A lot of materials require some form of lubricant when machining for best results–aluminum will bond to your tool eventually if you don’t use some lubricant. There simply is no combination of feeds and speeds that will 100% prevent it from happening, but a little mist or flood and there’s no problem. Most materials can benefit in terms of surface finish from use of coolant too. Unfortunately, coolant is messy. If you don’t have a full enclosure, it’s often unacceptably messy. The enterprising machinist won’t let a little thing like lack of an enclosure get in the way, though.
So the next time you’re getting ready to machine, forget the age old HSS or Carbide question. Instead ask, “Paper or plastic?”
I couldn’t resist!
There’s something quite entertaining about this very pragmatic solution!
What looks to be a radial engine block is also quite interesting…
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Bob is responsible for the development and implementation of the popular G-Wizard CNC Software. Bob is also the founder of CNCCookbook, the largest CNC-related blog on the Internet.
![CNC Coolant Nozzles [Mill Flood Coolant Rings and Collars]](https://www.cnccookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/DM_spindle_coolant_ring.jpg "CNC Coolant Nozzles [Mill Flood Coolant Rings and Collars]")
![CNC Coolant Easy Guide [ Mist, High Pressure, Through Spindle, Flood ]](https://www.cnccookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/img_5d164e8e73379.png "CNC Coolant Easy Guide [ Mist, High Pressure, Through Spindle, Flood ]")
![CNC Enclosure [ DIY Build Log, Plans, and Awesome Ideas ]](https://www.cnccookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Persp3D.jpg "CNC Enclosure [ DIY Build Log, Plans, and Awesome Ideas ]")
Well, plastic of course! This solution is pure genius.
Hi Bob
Looks like the Mill is a Tormach. Do you know if this Guy has a Weg Site? Interested to see the Radial he is building.
Cheers
Willy
He He He, I’ve been using clear vinyl shower curtains for years.
That’s a great solution. I regularly use flood coolant on my open mill drill. I have to keep the RPMs down otherwise the coolant is flung around the room (or it climbs up the tool).
I’ll definitely try this next time.
I’ve been doing this for years as my enclosure isn’t perfect and coolant lasts longer when not being slung everywhere, However, I’ve also seen what happens if the plastic gets caught in the cutter at 5000 rpm. Last time it destroyed my fog buster.