Working with machinery may be a dream come true for you. However, an imperative part of your job is understanding the basics of how machinery works. When it comes to coolant, here are five vital facts that you need to know to better understand the inner workings of machinery.
Coolant Has Two Main Functions
Machinery coolant has two main functions. First, it’s there to lubricate the machinery to ensure smooth cutting. Second, it’s there to remove excess heat from the material. Over time, the compounds in the coolant will start to break down. This can lead to a plethora of issues including decreased performance in lubrication and cooling of objects.
Clean Machine Coolant Is a Must for Many Different Reasons
The first thing that you need to know about machine coolant is that it needs to stay clean for the machine to operate at its optimal level. Coolant that is left unattended for lengthy periods of time will both break down and trap unwanted debris. This reduces the performance of the coolant and can lead to other issues. Some of these include dermatitis and respiratory issues.
Coolant Helps to Prevent Corrosion
When metals are cut, their protective coating is removed. This makes them highly susceptible to rapid rust formation. Your milling machine coolant also will work to inhibit rust formation on your various cutting surfaces to ensure a good quality product.
Coolant Extends Machine Life
As you learned above, one of the main roles of coolant in the machinery industry is to remove excess heat from the machinery parts. These include the tool, the chip, and the work piece. When the coolant is subpar or non-existent, it can cause the machinery parts to exceed their critical temperature range. This leads to premature equipment wear.
There Are Various Types of Machinery Coolant
When you go to your supplier to get coolant for your machinery, there are various types that you can purchase. These types tend to be placed into two different categories, which are cutting oils and water-miscible fluids. You’ll find that most machinists utilize a water-miscible fluid which is a combination of soluble oils, synthetics, and semi-synthetic fluid. Cutting oils are only typically preferred in cases for tapping deep holes where heat transfer is critical.
Machinery coolant is just one critical component of a machinist’s repertoire of skills. Although it may seem like a small part of the overall job, it’s very imperative to have the right coolant for the job that you’re doing. Hopefully, the above five facts have helped you to learn more about coolant for machinery to enhance your job skills.