October 13, 2025

A busy metalworking company does not necessarily keep all their tooling in operation at the same time. Depending on the project or workload, some equipment will likely remain temporarily offline or in storage . . . raising the risk of corrosion complications. Cortec® shares how a simple dose of VpCI®-649 BD in tooling cooling water systems can minimize corrosion and maximize productivity.

Corrosion = Downtime

One company that performed metal pressing and injection molding faced corrosion challenges when the tooling was offline or in storage due to a lack of corrosion inhibitor in the system’s cooling water.* Production was delayed when workers went to bring the equipment online and discovered they first had to remove corrosion from the equipment. Adding VpCI®-649 BD to the cooling water tanks at the suggestion of Lake Chemicals and Minerals made a stark difference going forward. In the first 18 months of use, there were no corrosion maintenance issues in offline tooling. Workers began to carefully monitor the cooling water solution to maintain the proper concentration of inhibitors, and corrosion on offline tooling no longer slowed them down.

Stay Flexible, Maximize Productivity

While it is important to include a corrosion inhibitor in cooling systems during operation, it is especially critical during idle periods. Selecting a corrosion inhibitor that can be used during both phases can help metalworking companies maximize productivity by inhibiting corrosion and leaving cooling systems ready to switch quickly from inactivity to operation. Contact Cortec® to learn more about protecting your tooling from corrosion in service or out of service.

Keywords: tooling corrosion, corrosion, corrosion protection, Cortec, how to avoid downtime, how to maximize uptime, maintenance best practices, tooling storage best practices, injection mold storage, metal press storage

*Cortec® Case History 624: http://www.corteccasehistories.com/.

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