12
Why does nobody check their coolant concentration before a big job?
Just had to scrap 12 aluminum parts because the coolant was way too weak and the finish came out like sandpaper. This is the third time this month something like this has happened at our shop. I walk by the machine and see the refractometer just sitting on the bench unused. Takes 30 seconds to check. Has anyone else dealt with operators who just assume the mix is fine?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
terryh2016d ago
Bet your refractometer's off calibration too lmao, nobody checks that thing with plain water before using it and then wonders why the readings are garbage.
6
oscarb7716d ago
Maybe it's just me but I push back a little on blaming the operators here. If they're walking by the refractometer and ignoring it, that's a training issue or a culture issue not a laziness issue. The shop has to make checking coolant part of the startup routine, like hitting the green button or zeroing the vise. I've seen places where the leadman just assumes everyone knows what a good reading looks like, then gets mad when nobody uses the tool. And honestly if you're scrapping 12 aluminum parts because of coolant concentration, there's probably also a broken way to check it mid-job or a missing standard for when to remix. The guy at the machine might not even know what the right number is for aluminum.
3
nina_johnson8616d ago
Read somewhere that a lot of shops just buy premix coolant and never train anyone on what the refractometer actually does (which is wild for expensive aluminum parts). Ten minutes of hands-on training at the start of a shift would save way more than those 12 scrapped parts in the long run. The culture problem is real, but it starts with whoever decided that watching a guy guess at coolant is fine.
9