Wondering how/when you NM200 users with coolant clean your machines.
I've found that swarf can take 1-2 days to dry, and cleaning wet chips is awkward. So I generally wait until the mill has been idle for a couple of days before using the shop vac.
Wondering how/when you NM200 users with coolant clean your machines.
I've found that swarf can take 1-2 days to dry, and cleaning wet chips is awkward. So I generally wait until the mill has been idle for a couple of days before using the shop vac.
shop vac! holy cow i would fill it 5 times before i was done! i clean mine every week or 2 scooping it out with a dust pan like a shovel. i run large parts in 6061 so i make huge piles on each side of the machine, and then i run a few gallons of fresh water over both piles the night before a clean out so that i rinse the coolant (trim microsol 685) out of them, and top up my tank level at the same time. next morning they are mostly dry(they drain quicker when rinsed) and i scoop them into a large trash can. i have a custom coolant system with a large tank, large drain tube, and a chip strainer basket, so as it gets full, i dump it into either side of the machine, and i also scoop chips from the main tray around the bottom of the machine to the sides in between cycles. this method works great, and saves me on coolant. one gallon of trim lasts me about a year before i clean and recharge.
I make small one/two-off parts in HRS for the most part, so the chips are mainly ugly rather than in the way (I need to clean out the table slots frequently).