Written by Mike Hook, Director of Sales & Marketing at PRAB.
Reviewed by Paul Montgomery, Marketing Leader at PRAB.
Published June 30, 2026. Last updated July 2, 2026.
Quick answer
Testing metal scrap and process fluids before purchasing recycling equipment removes the guesswork from a capital expenditure decision. Lab-based testing produces shop-specific data — reclaimable coolant volume, chip reduction potential, and treated-fluid quality — that engineering and finance teams can use to validate return on investment before a system is ever installed. Effectively reduce manufacturing waste.
Metalworking operations are under increasing pressure to extract more value from their waste streams. Environmental regulations keep tightening, haul-away costs keep climbing, and every ton of metal scrap or gallon of spent coolant leaving the building represents money that could have stayed in the operation. The strategic response is usually the right one: invest in metal scrap-processing and fluid-recycling equipment built for the job. The goal: to reduce manufacturing waste.
The harder question is which equipment. A capital expenditure of that size is not a decision to make on assumptions. Buying a system that is undersized, oversized, or mismatched to a shop’s specific material and fluid chemistry wastes the investment it was meant to protect. Before committing capital, engineering and finance teams need answers to a short list of practical questions: which systems fit the material and process, whether the equipment will actually improve scrap value, whether it can handle current volume, and how quickly it will pay for itself.
Testing the materials and fluids first answers those questions before a single piece of equipment is ordered.
Reducing the volume and moisture content of metal scrap is one of the biggest challenges in effective waste management. Loose turnings, chips, and swarf are bulky, difficult to store, and expensive to transport in their raw form. Metal chip processing systems have rapid ROI, but this requires a complete understanding of your metal scrap and coolant. Testing a shop’s actual material lets engineers determine which separation and reduction equipment will perform best, rather than specifying a system based on general assumptions about the material type.
That testing typically points toward a combination of proven equipment categories:
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For many operations, briquetting delivers the greatest return. A briquetter compresses chips and swarf into dense, dry pucks, removing residual fluid for reuse while turning bulky scrap into a compact, higher-value commodity that is easier to transport and meets most recyclers’ requirements. Testing the material in advance confirms whether briquetting, or another combination of equipment, is the right fit before the investment is made.
Coolant and process fluids are treated as routine consumables in most metalworking shops, but their true cost accumulates quietly across departments. The larger the operation, the larger both the expense and the potential savings. A centralized coolant recycling system is usually the right long-term strategy, but committing capital to one without data can feel like a guessing game.
Fluid testing removes that uncertainty. A reliable lab can recreate a shop’s actual operating conditions and test its specific fluid chemistry to establish an objective performance baseline, showing what a recycling system will achieve before it is installed rather than after. That testing typically quantifies:
| → Click to Learn about PRAB’s FREE Fluid Testing Program. |
These results typically point toward some combination of centralized coolant recycling systems, which create a closed-loop process that reduces disposal costs, cuts new coolant purchases, and extends tool life; pH adjustment systems, which balance water chemistry to prevent corrosion and support compliance; and ultrafiltration systems, which remove impurities from wash fluids without stripping out the cleaners still doing useful work.
The value of testing goes beyond equipment selection. It produces documented, objective performance data — exactly the kind of evidence finance and engineering teams need to approve a capital expenditure with confidence. Instead of a proposal built on vendor claims or industry averages, testing gives decision-makers shop-specific numbers they can use for predictive financial forecasting and internal approval.
| → Click to Learn about PRAB’s Demo Before You Buy Program. |
As margins tighten and environmental compliance requirements grow stricter, guessing on a metal scrap or fluid recycling investment is a risk few operations can afford. Testing materials and fluids first turns that investment from a bet into a validated decision, backed by data collected under a shop’s real operating conditions.
PRAB offers free fluid and materials testing programs built on real-world conditions, producing results tied directly to a shop’s own application. To learn more about PRAB’s testing programs, visit PRAB.com.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the July 2026 print edition of Aerospace Manufacturing and Design under the headline “Improve profitability with efficient waste handling.” Read the original article at aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com or view the digital flipbook edition here.
About the Author
Mike Hook is PRAB’s Director of Sales & Marketing, with more than 20 years of experience in mechanical design and application serving metalworking and aerospace manufacturers. He works directly with engineering and operations teams to specify metal scrap processing and fluid recycling systems matched to each shop’s material and chemistry.
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