Why does nobody talk about switching from flood coolant to mist for aluminum?

I used to run flood coolant on every aluminum job (you know, the messy way) for about 5 years. Last month I finally tried a mist setup on a batch of 200 parts. Cuts are way cleaner, no slippery puddles on the floor, and I'm not breathing that oily fog all day. Has anyone else made the swap or am I just late to this party?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.shane21d ago

My 200 part run last month with flood coolant on 6061 turned out great. I cleaned up maybe a gallon of fluid total and the chips came off like butter with zero tool marks. Mist setups always dry out my collets and I get more tool breakage from inconsistent cooling, especially on thicker cuts. Plus that air blast just blows chips into every nook and cranny of my machine, I spent an hour cleaning out behind the way covers. If you're running thin wall stuff where heat buildup is minimal, sure, but for heavy roughing I'll stick with the puddles.

hugos6721d ago

I finally switched last year on a 6061 job with 500 parts. The mist setup kept the chips from turning into that sticky paste that flood coolant always seems to make on aluminum. Cuts were way cleaner and I didn't have to mop up gallons of coolant every night. Only downside is you gotta keep the air pressure dialed in just right or you'll get chatter on thin wall sections. Still, it's worth it for not breathing that nasty fog all day.