A method for controlling a temperature of a cooling device taking into account heating at least one machine component of a process machine during operation of the process machine is provided. The method includes ascertaining an expected thermal energy acting upon the at least one machine component within a temporal processing part of a control program that controls the operation of the process machine. The expected thermal energy is ascertained based a processing power provided within the temporal processing part for the at least one machine component. The method further includes determining a required heat dissipating capability of the cooling device for dissipating the expected thermal energy, and preconditioning the cooling device in advance in order to provide the required heat dissipating capability until the expected thermal energy acts upon the machine component.

A control device for a machine tool, which machines a workpiece in a processing area and is equipped with a coolant supplier that supplies coolant to the processing area and a mist collector that collects mist within the processing area, comprises a machining control unit that controls the machine tool to perform machining on the basis of a machining program and determines whether the machining has finished, and a collector control unit that automatically stops the mist collector if the machining has finished.