Hard choice: flood coolant or mister for the new Haas mini mill I set up last Tuesday?

I just got a 2022 Haas mini mill in my garage shop and had to pick between running flood coolant or a mister for the small parts I do. Flood seemed like the PRO way but I went with a mister because I didn't want to deal with a stinky sump and coolant disposal every month. First 15 parts in 6061 aluminum came out fine but the chips started sticking to the tool on deeper cuts. Anyone else run a mister and regret not going flood for certain jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

blake3023d ago

Dude, I made the exact SAME call on my machine and man, I totally feel you on those chips sticking with deeper cuts. Mishima or not, sometimes you just NEED that flood to wash everything out clean.

elizabeth4383d ago

My buddy Mike had a 3/8 end mill snap clean in half on a job last Tuesday. He was running a .250 depth cut in 6061 with flood coolant and it sounded like a gunshot when it broke. He said the chips were packing so bad he couldn't even see the cut, just a solid wall of aluminum. Now he runs a peck cycle on anything over .150 deep, even if it takes twice as long. Lessons learned the hard way, you know?