The Advantages of Cutting Fluids: 3 Ways You Can Save Money, Time & Hassle

The right tools make all the difference. In metalworking, cutting fluids, or metal removal fluids, are one of the most important tools in your arsenal.

What are cutting fluids? They cool and lubricate tools and carry away chips and other debris from the work zone. They’re indispensable for efficiently delivering high-quality products
your customers expect.

Without them, high heat, friction, and debris can quickly damage expensive equipment and lead to rework and throwaways

Choosing the best industrial cutting fluids for metal cutting requires considering short—and long-term performance and costs. While initial product cost can be a factor, the lowest-cost products don’t always mean lower costs overall. A higher-quality fluid often offers considerable cost savings regarding reliability, effectiveness, and even insurance.

So even though it’s often tempting to make purchasing decisions on price alone when budgets are tight and every last penny counts, you need to look at the whole picture to evaluate the
complete cost. Using high-performance cutting fluids:

• Extends tool life
• Reduces machine downtime
• Avoids workaround hassles
• Minimizes maintenance and repairs
• Keeps microbes under control

Ultimately, the best cutting fluids help you produce high-quality products more efficiently on schedule, and within budget while avoiding considerable headaches.

Equipment and employees are the most important assets for your shop floor. Replacing either will cause hassles and costs you can’t afford. However, while keeping employees productive
and satisfied comes with considerable nuance, ensuring your equipment works at peak performance is much more straightforward.

As you’re aware, your most expensive purchases include your equipment, which requires considerable maintenance to minimize the effects of metalworking stress. Repeated heating and
cooling, pressure, friction, build-up, and corrosion take a substantial toll, decreasing performance and tool life. That’s where cutting fluids come in. By mitigating these stressors they help extend the lifespan of your tools.

A consistent production schedule is critical to meeting timelines, quotas, and budgets. Any time a machine is down, whether for minutes or days, your production loses momentum and falls
behind. In addition to the costs associated with repairs, it can negatively affect client relationships or lead to costly, unbudgeted overtime to catch up. Suffice it to say no one needs or wants that stress.

Although cheaper fluids may have a lower initial purchase cost, they don’t last as long in the sum. That leads to more fluid changes—and downtime. High-quality cutting and grinding fluids
like QUAKERCOOL® 740 require fewer changes. What’s more, by reducing wear and tear on tools, you need to stop and change tools less frequently.

Workarounds aren’t great long-term solutions, but they work in a pinch. They can, however, cause or uncover other issues that need more workarounds on the shop floor. Every shop
owner and foreman knows that a “simple” part replacement can be anything but. One faulty part can hide considerable damage.

As one example, consider that fixing one problem could unmask other potential weaknesses—replacing a weaker pump might highlight additional problems or weaknesses in the overall
system.

It’s not all hardware-based, either. A metalworking shop struggling with fluid management might face issues maintaining the fluid. In that case, product instability could cause microbial problems and in turn, unpleasant odors. While it’s possible to add a product to fix the odor, it could lead to additional issues—hypothetically, fluid viscosity or concentration, among other challenges—which might require another additive. Unfortunately, this could result in more frequent pump-outs, increased costs, and significantly lower productivity.

Workarounds, while sometimes necessary, demotivate employees by making it more difficult for them to do their jobs or provide excellent products for the customer. Cutting fluids prevent
workarounds by providing everything you need in one solution.

Overheating is bad news for equipment in or out of the shop. In a metalworking environment, consistent high heat leads to more frequent maintenance and repairs. Cutting fluids prevent this
by cooling the tool and work surface (which leads to fewer reworks and scrapped products).

Corrosion also causes tools to degenerate more quickly. Many cutting fluids also include additives that stop corrosion before it starts, reducing maintenance costs and extending equipment lifespan. (Check out this post for tips on preventing rust and corrosion in your shop.)

Many people who don’t work on shop floors are often surprised to learn that bacteria can be a
significant metalworking issue.

Microbes flourish in still liquids like the sludge at the bottom of a sump and wreak havoc on equipment performance and longevity by altering coolants, destroying lubricants, and leaving
acid and salt behind. The result? In the end, your production schedule and budget take a hit. Moreover, any ensuing shutdowns and slowdowns can worsen the problem, because they often put microbe growth into overdrive. That means before reopening or ramping up, you’ll need to spend time and money mitigating microbial contamination. That’s where cutting oils like QUAKERCOOL® 740 can be so important. They resist microbes(including Mycobacteria) before they grow. You’ll avoid costly, time-consuming mitigation.

Most cutting fluids are oil-based. However, water-based fluids (such as Quaker Houghton’s HYDROLUBRIC® 120-B) in some cases, for reasons that include:

• Cost (both the product and the cost to dispose)
• Enhanced cooling
• Less downtime for machine and sump cleaning

Health and safety can also be a concern. Cutting fluids can strip natural oils and moisture from the skin, causing dryness and, in some cases, contact dermatitis. Because metalworking fluids
are sprayed or flow onto the workpiece, employees without proper PPE can inhale particulates that can lead to respiratory and other health issues.

However, while some shops elect not to use cutting fluids, it’s important to understand that strategic investments in high-quality cutting fluids can offer long-term financial and operational advantages.

Your job is to make the shop run smoothly so employees can get customers what they need when they need it—while also keeping costs down. When management asks, “Why are cutting fluids used?” you can tell them they’re a wise, strategic investment that leads to long-term savings and maximum efficiency and productivity. The bottom line? High-quality cutting fluids, like those from Quaker Houghton, help you:

• Extend Tool Life: Cool, reduce friction, flush away chips, and protect against corrosion.
• Reduce Machine Downtime: Increase sump and fluid life, leading to fewer equipment changes.
• Eliminate Workaround Hassles: Provide everything you need in one solution.
• Minimize Maintenance and Repairs: Protect against heat and corrosion, which require more frequent attention and lead to more breakdowns.
• Control Microbes: Keep them under control and avoid costly fluid replacement and downtime.

The right cutting fluids make consistent, efficient production and high customer satisfaction easier. Your shop floor will perform like a well-oiled, hassle-free, budget-conscious machine.

Explore Quaker Houghton’s wide range of cutting fluids for your metalworking needs. You can also contact us for a personalized recommendation for your shop.