New to owning/using metal CNC machines here [I’m a mechanical engineer, which never actually translates to making my own parts] and looking at getting the MR1, mostly as a weekend warrior machine. It’s going to all but sit idle most of the week but I’d really like to develop some machining chops just to in general be a better engineer.
To my knowledge, flood coolant is great for chip removal and keeping things lubricated but it sounds like there is a coolant leak issue out the doors of the MR1 and I’ve heard that if you leave coolant idle for days, it tends to get the machine sticky and nasty. (This is what I’m most concerned about) I’ve also heard that parts have to get a pretty good rinse down otherwise the coolant makes them all sticky.
To consider a different coolant, I’ve heard droplet lubricant (fogbuster etc.) is not great for chip removal but does a great job at keeping things lubricated as long as you aren’t pocketing a deep drill. I’ve heard it’s easier to clean because the part can just get wiped down and that it doesn’t mind sitting for days. It does require an air compressor (which I have).
Finally, there’s the good old manual brush/spray oil lubrication, which I’ve done quite a bit on manual machines but seems to be unheard of on CNC (to be fair, it makes no sense on a fully automated machining center but with this machine, you’re probably not straying too far from it anyways). I’m wondering if this is a practical first approach for this kind of machine and possibility upgrading later.
Thoughts/opinions? Is anyone rolling anything other than the flood coolant? Has anyone at Langmuir done much testing with other coolant methodologies?