Thru spindle coolant adapter

[Doug E. Hurco]

We're running a job that requires drilling a #30 (.1285) hole thru 1" of 303/304 stainless mill bar. This material is known to have hard spots that really affects the drill life. We're currently drilling this hole with a RedLine® RDH series coated carbide drill.

This job is being run on a Hurco VMX24 without thru spindle coolant.
We've been thinking about buying a thru spindle coolant adapter but I have never used one before.

Could someone give me the low down of these? Do we need a higher output coolant pump? Can this tool still be used with the tool changer? And of course what would the cost be to set this up in our machine?

[fasto]

I have seen a device called a coolant inducer that converts regular machines to "through spindle coolant". Of course, the coolant doesn't actually go through the spindle, it's piped to the inducer. I recall seeing one that would fit in a toolchanger. This used a block of sorts mounted to the machine spindle casting that carried the coolant. When the inducer was put in the spindle, a pin fit into this block making a pathway for the coolant. Think of the restraining pin for a tapping head - the same idea.
I don't know if these are even available any longer.

[jerryt1]

I have used these extensivly in the past. These will work with your tool changer but you have to be aware of the extra weight. Add the weight of the coolant inducer, tool holder, and tool. The total should be less than the max weight recommended for your tool holder. If not you can manually load the tool and remove the tool manually when finished. The distance from the locking pin/coolant feed can be either 2.599" or 3.15". You do not need a high pressure pump. The coolant holes in the tool are so small that they create adequate pressure. Seco used to make a nice lightweight unit in their Graflex line. Not sure if these are still available.