Parts Staining

Dear Editor,  I am having problems with my MWF staining the parts I make in my VMC.  I only make part from QC-7 aluminum.  I have been having trouble with this for over a year now.  I have had may different brands a coolant in my machines, each time I would remove the old coolant and clean the machine and put new coolant in.  Each time now with the same result.  I use DI water with oil based or synthetic, I have sent countless samples to many labs and they all say everything is normal.  I get a kind of  hazy film all over my part.  In the past the film would not start to appear for about a month, then I would change the MWF.  It would go away for awhile and then come back.  I changed the coolant yesterday and today I have stains.  Surface finish is the most important part of the parts I make and the stains make the parts worthless.  Some jobs I run have cycle time over 200 hours.  This is a real big problem.  I have contacted every company I have gotten coolant from and they put in additives try and help.  Nothing ever has.  I am at a loss.  Have you ever heard of this problem when machining QC-7 aluminum?  Any information you can offer would be great.  Thank-you in advance, JM

Dear Reader,
 
Sorry for the delay in our response. The haze you are seeing is probably Aluminum Oxide from your machining operation redepositing on your parts. There are 2 causes of this problem a coolant with too high a pH or improper filteration. The hish pH will cause the Aluminum Oxide to come out of solution and deposit on your parts, further the pH can account for the stains you are seeing on your parts. The filtration issue is the easier of the two make sure your filter media pore size is small enough to prevent the Aluminum Oxide from getting through. Of course a filter with a pore size that small may strip your emulsion. So work with your coolant supplier and try a water based synthetic with some guts and a mild pH. Thanks for reading,
 
All Best
Dom 

In many cases when machining copper and aluminum, you will find a stain that looks like a grape juice stain or just an off-color stain.  In many cases this is actually galvanic corrosion between 2 dissimilar metals.  You may be using di water for nothing.  First have your tap water analyzed.  Then look into a top quality water-soluble product with a blended metal deactivator such as the Blaser 2000md.  I've seen and solved this problem many times and in most cases the switch back to tap water is an additional cost savings.

SAL IMBORNONE