Instrumnt for wire drawing lubricant concentration

good day everyone

I want to know if what is the best instrument to use when measuring concentration on wire(copper) lubricants.

Thank you very much.

Hello Mr. Lua,

By far the easiest method to measure the percentage of fat concentration in copper drawing lubricant is to employ the refractive index method. One generally uses a hand held refractometer but laboratory bench mounted refractometers are also available.. Refractometers can range in price from about $100.00 to 10,000.00. so your query as to which is "best" is really whatever your criteria happens to be. Accuracy is usually in whole percentage numbers such (as say 6%). so high accuracy is not a necessity.

I have attached a URL to a Japanese web page that discusses control of wire drawing lubricant in more detail. www.lublight.co.jp/lublight%20manual.htm

As far as obtaining the right refractometer for you, we suggest that you discuss this with your drawing lubricant supplier and have them go back to the lubricant manufacturer to obtain a positive recommendation for your particular lubricant and perhaps a quotation for the supply of their recommended refractometer.

Good Day Sir!

Thank you very much. Currently I am using a manual refractometer but since I had doubts with the instrument, I posted the question. Because I learned that the refractometer was mostly used to measure sugar concentrations in food, it came to mind just how the refractometer related to wire lubricants since the instrument is used for food testing and that confused me. Now I understand.

Peter J Stewart-Hay wrote: Hello Mr. Lua,
By far the easiest method to measure the percentage of fat concentration in copper drawing lubricant is to employ the refractive index method. One generally uses a hand held refractometer but laboratory bench mounted refractometers are also available.. Refractometers can range in price from about $100.00 to 10,000.00. so your query as to which is "best" is really whatever your criteria happens to be. Accuracy is usually in whole percentage numbers such (as say 6%). so high accuracy is not a necessity.
I have attached a URL to a Japanese web page that discusses control of wire drawing lubricants in more detail. www.lublight.co.jp/lublight%20manual.htm

As far as obtaining the right refractometer for you, we suggest that you discuss this with your drawing lubricant supplier and have them go back to the lubricant manufacturer to obtain a positive recommendation for your particular lubricant and perhaps a quotation for the supply of their recommended refractometer.

Beware! The refractometer will measure EVERYTHING except pure water. Once you have contaminants in the coolant they can contribute to the reading. Also, if the emulsion is unstable you can get a false reading as well. Your readings should be compared to an acid split test periodically.

Keep in mind that the important thing you are looking for is lubricity. While your supplier may suggest levels of concentration that should work for you, there are simple tests that can also tell you how good the solution lubricates. They have ben discussed at length earlier in posting.