I've been thinking lately about business and what could be done to jump start everything.
I found myself thinking about those times in history class when we learned about problems that were overcome by great inventions. We read about inventors and gave reports to the class on Edison, Bell and Whitney.
Now, I find myself encouraged because I know the spirit that motivates many of us can help us find the answers to those elusive questions like: "What can I do to improve my process, my product or my business? What can I do to improve my life?"
We are engineers and machine operators; we work as mechanics or in machine repair. If we take the time we have been given because of the slow economy and exercise our minds, push ourselves just a little harder, there's no limit to what we can accomplish.
At S.C. Chemical we have been doing just that. We've been thinking about our products and how we can best serve our customers. What we've come up with isn't selling customers more of what we manufacture; we want to help them use the products they already buy more effectively.
If you read this column regularly, you know that I've been talking about the five things you can do to improve coolant performance. This month's column I thought I would interview someone about improving coolant by upgrading their water source.
I spoke with Tom Roelke from Wesco Machine Products Inc., located in Muskego, Wis. Wesco Machine is an innovative company with a constant eye on improving their processes, and Tom Roelke is the driving force behind many of those changes.
During the past few years Tom and I have had several conversations regarding the use of R.O. Water (Reverse Osmosis) and now that Wesco Machine has installed an R.O. Water System, I thought it might be a good idea to get firsthand feedback from someone who made the change.
Wesco Machine has always done a good job maintaining their coolant, and now they don't have to work as hard to do it.
"Even when you just mix it up, the coolant looks cleaner and feels cleaner," Tom said when I asked him what he noticed first about the RO Water.
Tom explained how they have their RO Water System and coolant mixer next to each other. One hose offers premixed coolant while a second hose provides "pure" RO water for machines needing an adjustment to lower coolant concentration.
Q: Do you use less coolant?
Tom thought for a moment before answering, "It's hard to get a handle on how much. We definitely don't have to service the coolant like we used to."
Q: If you had to guess, what would you say?
I could tell Tom wanted to provide me with accurate information.
"Business is different now," he started. "We tend not to mix the coolant as heavy and it seems to work better. We used to run our concentrations around 8 percent and now we are running 5-6 percent. So, I guess, just by that we are using 25 percent less."
This is exactly what I have experienced in conversations I've had with many people who have switched to RO or DI (Deionized) water. Improving the source of your water will improve your machining process and save you money.
Several months ago I suggested to readers that you go to the store and buy a gallon of distilled water. Mix the coolant you are presently using with the distilled water and mix another sample using the water from your tap. If your water is not treated, you will notice a difference!
For instance in Muskego, Wis., where S.C. Chemical is located, water is about 30 grain hardness. Grain hardness in water is a measure of the calcium and magnesium ions dissolved in water as a carbonate. One grain hardness is equivalent to approximately 15 parts per million (ppm). So water that is 10 grain hardness has 150 ppm of calcium or magnesium carbonate. You might think that 15 ppm of a salt dissolved in your water is hardly noticeable; but as the water evaporates, the ppm solids increase. This is why a scale of calcium and magnesium carbonate forms on the sides of an overused coffeepot or teapot. Thirty grain water is very hard!
When a 50 gallon coolant system is charged with fresh coolant, we can predict that about 50 more gallons of water will be needed to keep this machine operating through the next four weeks. This means that if you start with 50 gallons of 30 grain hardness water and through evaporation you have to add another 50 gallons of 30 grain water, after four weeks you will end up with 50 gallons of 60 grain hardness water. As the hardness continues to increase, problems begin to occur.
Comparing Muskego water to distilled water, the difference is profound.
When I go about my normal business routine I find myself talking with many customers and potential customers about trying our products. Naturally, I want everyone to use the products that we manufacture because I think they are the best out there; but I also tell people that they would do themselves a big favor by considering the water they are mixing with their coolant. I've been telling people this for years and it seems to be paying off. Many of the companies I sell coolants to have greatly improved their processes by introducing water treatment systems into their operation.
Finally I asked Tom an obvious question, "Are you happy you put the R.O. System in?"
"We should have done it the minute we moved into this building!" Tom exclaimed with a laugh. "If I had known about R.O. water 30 years ago, I would have put it in then."
Wesco Machine Products decided to improve their water and have seen the positive effects of an R.O. System - so what's next?
For the next 20 minutes or so, Tom and I brainstormed ideas from coolant recovery systems and tramp oil removal to filtration. It seems there is no end to our ability to improve - and when improvements have a short payback time, there is no limit to the amount of money you can save doing things right.
This article originally appeared in Shop Talk magazine in February of 2009. Shop Talk is published by Magellan Publishing.
