Outside
help delivers
A&M EDM has worked
with MSC Industrial
Supply Co & Rocol to
optimise coolant across
its site in Smethwick
Two companies have changed their coolants, bringing in outside help to investigate and manage the
change. Both have discovered a single product that has the versatility to cope with a broad range of
processes and materials, while delivering consumable cost reductions and extended tool life
A&M EDM (www.is.gd/anesir) has
worked with MSC Industrial Supply Co.
(MSC, www.is.gd/ufepam) and Rocol
(www.is.gd/emamib) to optimise coolant
across its site in Smethwick, where it has 57
CNC machines are tackling stainless steel,
mild steel, aluminium, Inconel, titanium and
exotics in the manufacture of bespoke shortruns
components.
A&M EDM provides precision engineering
services to aerospace, F1 and other sectors,
while it was also involved with the Ventilator
Challenge UK consortium. MSC offers A&M
EDM best practice engineering support
through frequent onsite visits that proactively
identify ways to help the company optimise
its processes and achieve business goals.
One such project involved improving the
performance of metalworking coolant while
maintaining high quality machining. With this
in mind, MSC identi ed Rocol as its partner
to collaborate with alongside its customer.
Rocol began analysing A&M EDM’s
coolant consumption by undertaking a review
of current materials and applications while
taking samples from active machining
operations. These were tested in the coolant
specialist’s laboratory and a comprehensive
report on the current product, with details
such as wear ratio, dilution and usage
produced.
The analysis concluded that the coolant
usage was much higher than it should be
and that A&M EDM needed a versatile, high
performance coolant that would deliver
consistent usage and quality results on a
range of different materials. MSC and Rocol
presented their ndings, delivering a
proposal for an alternative, more suitable
coolant that would deliver both a cost saving
through lower volume consumption and an
extension to tool lifetime.
The coolant recommendation was
Ultracut EVO 255, an extreme pressure (EP)
soluble oil-water mix cutting uid to replace
the previous coolant. This is formulated to
give a long and predictable sump life and
provides extra performance in medium and
severe cutting operations on a wide variety
of ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
Analysis showed that with Ultracut EVO
255, solution dilution levels improved from
19:1 to 40:1, reducing A&M EDM’s
consumption from 41,000 litres per annum
to 20,048 litres per annum. The reduced
consumption rate outweighed the increase in
cost per litre, resulting in a signi cant cost
saving of £16,900 per year.
The solution has more than halved A&M
EDM’s intermediate bulk container (IBC)
annual consumption from 10 to ve
containers. Furthermore, it has also
improved machining quality, delivering a
32 July/August 2020 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
/anesir)
/ufepam)
/emamib)
/www.machinery.co.uk