TPT July 2021

AR T I C L E

Quaker Houghton

A fluid approach to digitalisation: helping tube and pipe manufacturers benefit from the advantages of Industry 4.0 By Lee Bowditch, EMEA business development director, Fluid Intelligence solutions at Quaker Houghton

and chemicals can have serious consequences on machine performance and product quality. This is particularly relevant for tube and pipe manufacturers where a problem resulting from out of specification fluids or incorrect application may only become apparent once the products are in the field. For example, it is not unusual for a business using forming coolant/emulsion to undertake just one or two fluid checks a week, when really more regular inspections are needed. Furthermore, spot-checks might not be detailed enough and, in any case, simply provide a snapshot in time. Should a major contaminant enter the coolant between checks or fluid concentrations rise or fall, it is quite possible for large amounts of product to be manufactured before the danger is spotted. In a worst-case scenario, this could result in large

The management and maintenance of metalworking fluids is critical to optimising manufacturing operations and can deliver significant cost reductions and quality improvements. However, metalworking fluid management is an often-overlooked area within tube and pipe manufacturing. In this article, Lee Bowditch looks at the benefits and explains how they can be unlocked with Quaker Houghton’s Fluid Intelligence services. In metalworking, fluids are essential. Whether they are mineral oil based, synthetic or semi-synthetic, oils and lubricants are universally used to keep equipment running and to support various operations, ranging from rolling, forming and forging through to heat treatment, cleaning and metal removal. They help improve equipment performance, extend service life, and protect against corrosion as well as enhancing the surface finish and the quality of components. Missed oppor tunities However, while metalworking and industrial process fluids have a critical role to play in improving manufacturing performance, they aren’t always given the attention they deserve. Unlike capital equipment, which is often a significant up-front investment that manufacturers take care to maintain and protect, fluids are often treated as ‘consumables’. This is despite a typical metalworking manufacturer, operating with 50 machine tools having an operational expense of up to $200,000 per annum. Even where the importance of metalworking fluids is recognised it can be hard to gather meaningful data and metrics relating to fluid performance, and so opportunities to optimise their performance may be missed. In this respect, the tube and pipe industry are a little behind other sectors, such as operations in aerospace and automotive. Any number of factors can contribute to inefficient fluid use and poor machine performance, including antiquated equipment and old manufacturing methodologies, as well as the drive for cost reduction, often resulting in inferior, lower grade, products being used. Inadequate testing and maintenance schedules also play their part, along with poor filtration and general concentration control. This doesn’t just impact on budgets. Poor management of process fluids

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JULY 2021