Hot take: I think a lot of shops overuse coolant on aluminum jobs

At my last shop, we ran a Haas VF2 and the lead guy insisted on flooding every aluminum part. I started running some simple brackets dry with a sharp tool, and the finish was just as good. It saved us a huge mess and about 15 gallons of coolant a month. Am I the only one who thinks we default to coolant without checking if we really need it?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric5123d ago

You're right, a lot of shops just run flood because that's how they learned. Dry cutting works great for simple stuff if you keep the chips clear. It's a good way to cut down on the mess and cost.

eric_gonzalez263d ago

That "huge mess" part is why I switched to mist for most aluminum.

the_hayden3d ago

Actually, @eric_gonzalez26, a good flood coolant setup can be way cleaner than mist for aluminum.