Coolant switch boosts high-end wheel machining

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END USER: Cramer Engineering Corp., (951) 549-6557. CHALLENGE: Reduce oil mist and improve machining of aluminum automotive wheels and other components. SOLUTION: A semisynthetic metalworking fluid. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Chemetall, (800) 526-4473, www.chemetallamericas.com

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Launched in 1982 as a defense contractor, Cramer Engineering Corp., Santa Fe Springs, Calif., has evolved over the years from a production shop to an aerospace parts manufacturer to a supplier of machining services for forging and custom shops that produce components for aluminum automotive wheels. The company also machines H-13 tool steel dies used to forge wheel components.

During its evolution, the shop grew from a couple of machines to 18 CNC mills and lathes, from two to 18 employees and from 5,400 to 20,000 sq. ft.

According to Owner Dave Cramer, custom auto wheels are up to 24 ” in diameter and larger. As diameters increase, so does market demand for forged, rather than cast, wheels. “As wheels grow in size, there’s more need to reduce weight,” he explained. “A stronger product can be lighter, so in the high-end market there’s a lot of emphasis on forged modular wheels as opposed to cast wheels because using modular components from forged aluminum produces much stronger, lighter wheels.”

Forged wheel components account for roughly 90 percent of Cramer Engineering’s business. A long production run might involve 100 pieces, and as often as not the company machines a single set of forging dies or a set of custom wheels for one vehicle. “It makes for a lot of setups, but business has been so rough the past couple of years it’s hard to say no to someone who wants to spend thousands of dollars on a set of wheels,” Cramer said.

Despite all the changes, Cramer Engineering’s choice of metalworking fluid didn’t—until recently. “We were using a very inexpensive, soluble-oil coolant,” Cramer recalled. “It cost $2.86 per gallon. It worked fine, because when you’re machining mass quantities of aluminum you’re making small chips that carry tramp oils and other contaminants with them on the conveyor.” When machining around the clock, the shop didn’t need oil skimmers or biocides, Cramer noted. “We simply replenished the inexpensive coolant as needed.”