FACILITATING AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE

India’s aerospace manufacturing sector is on the cusp of significant growth. Let’s delve into how the strategic selection of process fluids, along with industry-leading technical expertise, can unlock numerous benefits for aerospace components manufacturing and machining processes.

India’s Aerospace industry has witnessed significant growth. Driven by a skilled workforce, cost competitiveness, and supportive policies, the country has emerged as a hub for aerospace innovation, attracting top global conglomerates to establish manufacturing operations.

The India aerospace parts manufacturing market size reached US$ 13.6 billion in 2023, driven primarily by increasing domestic and international air travel demand.

Airlines expanding and modernizing their fleets fuel the demand for aerospace components. Indian manufacturers held 3 percent of the global market share as of 2021. With an impressive 8 percent annual growth rate, they are poised to lead the sector and are expected to expand their global market share to 5 percent by 2025.

Meeting Stringent Quality Standards

The Aerospace industry is characterized by stringent quality control and manufacturing standards. It must consistently meet high-performance standards and ensure compliance with regulations and approvals across its day-to-day supply chains and workflow management. 

To achieve success in component machining and grinding, only approved metalworking fluids can be used across the supply chain – and many aerospace manufacturers have specific standards for metalworking coolants.

Alongside this, the drive to adopt circular business practices to manage process fluids, sump maintenance, and utilize existing materials and products as long as possible is an increasing priority for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their supply chains.

Challenges on the Shop Floor

For heavy-duty machining applications that are common across the aerospace supply chain, selecting highly effective metalworking soluble fluids and supply partners is crucial. Making the right fluid selections can support manufacturers in keeping operations running smoothly, ensuring supply demands are met while elevating levels of quality. While OEMs are the specialists in their areas, pairing this knowledge with the expertise of supply partners is the key to success, particularly when it comes to elevating standards through industrial fluid solutions.

OEMs also face a significant challenge in finding a single adaptable solution for the diverse machining requirements and the specific materials used in the production process to fit their manufacturing supply chain. These requirements encompass milling, turning, drilling, and grinding, each presenting unique cooling and lubrication needs. Sticky residues, foaming issues during production, machine tool replacement costs, and high total cost of ownership are all issues that factory managers are dealing with on the shop floor.

To overcome these complex challenges, process fluid professionals work with OEMs to understand the intricacies of their processes, the materials machined and introduce solutions that uphold quality and performance across various applications. Specialized process fluids play a pivotal role in ensuring the high quality and reliability demanded by this industry. Essential for tool life, lubrication and preventing corrosion/staining, process fluids are
vital in enhancing the efficiency and precision of the manufacturing process. They also play a role in extending the lifespan and maintaining the integrity of machinery and tooling.

Improving Workplace Safety and Performance

Process fluids are an excellent resource for elevating production standards. Improving reliability and quality is crucial for minimizing coolant usage, reducing drag-out, and prolonging sump life to meet the demanding tolerances and intricate machining processes required. The industry is actively pursuing operational efficiency to reduce waste generation and realize substantial cost savings.

Aerospace manufacturers are starting to adopt a holistic approach to their metalworking process fluids, ensuring consistent quality and cost savings while optimizing operations. By carefully selecting and managing these fluids, manufacturers can enhance performance, minimize waste, prolong equipment lifespan, and prioritize the health and safety of their workforce.

This shift towards proactive safety measures is a testament to how aerospace manufacturers are not just protecting their workers' wellbeing, but also how they're taking the lead in transforming the industry into a safer and more responsible one.

Opting for a single metalworking fluid over several specialized fluids is about more than maintaining standards. It's about simplifying processes and inventory management and improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This grants aerospace manufacturers greater operational control, empowering them to steer their operations in their desired direction. Ultimately, this comprehensive approach enables high-quality, sustainable production while minimizing environmental impact and safeguarding the workforce.

Considering Sustainability in Process Fluids

Adopting process fluids which can help contribute to corporate sustainability goals is crucial for enhancing environmental stewardship in the Aerospace industry. A key focus for manufacturers operating in this sector is the reduction of waste streams, product consumption, and increasing circularity within the manufacturing process.

Implementing process fluids, such as HOCUT^® 4260, offers a compelling strategy for manufacturers to reduce their environmental impact by prioritizing the reduction of waste and product consumption. As an advanced metalworking fluid, HOCUT^® 4260 is engineered to provide superior lubrication and corrosion protection while minimizing the use of hazardous substances. Its versatility also makes it suitable for multiple machining processes within the Aerospace industry, reducing the need for multiple specialized fluids.

Efficient Manufacturing

Part of the Quaker Houghton soluble metal removal offering, HOCUT^® 4260 offers an efficient and safe solution that is tailored to the Aerospace industry's exacting standards. With a low-foaming design and cutting-edge formulation, the HOCUT^® range minimizes risks by prioritizing health and safety compliance, allowing manufacturers to focus on their core activities. Its superior lubrication and cooling properties support precision machining and grinding and improve cost efficiency by streamlining coolant use.

Favored by operators, the solution is also cleaner, providing excellent visibility of the machining area due to additional dispersion. The product also remains extremely stable for extended periods of time – meaning systems are unlikely to become compromised or require downtime. To showcase this in application, an aerospace OEM using HOCUT^® 4260 in their Canadian machined parts facility reduced consumption and handling costs by $200k in 18 months and reduced the volume of mixed fluids for disposal by around 250,000 litres annually. Production Engineers stated that they have now minimized rework, and rejects are lower by 25 percent. They also reported no complaints about permanent residue on the machines.

Tailored to minimize environmental impact and improve circular economy practices, HOCUT^® 4260’s longevity and reusability underscore its role in promoting more sustainable manufacturing, including reducing consumption and waste generation. Supporting manufacturers in making valuable contributions towards sustainability efforts, HOCUT^® 4260 supports the advancement of efficient and high-quality manufacturing.

Expertise at its Best

The Quaker Houghton metalworking fluid portfolio provides the latest technology to achieve the quality and process efficiency demanded by a wide range of machining operations. With expertise in the sector, Quaker Houghton continues to work closely with OEMs to understand current issues and create solutions that will ultimately maximize production on process lines.

To help manufacturers manage and optimize their industrial process fluids effectively, QH FLUID INTELLIGENCE™ provides a digitized solution for fluid management representing a complete ecosystem, encompassing process fluids, application expertise, hardware, and software. It enables aerospace manufacturers to measure, control, and optimize their production processes, fostering safe, sustainable, and cost-effective operations. This integrated approach delivers differentiated value, enabling manufacturers to enhance performance, streamline operations, and achieve production goals efficiently.

To conclude, aerospace manufacturers have defined standards for metalworking coolants in order to maintain high performance and regulatory compliance. Working with a market leader in process fluids, such as Quaker Houghton, manufacturers can be confident that this industry expert supplier will have deep knowledge on the intricacies of their processes and introduce solutions that can adapt to different machining requirements. Combining this expertise with the technical knowledge of OEMs is crucial for maintaining smooth operations, ensuring supply demands, elevating quality, and achieving sustainability goals.

Jonathan Dilley Aerospace Director Quaker Houghton

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