Here in the United States, metalworking is very important indeed. After all, metalworking is a field that is critical in the realm of manufacturing. And the manufacturing industry is itself quite critical to the overall success of the American economy – and for the employment of a great many people within that economy as well. And with as many as 400 million entrepreneurs found throughout the world in its entirety, there is no doubting the fact that industry has continued to grow – and that metalworking will also continue to do the same.
But when you consider metalworking, you must consider the use of metalworking fluids as well. From synthetic lubricants to industrial lubricants to construction lubricants and beyond, metalworking fluids provide a key and critical role in any metalworking process. As a matter of fact, lubricants like both synthetic lubricants and natural ones are used for a wide variety of different purposes. Typically, such synthetic lubricants, among other types of lubricants (as different lubricants are often best utilized for different purposes), will be used for cooling and lubrication as well as chip removal and corrosion control. And although these four uses are certainly the most common utilizations of metalworking fluids, other purposes for synthetic lubricants and other types of metalworking fluids certainly also do exist.
This means that the industry for metalworking fluids, including synthetic lubricants, is nothing short of a booming one. After all, the data that has been gathered on the subject does not lie – and is more than in support of this claim. This data shows that up to two and a half million metric tons of various metalworking fluids were sold and distributed in the year of 2016 alone. In the time that has transpired since, it is only likely that this number has continued to climb and climb. The data from 2017, in which more than $4 billion worth of metalworking fluids made their way around the globe over the course of this one single year, shows this to be true.
Part of the drive for so much metalworking fluid comes from the fact that many different types of metalworking fluids are needed to serve many differing purposes. For instance, a synthetic lubricant can’t be used in the place of a natural one in many cases – or even a semi-synthetic one (semi-synthetic means that there can be up to 30% oil in the lubricant, though no more than this amount. A true synthetic lubricant will have no oil whatsoever). And in some cases, purchasing specialty lubricants even outside of synthetic lubricants and the like is something that can become necessary, such as the purchase of a stick wax lubricant or even synthetic aviation greases.
But it’s not just the purchase of the right lubricant that matters, though this is certainly something that is very important indeed at the end of the day. After purchasing the right type of lubricant, it is hugely important indeed that this lubricant is utilized well and properly. Unfortunately, this is something that is actually far more uncommon than many people might realize or think. All across the United States, manufacturing and metalworking facilities have not provided enough training – and enough regular training, for that matter – in the realm of the use of these metalworking fluids. As a matter of fact, the data that has been gathered on this subject is certainly more than in support of this claim, showing that more than 40% of all manufacturing companies found in this country actually have as many correct procedures in place as is possible. Unfortunately, very nearly 65% of these companies also feel that they do not conduct as many staff trainings as they should on such subject matter. And this is a problem not just here in the United States, but all throughout the world as we know it.
Fortunately, simply taking steps to rectify this problem and training employees thoroughly on the use of synthetic lubricants, natural lubricants, and everything in between (such as semi-synthetic lubricants) is something that can actually go quite a long way at the end of the day. More training on this subject matter is certainly going to be more beneficial than less.
