Cooling emulsion keeps workpieces and machines clean

Suppliers are driven on by their customers to raise the bar ever higher in terms of quality, accuracy and delivery time. For Aluro, that not only means choosing modern machinery and highly skilled employees, but also the choice of lubricant is crucial to meet the demands for quality machine parts. Since Aluro chose Petrofer lubricants, supplied by 2-S, about two years ago, the work pieces come off the machine a lot cleaner and of better quality.

Aluro CNC has been proving itself as a reference for the manufacture of high quality mechanical parts for over thirty years. It does so for customers active in aerospace, mechanical engineering, the medical sector, energy, automotive, electronics, telecommunications and the food industry. "This great variety among our customers means that just about all common materials pass the revue here on our machines," says production manager Pascal Van De Sande. The difference is made by the modern machinery, the high degree of automation and the skill of the operators. "The repetitive or ergonomically burdensome work, we leave to robots, so that our people have their hands free to do what they are good at: making complex workpieces. And to keep that knowledge up to date, we provide continuous training."

Cooling lubricant crucial factor in quality

A mobile demi-water plant will be tested in the coming months to further improve the quality of the emulsion.

Striving for the highest possible quality is thus the common thread in the wide range of work pieces that come off the machines at Aluro. This is embedded in every step of the production process and resulted in the ISO-9001 quality certificate. Yet they continue to raise the bar ever higher. Van De Sande: "About two years ago, we started having more problems with our cooling lubricants. Excessive foaming made the machines dare to go into shutdown and there was also more staining. For me the signal to attend a seminar around this matter to see if there were opportunities to change." Due to circumstances, Van De Sande had to be absent for the seminar, but it did put him in touch with 2-S and Petrofer's cooling lubricants.

Machines and tools last longer

Pascal Van De Sande on the service of 2-S: "When we are in need, they move heaven and earth to help us get the cooling lubricant. So a partner to build on."

"From the first contact, I knew that 2-S's expertise was spot on. I was immediately presented with a comprehensive brochure with a detailed use case and the test results." For Van De Sande, the signal to start testing with Petrofer's emulsions. "The choice of cooling lubricant is crucial if you want to pursue top quality. The less product left on your workpiece, the less post-treatment will be needed afterwards," Van De Sande explains. "Because of the great variety of materials, we especially needed a good all-rounder. We found that in Petrofer Emulcut 160." Van De Sande has not regretted the transition for a second. "The purity has improved enormously and we no longer have any problems with staining. The fact that less emulsion is left behind also has a positive impact on the tool life of our tools and the service life of our machines. After all, chips don't stick as easily now. And although two machines have been added, our consumption is virtually unchanged in absolute terms. In other words, Petrofer's cooling emulsion is excellent value for money," Van De Sande summarizes.

Top service

Aluro is also hugely appreciative of 2-S's service. "Every quarter they analyze samples we take from the emulsion in their lab to suggest further optimizations. This showed, for example, that the quality of the tap water leaves much to be desired. And since that makes up 95% of the compound anyway, water quality has an impact. We are therefore testing out a mobile demi-water system in the coming months to see if the difference is worth the investment. But even when we are in need, they move heaven and earth to help us get the cooling lubricant. So a partner to build on," Van De Sande concludes.