Aluminum Milling Coolant ( AGAIN!!! )

Bob La Londe · 2011-03-21T17:08:58+00:00

Ok, here we go again. The cabinet for Metal Nibblers One is complete, and I am ready to add coolant. (Ok, I still have not made a door for it. I've got sheet plastic spring clamped across the front.)I've got misc accumulated hardware (pump, locline, barbs, hose) and can make other stuff as needed.I favor flood cooling. Mist cooling scares me for most coolants, and I can't use water based coolants. I'm turning up to 30,000 rpm with an open brush motor. There is a lot of air moving just from the spindle motor, and there is a potential for sparks if a mist gets drawn into the motor. The machine is mostly made of aluminum with some steel parts. Makes water based a no go.Options:Regardless of what some say WD-40 makes a pretty fair coolant/lubricant for cutting aluminum. (There does seem to be a cult following of people who hate WD-40 unconditionally.) Fairly high flame risk, but maybe not for flood cooling. $20/gallonTransmission Fluid. I have no real knowledge of this. I've poured some on a part to see and it seems to cut ok, but for short runs dry cuts ok too. I have to wash it off with Dawn dish soap, rinse and repeat to get rid of the oily feeling of the final work piece. Haven't really given it a fair shake as a continuous flood coolant. $15-20/gallonHydraulic Oil. No kidding. One local production shop who's owner is a fishing buddy of mine suggested that I just go buy 5 gallons of hydraulic oil over at the local Sam's Club. $Have not checked priceDiesel. The smell gives me a headache. I do have 50 gallons of diesel on hand to fill my tractor and its probably the cheapest answer. I have not tried it due to the headache factor. $4/gallonCommercial cutting oils. ??? Never bought any other than the small bottles I use for threading manually. $(priced all over the spectrum)High tech option (not really):One of the super high speed machine makers says they setup their machines to spray mist ethanol. Claim they get incredible cooling with it, and...

Mar 21, 2011 64 Replies

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anorton 15 years ago

And I apologize for being so harsh over what seems like a minor issue, but spreading false information is obviously a pet peeve of mine.

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Rich Grise 15 years ago

I could also blame the late hour, but I refuse to blame alcohol for my own boorishness! ;-)

Cheers! Rich

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Ignoramus1419 15 years ago

One more thing that flood coolant is good for, is at washing the milling area down for cleaning.

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John 15 years ago

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One of the machining magazines I get had a picture of a mill using the LN2 fed through the center of the tool with a special attachment something like what you use when you don't have through the spindle coolant option. I forget which one.

John

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PrecisionmachinisT 15 years ago

FWIW: "Tractor hydraulic fluid" is generally cheaper than ATF

Also, O'reilly's has this stuff for $ 29.99 ( but I suggest do double check the msds to make sure that it's primarily mineral oil base stock )

Pure Guard - Hydraulic Oil Part # N1032 Line: OIL

Additionally, a person could buy a gallon of heavy cutting oil and then mix with either straight hydraulic oil or with atf--purchase the darkest heaviest s*it that you can find--but just be careful about chlorine and / or sulphur additives as staining can be an issue with non-ferrous.

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