Originally Posted by Coolster  You need coolant. |
I respectfully disagree. For a couple of reasons.
First off I am running this job in my 4th axis and with the amount of coolant being flung from an endmill going 3500 rpm it would fill up my rotary table. ( They don't have any seals ) I had to disassemble it once to clean it and re-lube. I don't want to do that again.
One of the big benifits from coolant is clearing chips away so they are not recut. The work flow on this job is very good and the chips are not an issue.
Carbide is pretty tough stuff and has amazing thermal properties. It is said that if you can not supply coolant in sufficent quanties...don't use it ! Thermal shock is a bigger danger to carbide than heat is.
Also as stated above after 10 minutes of heavy cutting the tool and work piece are just warm. So the heat is being ejected with the chips.
My finish is great so no problem there.
It is likely that I would get a bit more tool life with coolant but with all the added clean up it does not seem economical.
I am very pleased with the way the job runs.
Some pictures of the finished job
HERE towards the bottom of the page.
Respectfully
Scott