7 Reasons to use Automatic Coolant Makeup Valves

By IFS-September 25, 2015
7 Reasons to use Automatic Coolant Makeup Valves

The # 1 reason we get calls for automatic coolant makeup systems sounds like this “people keep opening the coolant supply valves, get distracted, and we end up with coolant all over the floor”.  The #2 reason is “My coolant budget is shot, out of sight”.  The # 3 reason is typically “My guys spend too much time mixing and filling their machines”. While these are important, there are many other reasons we should be looking at automatic coolant makeup systems.

The level of coolant in a machine reservoir effects the performance of the machine and the stability of the process. This becomes more and more important with tighter tolerances and increased surface finish requirements. So how exactly does the level of coolant in the machine’s reservoir effect tolerances, surface quality and operating cost?

  • Evaporation reduces the amount of water in the coolant which raises the concentration and reduces the ability of the coolant to cool the tooling. Higher concentrations also allow more solids to be suspended in the coolant effecting surface finish.
  • Chips carry off coolant as they leave the machine.  As the coolant’s concentration increases wetting is reduced and the chips carry off more coolant.  This also increases operating costs related to purchasing more coolant and higher waste hauling cost.
  • Adding large amounts of water and coolant once a shift, or once a day, reduces the temperature of the coolant quickly which directly affects the parts and the tooling.  However, adding small amounts of water and coolant throughout the day reduces fluctuations in concentration and temperature resulting in a more stable and cost effective process.

To summarize, there are many reason to use an Automatic Coolant Makeup Valve, but the top 7 are:

  1. Eliminate spills associated with manually filling sumps.
  2. Reduce coolant cost by reducing waste.
  3. Improve operator efficiency and machine run time.
  4. Maintain coolant concentration to eliminate corrosion problems.
  5. Improve tool life and surface finish.
  6. Reduce coolant carry off.
  7. Eliminate “I forgot to add coolant” from the discussion.

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