We offer a unique combination of machining expertise, customized services and quality products that make your metalworking fluids a key factor in your success - liquid cutting tools.
Mecom Plant-Based Metal Processing Fluids are primarily manufactured in Taiwan.
There are significant differences, and we recommend that you contact our service representatives to provide you with various solutions. However, the two main distinctions are that water-soluble cutting fluids offer excellent flushing properties, while oil-based products provide outstanding lubrication.
Generally, traditional mineral oil-based cutting fluids have a lifespan of about 3 to 18 months. However, when using MCM cutting fluid maintenance SOP, MCM plant-based cutting fluids can have a lifespan of over 3 to 5 years.
Many customers often mention that a high concentration of the base fluid leads to cost savings and excellent machining properties. In general, traditional mineral-based cutting fluids consist of 80-90% mineral base oil and 10-20% functional additives (low cost). In contrast, plant ester synthetic cutting fluids use no mineral oil as a base, with 50-70% water-soluble plant ester functional additives and 30-50% water (costing 3-5 times more than mineral-based fluids). Under the same processing conditions, plant ester synthetic cutting fluids exhibit even better performance and greater stability. They excel in terms of the quantity needed and maintenance compared to traditional mineral-based cutting fluids. Hence, the criteria for assessing the quality of cutting fluids should be based on factors such as machining performance, overall usage, stability, and more.
In Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan, water hardness varies. Often, when choosing cutting fluids, the water quality aspect is overlooked, with the assumption that as long as the cutting oil's characteristics meet the current processing needs, it can be used!
This can be a significant drawback for products that are not tolerant of soft or hard water. Cutting fluids that are not tolerant of hard water can result in:
1.Soap scum
2.Oil-water separation
3. Produces sludge
4.Sludge Machine tool stickiness
5.Unpleasant odors
6.Short cutting fluid lifespan
7.Unstable machining performance
Products with poor antifoaming properties used in areas with soft water can cause:
1.Excessive foaming
2.Unstable machining performance
3.Poor working environment (constant floor cleaning)
4.Continuous addition of antifoaming agents, leading to a decline in oil characteristics and machine tool adhesion.
The only solution to the above problems, without concern for water quality, is to use MCM plant ester synthetic cutting fluids. These products are formulated with water-soluble synthetic additives, so they do not suffer from the common issue of mineral oil-based cutting fluids being intolerant to soft or hard water.
MCM is your best choice!
Slideway oil is very common, you can see it in the national public selling platform, the price is also very cheap, but often are because of the price is cheap, and ignore its composition, it will cause the impact on the cutting fluid.
The common slideway oil on the market belongs to (sulfur & phosphorus slideway oil), this slideway oil is easy to be compatible with the cutting fluid, which leads to emulsification and corrosion phenomenon.
Sulfur and phosphorus slideway oil will cause:
1. Accelerated aging and corrosion of the oil.
2. Oil sludge
3. cutting fluid oil water separation
4. cutting fluid odor
5.Machine sticking and other problems
6. Unstable machinability
7.Decrease in machining quality
8. Decrease in cutting fluid functionality
9.Increase in waste water production
Benefits of using water-resistant sulfur-free and phosphorus-free slideway oils for cutting fluids:
1. Extend the service life of cutting fluid
2. Stable processing
3. Stable quality
4. Stable tool life
5. Enhance machine life
6. Improve the quality of machining environment
7.Reduce waste water output
Will recommend the use of water-resistant type does not contain (sulfur & phosphorus type slideway oil), this slideway oil it is not easy to be compatible with the cutting fluid, so that the use of cutting fluid life increased, not only can reduce the waste water output, processing quality is more stable, need to pay attention to the slideway oil after all belongs to the oily, but also need to scrape the oil floats in the groove on a regular basis, in order to have a longer service life.
Whenever you ask new customers how you add cutting fluid in your daily life, 90% of them respond that they wait until the water level is low, pull the hose to add water and then add the appropriate amount of original fluid according to their experience, or add a large amount of mixed low concentration cutting fluid at one time when the water level is very low.
These incorrect ways of adding cutting fluid will lead to unstable concentration of cutting fluid, easy deterioration and odor, resulting in a decline in the functionality of the cutting fluid and unstable machining.
The correct way is:
1. Use a mixer to set a fixed dosing concentration.
2. Maintain the water level in the sink at 8 minutes full.
3. Refill every shift (8 hours).
4. Don't let the water level get very low before refilling the cutting fluid.
Follow this pattern to stabilize the cutting fluid concentration.
All metals in the machining process will produce metal ions with strong activity, and these metal ions with strong activity enter into the cutting fluid, if they can't be removed in time from the system operation, and remain in the cutting fluid, they will continue to release metal ions and lead to rapid corrosion of the cutting fluid.
The following are metals and non-ferrous metals that are highly reactive:
1. Gray cast iron (will release trivalent iron ions that will cause the cutting fluid to start yellowing and reddening, and will solidify and corrode the machine over time).
2. Aluminum alloy (will release trivalent aluminum ions, and a small amount of magnesium ions will lead to cutting fluid water hardness slowly rise, if the degree of hard water resistance of the cutting fluid is not good will lead to oil and water separation odor and other phenomena)
3. Magnesium alloy (will release divalent magnesium ions, it is the most active conductivity, magnesium chips as long as the contact with the liquid will produce hydrogen, when the content is too high with the oxygen in the air to react and combustion, explosion.)
4. Plastic Bakelite (non-ferrous metal)
(Plastic chips will spit acid, if not regularly removed will lead to rapid acidification of cutting fluid odor)
Strongly reactive metal and non-ferrous metal ions, these reactive ions will cause the cutting fluid to be unstable, and the accumulation of metal and non-ferrous metal chips will affect the bath fluid to cause an imbalance, which will increase the risk of biological growth and easy to corrode and stink.
Remove chips from the cutting fluid as soon as possible (daily or weekly depending on the volume of machining).
Improve the filtration effect, pay attention to the dead space in the circulation, and choose a stable and anti-disturbance machining fluid.
Customers often say, "We regularly change the oil, but we don't understand why the cutting fluid's lifespan is so short."
The problem lies in inadequate cleaning of the main system. Bacteria and contaminants are still present in the machine's pipelines.
No matter how many times you change it, the cutting fluid will always be contaminated, resulting in its consistently low lifespan. It's similar to being bitten by a wild dog. The doctor gave you the medicine, not the vaccine, leaving viruses and bacteria in your body, causing your wound to heal while you continue to have a persistent fever.
Machine maintenance, like dealing with a health issue, requires thorough cleaning and treatment to prevent a recurrence.
Many customers, in order to save oil change costs or to meet tight deadlines, often add cutting fluids with different properties directly.
However, this approach typically results in more disadvantages than benefits due to the following reasons:
1.The current cutting fluid being used may have issues in the machining process.
2.The current cutting fluid may have deteriorated in quality.
3.The current cutting fluid may not meet the requirements for processing new workpieces.
Adding fluids directly in such situations can lead to adverse effects, including incompatibility issues causing severe foaming, oil-water separation, and more. Adding fluids may not provide immediate functionality to meet the processing requirements, leaving machining issues unresolved.
If the current cutting fluid is deteriorating, adding new fluid directly can accelerate the deterioration of the new fluid, leading to instability in processing and product quality.
So, it's essential to change the cutting fluid when needed rather than seeking short-term cost savings. Properly managing each aspect of the process not only enhances
machining quality but also ensures a healthy working environment.
Regardless of the appearance of the cutting fluid after processing, the wastewater treatment standards remain the same. The transparency of the fluid does not affect the treatment process; the standards must align with the relevant regulations for wastewater discharge set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Given the increasingly stringent environmental regulations, it is advisable to entrust qualified wastewater treatment facilities for proper disposal.
Cutting fluid design will consider the scope:
Appearance, human safety, environmental safety, machining performance, foam, equipment safety, compatibility (paint, rubber parts, machine table...etc.).
So the cutting fluid use management is basically part of the machine will cause any impact, and then the machine's maintenance attention must also be implemented, the following weekly & monthly machine tool maintenance key items:
Weekly maintenance:
1. Please keep the machine clean at all times, and should be cleaned on the working table and the sliding surfaces after each day's machining.
2. Check the cutting fluid level gauge, replenish the cutting fluid at any time, and clean the filter from time to time.
3. Keep the spindle taper hole clean at all times and wipe it with spindle taper hole cleaner after machining.
4. If you find any looseness, bad contact, sparks, hot spots, etc. in the terminals, sockets, switches, etc. during the operation, please stop the machine immediately for repair.
5. If abnormal noise is found during processing, the machine should be stopped at any time for inspection.
6. Check whether the air pressure three-point combination water is automatically released to avoid the accumulation of water in the pipeline.
Monthly maintenance:
1. Visually check whether the tool magazine rotates smoothly.
2. Confirm the spindle tool locking and unlocking operation is smooth. Check whether the cutting tool pump is running normally.
3. Make sure there is no abnormal noise when the spindle is running.
4.Clean the air filter of the power box to keep the air unobstructed.
5.Check if there is a need to add lubricating grease to each part of the machine.