Do I Need A Coolant System?

[grepper]

What have I gotten myself into? This seems never ending!

Mini mill. Do I really need a coolant system?

If it's really necessary:

Mist? Seems problematic. Oily mist in the air, coating everything.
Flood? Seems really messy. Need to build enclosure, sump, etc.
Micro Drop? Out of my budget.

Manually squirt cutting oil or coolant?

 

[ch2co]

While I usually work with aluminum and brass, the occasional mild steel etc creeps into my plans.
I typically just brush my cutting fluid on with an little brush. Not being a heavy duty milling machine,
I haven't found any need (so far) to cool things with mist or flood. I just milled a bunch of cast iron
and found that canola oil that I got out of the kitchen worked with the least amount of smoking, stink,
and messy cleanup. In the past, I've brushed on oil, cutting oil etc. and would still go back to the canola oil.
For aluminum, I use WD40 which has a long application tube that makes it easy to get into the
working area.

CHuck the grumpy old guy

 

[JimDawson]

Yes, you need coolant, especially for aluminum (WD-40). Just make your own microdrop setup. Very easy to do. An air flow control, a pressure tank, an air regulator, some fittings and plastic tubing is all that is required. About $100 in hardware. It is a true microdrop, no-fog system. Runs from zero to flood.

You could go crazy and make a full on digital controlled system, but that is way overkill. http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/digital-mist-coolant-pump.40405/ Sometimes you do stuff just to see if it will work.

 

[Bob Korves]

Aluminum: kerosene or WD40. Edit: Dry works, too.
Steel: cutting oil.
Cast iron, brass, and plastic: dry.

Anchor Lube is very good on stainless steel and is water based, works on nearly everything, and it is thick enough to stick to taps and drills. No smell, either. It can be watered down as needed.

 

[TommyD]

Onseys twoseys, I don't see a need for anything more than a pump can of approprite lube. Production, I would consider something more. All in how much you gonna use it.

From what I have found, you NEED to wipe everything down when using an aqueous coolant. They never did here and exposed metsl is rust pocked and the paint stained where the coolant petrified.

 

[Uglydog]

Aluminum: kerosene or WD40. Edit: Dry works, too.
Steel: cutting oil.
Cast iron, brass, and plastic: dry.

Anchor Lube is very good on stainless steel and is water based, works on nearly everything, and it is thick enough to stick to taps and drills. No smell, either. It can be watered down as needed.

Solid advice.
When I change oil in a head stock or lawn mower. I evaluate the oil if it's dark and dirty it goes in the outside bucket for oil quenching. If it is still a clearish I use it and on steel. Note: I am not recommending that you breathe the oil fumes/smoke.

Ventilate.

Legitimate cutting oil performs much better!

Daryl
MN

 

[JimDawson]

You guys do understand that we are talking about a CNC machine here? Not a manual machine. I have been following the rest of the threads on @grepper's posts on converting a mill. With a few exceptions, coolant is pretty much mandatory except for very light work, and always for aluminum to prevent welding to the tool bit.

 

[grepper]

I'm doing this in my basement. I guess I need to count on some kind of sump under the mill and a full enclosure so I won't end up spraying WD40 or whatever all over the place. Right?

 

[jbolt]

On the big CNC router/mill we built for the high school we use only a no-mist system that I built. With the high speeds we run we had some tool welding issues so we added a second air stream and it works really well with very little mess. A quart of coolant lasts about 12-16 hrs of continuous running. Most of the material we machined this year has been 1/4" to 1/2" aluminum plate. A shop vac makes quick work for cleanup.

For your size mill you could do a simple three sided enclosure with a shallow bottom with no top or front. Just enough to keep the chips in check and make cleanup easier. On my flood coolant system I had an aluminum tray made and use pcv pipe and cheap shower curtains for the sides.

 

[jbolt]

Yes, you need coolant, especially for aluminum (WD-40). Just make your own microdrop setup. Very easy to do. An air flow control, a pressure tank, an air regulator, some fittings and plastic tubing is all that is required. About $100 in hardware. It is a true microdrop, no-fog system. Runs from zero to flood.

You could go crazy and make a full on digital controlled system, but that is way overkill. http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/digital-mist-coolant-pump.40405/ Sometimes you do stuff just to see if it will work.

Darn you Jim, that's too cool. Now I'm going have to make a pump.....