Spindle assembly leaking coolant.

[l u k e]

Ran some coolant through the milling today getting ready to actually cut something and found these leaks. Anyone have any ideas what it may be before I tear the covers off?



It ran steady like that for 20 minutes until I shut it down.

[DaOne]

On mine there are 2 covers (one on each side) that are glued on with a sealant. This Is supposed to help cool the spindle cartridge. Mine leaked just as yours is doing. They had to be taken off, cleaned and re-glued in place. The sealant used was a special one and I cant remember what it was.

[l u k e]

Seems like an odd way to go about containing the coolant...

[wms]

This can happen if you "Deadhead" the coolant..it blows out the sealant on the cover plates..

[l u k e]

Whats deadhead?

Turning on the coolant with the spigots closed?

Is there a special sealant I need to fix it?

[DaOne]

Yep... turning off all the coolant nozzles is a big no no.

[l u k e]

learning the hard way...

[Geof]

Frequently I have had all the coolant nozzles turned off and had the pump running without any harm. This is on a variety of machines all equipped with the high volume pumps. These are centrifugal pumps and they can only develop about 25 psi which is not much pressure.

Some of my machines have suffered burst coolant lines in the head. The plastic tube fatigues where it flexes as the head goes up and down and can eventually crack. This does cause something of a mess when the machine is running unattended and 80 gallons of coolant get pumped onto the floor and the tool breaks through lack of coolant.

[haastec]

Haas uses a product called Sikaflex, or used to anyways. The plates are held in place wish screws so all you really need is a good quality qasket maker silicone. I have had good luck using the Loctite brand ultra black.

Use the coolant override in settings to turn on/off coolant instead of the valves.

[l u k e]

Originally Posted by haastec The plates are held in place wish screws

Is it really the surrounding exterior cover on the spindle that contains the coolant or is there a tank of sorts under it?

[haastec]

There is a coolant jacket that is part of the casting which houses and surrounds the spindle and helps to dissipate any excess heat. All this is under the exterior sheetmetal covers.

Pull the covers off the head and it will be quite clear what plates we are talking about that need to be resealed.

[l u k e]

OK cool. I was looking at the size of the cover and was thinking it would be a B!$^% to line up with a bead of silicone around the edge and secure it in place with a good seal.