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Just realized the air wand trick after a coolant blowout at the 30th Street job | CNC Operators - Talk Freely

Just realized the air wand trick after a coolant blowout at the 30th Street job

We were running a tight tolerance part down at the 30th Street plant, and the coolant line popped off right at the spindle. It sprayed everywhere, all over the enclosure, the floor, even the operator panel. I spent 45 minutes cleaning up with rags and paper towels, and my supervisor just shook his head and handed me an air wand hooked to the shop line. Turns out, blasting coolant out of every nook with compressed air first, then wiping down, takes about a third of the time and leaves no streaks. I felt pretty dumb for not thinking of it sooner, especially after 8 years on the floor. Has anyone else found a cleaning trick that saves that kind of time? I could use a few more of those.

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel8579d ago

...and the air wand thing gets even better once you figure out where the coolant actually hides. The chip tray, under the way covers, that little ledge behind the spindle, all of it traps coolant that you'll never reach with a rag until it drips back out two hours later. Hit all those spots with air first and you won't come back to a puddle under the machine the next morning. The other trick is keeping a shop vac with a wet filter nearby so you suck up the bulk of it off the floor before it spreads. Air blows it out of the tight spots, vac grabs the mess, then you wipe with a dry rag and you're done in 15 minutes instead of an hour. Just watch the air pressure so you don't blast chips into the panel or your eyes, and crack a door or window because that mist goes everywhere. Eight years in and we're all still learning stuff like this, no shame in it.

betty1369d ago

Man, I wish somebody told me this back when I first started. I spent my first year thinking the puddle under the machine was just, you know, a machine thing, like it was supposed to do that. Used to mop it up every morning like an idiot and wonder why it kept coming back. Then one day I hit that ledge behind the spindle with air just messing around and a whole river of coolant came running out. Felt like I discovered fire. Now I keep the shop vac right by the mill and do the air then vac then rag thing, takes no time at all. Still managed to spray myself in the face with chips last week though, so yeah, eight years in and the learning never stops.