Since 1974, Tools & Dies has been creating the highest quality moulds and tools with extreme accuracy. They operate on three main pillars of production, explains Guy Vleugels, Technical Innovation Manager; “First, we design and build metalworking moulds, second, we provide service and maintenance moulds, even if we haven’t designed them ourselves, and third, we use our moulds to press products for customers who do not have the capacity, supplying fine mechanical piecework.”
Four years ago, they decided to turn to Bondis, a supplier of metalworking fluids, as their main supplier for all their lubrication solutions. Switching to Q8 Brunel XF 741 lubricants has boosted productivity, reduced costs, and made their working environment much more pleasant for machine operators by reducing the build-up of bacteria on their metalworking fluid.
The problem
Historically, Tools & Dies used various oils and coolants, whatever they thought worked best for any particular machine. This served them well for the most part, but it made their operations more difficult than they needed to be due to the increased need to keep track of all the fluids used and which machines and processes they were being used on. A logistical nightmare.
The reason this occurred was because of the organic nature of how their business grew, with different employees having different knowledge, meaning there was no centralised process in place for keeping track of the oils, they needed to improve and control their lubrication processes.
The solution
Vleugels knew they needed to tackle this sooner rather than later. This disparate method of oil and lubrication control would only work for so long with their company and capabilities growing year on year.
Rather than wait for something to go seriously wrong, they decided to fix it. Working with Bondis, Belgian’s specialists in metalworking oils , they discovered a way to combat the fragmented nature of their current lubrication solution.
They switched the bulk of their metalworking fluid to Q8 Brunel XF 741, a fantastic all-round solution for grinding and milling work. Patrick Overbergh, their account manager for Bondis explains, “It is an oil synthesised from natural gas, which provides other properties, including less chance of fogging and therefore less harmful to operators. Furthermore, it contains no biocides and the emulsion is particularly biostable. This also minimises the risk of fungi and bacterial growth.”
Tools & Dies have not only changed the fluid they use but have benefitted greatly from the partnership with Bondis, whose technical support and knowledge have allowed them to finetune their oil usage and even quickly offer a solution when an operator had an allergic reaction to a previously used type of oil.
The outcome
The effect for Tools and Dies has been tangible. With recycling and cleaning support from Bondis, they have noticed that Q8 Brunel XF 741 has improved machining efficiency and lowered costs considerably. The metalworking fluid from Q8 allows them to use less oil overall and has also meant they are able to introduce higher cutting speeds, creating products quicker but at the same or higher quality.
For Tools & Dies, partnership and collaboration play a crucial role in their story and as Guy Vleugels explains, “Actually, customers who knock on our door are not looking for a mould but a solution to make their product as good as possible. The mould is just one link in the chain; you have to bring different processes together to arrive at a total solution. And you do that by pursuing the highest possible reliability in each of those processes by choosing the right machines, the right fluids, and the right partners.”
