martin_05
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2009
- Location
- Valencia, CA, USA
Being that our shop is not used for production, we can, at times, have period of weeks when the machines sit idle. Coolant evaporation is a problem.
In case someone is curious, we use Hocut 795-B. No problems at all with it. It does not stink-up the place or deteriorate if sitting idle. Evaporation is the only issue.
Anyhow, I've been thinking of setting-up a coolant load/drain system based around a 55 gallon drum next to the machine coolant tank. The idea is to drain the coolant through a filter when we know we are done for a while and store it in an airtight drum for use weeks later. When ready to use it, we pump it back in. I would likely try to automate this with a small processor and suitable level sensors.
Another use case would be when purposely machining without coolant. I have a job coming up where we are going to make several hundred parts out of mild steel with AlTIN tooling and no coolant. I can see using coolant to wash down the machine after a run. And then the question becomes: Do you really want to use the same coolant when going back to machining aluminum. I have extra filtration on the machine's drain into the coolant tank but fine particles are going to get through no matter what.
Has anyone done anything like this? I would imagine this might be something that large shops might do all the time for other reasons. I saw a video a while back of a shop that had coolant piped to faucets behind each machine in order to make refilling easier. I would imagine they prepare coolant in large batches elsewhere and pump it throughout the facility.
Thanks.
In case someone is curious, we use Hocut 795-B. No problems at all with it. It does not stink-up the place or deteriorate if sitting idle. Evaporation is the only issue.
Anyhow, I've been thinking of setting-up a coolant load/drain system based around a 55 gallon drum next to the machine coolant tank. The idea is to drain the coolant through a filter when we know we are done for a while and store it in an airtight drum for use weeks later. When ready to use it, we pump it back in. I would likely try to automate this with a small processor and suitable level sensors.
Another use case would be when purposely machining without coolant. I have a job coming up where we are going to make several hundred parts out of mild steel with AlTIN tooling and no coolant. I can see using coolant to wash down the machine after a run. And then the question becomes: Do you really want to use the same coolant when going back to machining aluminum. I have extra filtration on the machine's drain into the coolant tank but fine particles are going to get through no matter what.
Has anyone done anything like this? I would imagine this might be something that large shops might do all the time for other reasons. I saw a video a while back of a shop that had coolant piped to faucets behind each machine in order to make refilling easier. I would imagine they prepare coolant in large batches elsewhere and pump it throughout the facility.
Thanks.
