By JBM Applications Engineer, Drew Guldalian
...and some are better than others. The idea of how or when to use them seems to be something that many shops overlook. The most important reason to always have mis collection is for the health of your employees or yourself as an owner/operator. No matter if you are running straight oil, semi-synthetic, or full synthetic coolant, it is not something you want to be breathing in on a daily basis. Keeping the mist and the coolant inside the machine clean is important to maintaining a healthy environment.
Due to the increasing popularity of high speed machining, it's not uncommon to have your spindle running full throttle all day. The result of high RPMs and coolant is always mist. The mist builds up in the machine and will find ways to escape out of the enclosure without proper collection. A mist collection system helps keep the mist down and inside the machine, preventing the ceiling, walls, and machine itself from being covered in coolant once the water evaporates. This is helpful for many obvious reasons but the big one is lighting. If your lights are high up in the ceiling, they will get a dark coating on them and prevent proper lighting in that area.
While health and high speed machining are good reasons to have a mist collection system, there is one that many businesses seem to ignore:
Coolant is not cheap, and replacing it along with the D.I. water required, costs money. Every time you top off a sump, you can wonder if it would have required as much if your machine had a mist collection unit. You will definitely consume coolant no matter what, but it will consume less if you are good about always running the mist collection while the spindle is running- and for a time after to prevent the cloud of mist from escaping.
Any time. This is not just a new machine purchase concept, you can add a mist collection system at any point. Have an individual unit per machine, systems that serve multiple machines at a time, or centralized units for the whole shop. Most mist collectors also come with various mounting options, including machine mounts, ceiling mounts, or floor stands.
JBM partners with various mist collection partners to fit a variety of machines, needs, and shop sizes. Let us know if you're interested in some assistance and we will work with you to form a custom solution!