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Chip and coolant control on a ke-55 (or rmc-55)

upthebikes

Cast Iron
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Location
Great Lakes USA
These seem like very capable machines from all I’ve read on here. A big question for me is, for those who actually run them, what do you do about coolant and chip control?

For chips, I know there is a plexi front shield on the ke-55 which should help some in terms of keeping them relatively inside the machine. Is there an integrated chip pan easily accessible? After your operation do you just use a chip brush to sweep them off the table/fixtures and into said chip pan?

For coolant, I’m used to full enclosures and high-ish nozzle pressure to just blast chips out of the way which doesn’t really apply here. Very careful with nozzle location and pressure? Do these mills have a reliable coolant recyclying system/screen/filter?

Or do you all just build a water tight room inside your shops to run these in and say damn it all?

I guess i’m just looking for some real world input on a less than glamorous subject.

Thanks!
 
Typically I use a brush and push all the chips down the back schute, then into a container from the lower pan. Or if I'm not generating too many chips I use a shop vac.

For the coolant I use a single nozzle and adjust the flow so it's not spraying coolant everywhere including the floor. I have loose pieces of Lexan which I put into the enclosure (such as it is) to prevent coolant spray from leaving the machine.

One thing you want to check is the sheet metal guard under the Y-axis ram. It covers the end of the y-axis ball screw. If your not carefull it can get chips/coolant in the bearing. One of the piss-poor design features of an RMC55.
 








 
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