Thru spindle coolant

[RICKY J]

Is it possible to add on thru spindle coolant to a machine that didnt come with it from the factory?

We have an Awea BM-1600 VMC with fanuc control . Are there any aftermarket companys that make them.

Also im wondering if its really necessary to have it because we are drilling plates that are no more then 2" thick and i was wondering to use carbide drills do you even need thru spindle coolant.

[Prodoggg]

You may be able to. Most likely it would involve replacement of the spindle. Ask a Cool Jet representative. Is it worth it? It could pay for itself rather quickly in cycle time reduction and increase in tool life. We have TSC on 7 out of ten of our mills and half of our lathes. I wouldn't buy another machine without the TSC option. Hope this is helpful.

[Guest MTB Technical Services]

Lots of builders will use a spindle cartridge that has already been prepped for thru coolant.

 

That's said, even if your machine came mechanically prepped for an in-field upgrade, you will still likely need a PMC change in order

to get the M-codes to enable it.

 

As a practical matter, unless you get your machine with it when you buy it, it's cost prohibitive to add it in the field to the typical mid to lower tier machine.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Some lower tier machines have issues with leaky rotary unions, which can wreck a spindle.

[Newbeeee™]

Some lower tier machines have issues with leaky rotary unions, which can wreck a spindle.

We retrofitted a couple of our Chevalier's as we didn't have the $ to have it fitted when buying them new. Not a big job, and the coupling is oh so simple - it's not a deublin but just a couple of carbide faces that spring together under coolant pressure. Simple.

There's also a nice 'hat/shroud' that protects the top spindle bearing from any coolant ingress from possible leaks. We fitted 2x cartridge filters (coarse and fine) and a 20bar pump (which gives 10 actual throught the spindle).

And to be honest, coolant still pees out of a 2mm drill, so I really don't see the point of a gazillion bar pump for a job shop.

[The_kid]

I do machine repair. Mechanically speaking it is easy. but the others are right the electrical and PMC ladder within the control is the hard part. DO NOT cheap out on the coupling. I have replaced more spindles because of a failed couplings than any other single reason. Note that productivity can be seriously improved with TSC and the smaller the holes the better it will do (because of chip evacuation and deeper pecks) when you buy the pump it maybe worth while to have a self regulating pressure/volume having this will cut down on foaming and heat build up in the coolant.

 

How do you like the AWEA BM 1600?