Machining cooling

General Discussion
#1

Hi.
I have some experience working with big CNC machines and ofcourse when machining aluminium you need cooling and that is what i run into on PNC. Obvisously water is out of the question because of the rotating table but what about alcohol cooling? Has anyone tryed it?

Thank you

#2

I don’t know if alcohol is compatible with the PNC, but at least some Datron owners use it without problem in their shops. I’d have thought that flammability or explosion hazard might be a problem, but apparently not. One user mention using something like 60 mL/hr, but I don’t recall which machine he was using.

#3

@Dr.NC while it is important to keep the Pocket NC as dry as possible and not allow any liquids into the electronics of the machine (which are not sealed), it is acceptable to use a light alcohol mist for cooling.

The best option is to dial-in your speeds and feeds so that the majority of the heat generated is evacuated with the chips. However, if that is becoming a challenge for one reason or another, resorting to alcohol is an option.

Thanks,
QR

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#4

@qrothing - I am interested to know if PNC can recommend a misting system? One of the cheap ones from Amazon just seems like a bad idea…

#5

@daClubber unfortunately we have not spent enough time using any of the available options to recommend one.

Wish I could be more help!

#6

With the alcohol mist…im a bit worried that it will dry out the bearings causing them to grind and break.

#7

Even though the bearings are not sealed, it would take a lot of alcohol to wash away enough bearing lubricant to cause that issue. At that point you would be closer to a flood coolant system instead of a misting system.

Having said that, we still recommend dialed-in speeds and feeds and proper tool selection over any liquid cooling.

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#8

Hi guys.
Im back with Machining cooling questions :smiley: .
I have been doing alot of deep drilling and machining aluminium.
There proper cooling is a must because aluminium is very sticky.
I have been using IPA for cooling and that works well enough, the problem with it is that it is flamable and quite toxic when used in a closed enviroment. So im trying to find something less toxic than IPA.
Has anyone had any experience with parrafin oil? Or ethanol, other kinds of cooling liquids?
I know it cant be water based because it would damadge the electronics.

Thanks for the suggestions, happy machining :slight_smile: