Just noticed a huge difference in surface finish after switching coolant brands

I was running the same stainless job for 2 years on a Haas VF-2 in Toledo, getting decent results... then switched to a cheaper coolant concentrate from a new supplier 3 months ago. Now my parts come out with this weird haze and I'm burning through inserts twice as fast. Has anyone else seen a big drop in quality from swapping coolant brands?

2 comments

2 Comments

rosed322d ago

Gotta stop you there for a second. That haze and faster insert wear might not be the coolant brand itself, but the concentration mix you're running. Cheap coolant usually needs a different water to concentrate ratio than the expensive stuff, and if you just swapped without adjusting that, it'll mess everything up. Try checking the refractometer reading on your sump and bumping the concentration up by a couple points, see if that clears the haze first. Stainless is picky about lubrication, and a too thin mix will kill your tool life even with the good brand.

dylanh972d ago

Bumped mine up by 2 points and it cleared right up.