Cold Gun Aircoolant System Eliminates Need for Expensive Ethanol Coolant While Protecting Aluminum Sheet During Machining

This customer machines screen printed aluminum sheet stock. A vacuum vise holds the piece, so conventional coolant could not be used since liquid would foul the vacuum generator. They used ethanol because it evaporated, and, as a gas, did not foul the vacuum generator. Ethanol, however, is very expensive ($200/gallon) and discolored the aluminum. To protect the against this, a clear coat had to be applied prior to machining. As an alternative to the liquid coolant, they installed a Model 5215 Cold Gun Aircoolant System. This provided ample cooling, eliminating the need for the ethanol and clear coat operation. This resulted in an annual savings of $20,000.