Am I the only one who thinks flood coolant is overrated for aluminum work?

I tried running dry on a batch of 6061 parts last week in my Haas VF-2, just using a good air blast, and my finish came out better than with flood. Tool wear was about the same on a 3/8 end mill over 50 parts. Anyone else found they can skip the mess and still get good results?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlesb4222d ago

I read somewhere that dry machining aluminum with MQL gives even better results than air blast.

claire99922d ago

Honestly, totally with you on this. I ran a batch of 6061 brackets dry with just air the other week and the finish was way cleaner than when I’m drowning it in coolant. Feels like less mess and less hassle for the same result.

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