Such coolant is called "flood cooling."? It is water with emulsified oil and usually rust inhibitors.? Water conducts heat well, but oil does not.? Oil lubricates well, but water does not.? The most important lubrication is of the of the cutting tool edges to help prevent metal buildup on them.? You still clean such machines, but perhaps not as often.? There are a lot of CNC machines out there, true.? But also, still a lot of manual machines.? Many vendors of lathes sell manual versions from Griizzly on up.
There is also mist cooling which can be a good choice for smaller machines especially in a home shop.? (Flood cooling requires more such as the means to pump it, collect it, strain it, and recirculate it.)? The spray coolant is also water with oil.? And some of the cooling happens with the evaporation of water in the spray stream and after it lands.? However, it is more risky to leave this sitting on bare metal for a long time and it is best to clean the machine and normally re-oil surfaces when done.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
On Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 05:23:44 PM PDT, Chris Albertson <albertson.chris@...> wrote:
In a professional environment with larger machines and near constant use, they are typically taken care of daily and "way oil" is used to protect ways and similar sliding surfaces.
It this still true? ? ?The professional lathes I’ve seen all seem to be enclosed in a plexiglass enclosure and are pouring a flood of coolant on the part. ? ?How does this coolant interact with the lubrication? ? ? I know our little machines don’t have coolant systems but I’ve wondered how it works that a “fire hose” of what looks like water-based coolant would work if there were oil in the moving parts.
