High-pressure holemaking: Drilling Performance

END USER: Modern Machining Technology Inc., (303) 945-7570, www.destroked.com.
SOLUTION PROVIDER: Industrial Coolant Systems LLC, (303) 968-1707, www.industrialcoolantsystems.com.
CHALLENGE: Reduce the cycle time when drilling a large quantity of holes in a 1018 steel part.
SOLUTION: A high-pressure coolant system.

Modern Machining Technology Inc. found that holemaking with standard cobalt drills and flood coolant could achieve the required tolerances when machining two holes in 1018 steel hubs, but the job shop wasn’t able to complete the needed 4,000 holes each month with that arrangement. Each 4″-dia. (101.6mm) hub has a 3⁄8″-dia. (9.525mm) hole on one side and a 3⁄32″-dia. (2.381mm) hole on the other side, and both are about 2¼” (57.15mm) deep.

Scott Countryman, owner of the Wheat Ridge, Colo., shop, explained that each hole took about 40 seconds to produce with a feed rate of 25 ipm (635 mm/min.) and 0.007″ (0.178mm) pecks on a DMG Mori DuraVertical 5100 vertical machining center.

Countryman said he knew Camoren Schley, president of Industrial Coolant Systems LLC, Denver, had developed high-pressure coolant systems because of the shop owner’s long-term relationship with Camoren’s father, Roger.

The VariFlow high-pressure coolant system delivers 10 gpm of coolant at up to 1,000 psi.
Image courtesy of Industrial Coolant Systems

“Cam is a smart, young (23-year-old), ambitious guy,” Countryman said. “I wanted to give him the opportunity since finding a young guy that ambitious is very rare these days.” He added that units from ICS are about 80 percent of the cost of comparable systems.

According to ICS, high-pressure coolant systems for machine tools enable higher machining parameters than when applying flood coolant, thereby decreasing cycle times while extending cutting tool life and enhancing chip control.