Finally figured out chip evacuation on my Haas after 3 months of fussing

Used to just let the coolant flood and hope chips would wash away on their own. Ended up with recutting chips and scrapped parts maybe once a week. Then I talked to a guy at a trade show in Chicago who said to aim the nozzle at the cutting zone from behind the tool instead of from the front. Switched it last Tuesday and my surface finish went from 63 microinches down to 32 on the same program. No more stopping to blow out pockets every 20 cycles. Anyone else had a simple coolant direction fix save a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley1814d agoMost Upvoted

63 to 32 microinches with just a nozzle tweak? @dianaanderson that's insane for one adjustment.

jamesroberts4d ago

Had the exact opposite opinion for years, I was convinced flooding from above was the only way to get enough volume on the cut. @dianaanderson it took a broken carbide end mill on a Saturday rush job to finally make me try a rear nozzle position. Now I keep a little machinist square on my bench just to set the coolant angle on every new setup. My scrap rate on 6061 dropped by almost half after i switched to a low angle from behind the tool (like 10 to 15 degrees off the back of the cutter). The chips just fly off now instead of packing into the flutes and ruining everything.

dianaanderson4d ago

Damn, that's a solid fix. Coolant direction is one of those things nobody tells you about when you're starting out. Spent my first year on a Mori just blasting from the top like a fire hose, then a guy walked over and tilted my nozzle maybe 15 degrees. Cut my cycle time by 20% because I wasn't stopping to clear chips every few parts. Yours going from 63 to 32 microinches is a huge jump though. Bet that saved a ton of scrapped aluminum parts.