery, reduce labor costs, maintain optimal coolant levels, extend tool life and boost production output, achieving an overall win in terms of reducing total costs.

Digitally Optimize Coolant Management

So how the QH Fluid Intelligence solution harnesses automated monitoring and control plus real-time data analytics to transform the way manufacturers manage coolants. “Coolant management is a key factor in machining operations, but manufacturers often underestimate just how much impact the coolant can have on downstream operations,” Kunkel says. “Our QH Fluid Intelligence platform takes a holistic approach, automating the monitoring and control of coolant concentration and other key parameters, plus providing real-time data and feedback.”

The platform is built upon four core components: Quaker Houghton’s process fluids, applications expertise, with proprietary hardware and software. It includes the QH Fluidmonitor line of monitoring hardware, the QH Fluidcontrol line of integrated monitoring and control hardware and QH Fluidtrend, an intuitive software for real-time data analysis and actionable insights.

Another example of how the platform helped reduce total costs is in the automotive sector. A U.S.-based automotive OEM faced challenges related to bacterial buildup and coolant instability, resulting in high maintenance costs and machine downtime. Kunkel notes that implementing QH Fluidcontrol XMS improved operational efficiency, cutting downtime by 75%, which translated to more than 1,000 additional annual production hours. This equated to approximately $300,000 in annual savings, ensuring more stable production with reduced maintenance demands.

Similarly, an aerospace OEM applied QH Fluidmonitor GL with Quaker Houghton’s coolant and realized operational and reliability improvements. Having automated concentration monitoring and data helped reduce scrap, extend tool life, and ultimately improve product consistency. Maintaining a more consistent coolant concentration contributed to achieving annual savings of $20,000 while also reducing waste and CNC downtime.

For high-volume turning operations, Kunkel emphasizes that optimizing coolant management is key to minimizing downtime and improving efficiency and productivity. Traditional manual methods of coolant management often involve a high degree of worker exposure to chemicals, lead to generating waste, producing parts of inconsistent quality, overconsuming coolant, and can even cause unplanned downtime. “It’s not just about making our customers more efficient,” Kunkel says, “it’s about creating broader value and helping them achieve reliability in high-volume production while also reducing total costs.”

Getting Started with Automated Coolant Management

For manufacturers interested in upgrading their coolant management processes to achieve better results with data-driven automation technologies, Kunkel offers the following tips:

• Assess your current process. Evaluate how your shop manages coolant. Identify areas where manual interventions are frequent and lead to additional work and inconsistencies. Understanding the gaps in your current process will help you decide which automated solutions best fit your needs.
• Determine your goals. Establish what you want to achieve by implementing automation. Are you looking to reduce downtime, improve product quality, or minimize labor costs and chemical handling? Defining these objectives will guide your approach and help you and your chosen partner measure success.
• Start small. Implement automation in a specific area, such as a single CNC machine, central system or process. This enables testing the solution, analyzing results and benefits, and gradually expanding the system. This approach also facilitates a gradual transition to the use of automated real-time data by operators.
• Consider scalable solutions. Opt for a scalable solution such as QH Fluid Intelligence that can be integrated across multiple machines as your shop grows. It is designed to be flexible, easily expandable and suitable for evolving production needs.
• Train your team. Ensure operators and maintenance staff are trained on the benefits of the new solution. This will help with user adoption and using the real-time data and analytics to maximize fluid performance.
• Work with trusted partners. Collaborate with a trusted provider which has the experience and expertise to support you in implementing automated solutions and leveraging insightful data as Quaker Houghton does.