[SomeWhatLost]

just curious, has anyone who has their mill in a poor humidity & temperature controlled location and who surprisingly enough has a bit of a rust issues (ie like I do) tried bolting a bit of zinc to their mill? (aka a Galvanic Anode)

when the coolant is flowing, I would guess it should work fairly well... the coolant goes everywhere and soaks everything, so I would guess that should work adequately as the "ion pathway"

but what about when the coolant pump is off and the mill is just sitting? (ie when those little evil rust bunnies are doing their evil deeds...)
will the coolant residue/film/whatever you call it work well as an ion pathway? what about condensation?

I guess on the bright side, it costs almost nothing to try... so I think I will give it a go...

[pickled]

I spray my mill table, fixtures, chucks etc. down with metal protector before leaving it unattended for long periods. I also use a light coating of water resistant grease before mounting fixtures to the table that aren't going to be removed for quite some time. Surface rust is no longer a problem thankfully. I never tried the Galvanic Anode route, but find the idea interesting.

[tmarks11]

Adding an anode won't help.

The majority of rusting occurs when everything is shut off, and you have a coat of moisture on things. The anode only slows rusting when everything is immersed in a common electrolytic solution.

Wipe the table down with a squeegee, and hit everything with a light must of oil (this is about the only thong we'd-40 is designed for in my book).

[mactec54]

SomeWhatLost

Use better coolant, mixed right, & you won't get rusting no matter how long you leave it

[GJeff]

SomeWhatLost

Use better coolant, mixed right, & you won't get rusting no matter how long you leave it

If you're going to make a claim like that, you should include the name of one such magical coolant and mixing ratio.

[mactec54]

If you're going to make a claim like that, you should include the name of one such magical coolant and mixing ratio.

Nothing magical about a good quality coolant, Ultracut 380R normal mixing ratio they recommend 10:1 steel or Rigid Tapping, can be around 12:1 for aluminum, Zero Rusting, Zero Paint eating/damage

[GJeff]

I'm sure it's a quality coolant and believe it may work like you say under your conditions. If he's getting daily condensation though, there's no way he can just leave it for undefined periods of time. It'd be hard to prevent rust even with a nonwater based inhibitor over long periods of time.

[mactec54]

I'm sure it's a quality coolant and believe it may work like you say under your conditions. If he's getting daily condensation though, there's no way he can just leave it for undefined periods of time. It'd be hard to prevent rust even with a nonwater based inhibitor over long periods of time.

Good quality coolant will work under any conditions,Not just my conditions

I have had my shops in the extremes, were you can see the condensation running off, your parts machines, & never had a rusting problem use the wrong coolant & you can watch the rust forming

One thing that does help also if you use DI or RO water to mix the coolant DI being slightly better than RO

[popspipes]

I dont have rusting or staining issues anymore, I switched to an oil coolant and the problem is history.
In continuous use the water based worked well, but I only use my machine intermittently and it would rust or stain the table and under the vise.

This is just how I solved my problem, it works well for me.

just curious, has anyone who has their mill in a poor humidity & temperature controlled location and who surprisingly enough has a bit of a rust issues (ie like I do) tried bolting a bit of zinc to their mill? (aka a Galvanic Anode)

when the coolant is flowing, I would guess it should work fairly well... the coolant goes everywhere and soaks everything, so I would guess that should work adequately as the "ion pathway"

but what about when the coolant pump is off and the mill is just sitting? (ie when those little evil rust bunnies are doing their evil deeds...)
will the coolant residue/film/whatever you call it work well as an ion pathway? what about condensation?

I guess on the bright side, it costs almost nothing to try... so I think I will give it a go...

[hjl4]

I have to agree with mactec. Proper coolant and mix ratio is a must. If one of my machines is down for longer than a couple weeks, I usually spray a light coat of oil, on most unpainted surfaces.
It's probably unnecessary, but old habits die hard.

[mountaindew]

I also use ro/di water for coolant mix. My home has a ro/di filter system with ro piped to tank below sink "for coffee" and ro/di water piped to 50 gal storage tank in utility room for other uses .

Off topic a little
I was thinking somewhatlost mentioned he resides in the Florida area. The lightning capitol of America.
I would like to know how people use cnc machines during storms. I delayed projects because of thunderstorms this week
The equipment is so expensive and its not like you can run to store and buy parts.
md

[popspipes]

I do not operate in a storm period, here the power goes out fairly regular in a storm, the voltage spikes arent Mach/windows friendly either.

I also use ro/di water for coolant mix. My home has a ro/di filter system with ro piped to tank below sink "for coffee" and ro/di water piped to 50 gal storage tank in utility room for other uses .

Off topic a little
I was thinking somewhatlost mentioned he resides in the Florida area. The lightning capitol of America.
I would like to know how people use cnc machines during storms. I delayed projects because of thunderstorms this week
The equipment is so expensive and its not like you can run to store and buy parts.
md

[SomeWhatLost]

Off topic a little

I know there are "Topic Nazi's" or whatever you would call them, who get all upset and stuff when topics wander a bit, I am not sure why?, but me personally, I prefer off topic... it keeps things interesting...

I was thinking somewhatlost mentioned he resides in the Florida area. The lightning capitol of America.
I would like to know how people use cnc machines during storms. I delayed projects because of thunderstorms this week
The equipment is so expensive and its not like you can run to store and buy parts.
md

nope I am in (mostly) Storm Free Illinois(TM), a couple miles from the Wisconsin border, the great(?) state that is home to the Tormach mothership... well like 50 or 60 miles to the border I think... actually I am in a 'burb of Chicago... so just kinda sorta close depending on your perspective...

anyway, on the rare instance that there is a storm, I generally either shutdown the machine and run for the house or let the machine finish while I run for the house... (the down side of having your tormach in a shed )

also, I am just a hobbyist, and I am not sure that label is even accurate, as I really am not all that interested in the machining side of stuff per se, I just got my mill so I could make stuff, ie the mill is just a tool to help with my other hobbies, or the end result/part is more important to me than the whole machining process... as such, my machine can (and does) sit idle for months while I plan my next project that may or may not require milling...

so I end up with a usage patten of: mill runs for somewhere between 30 minutes to a day or so, then sits for months...

I am using whatever coolant tormach sold when I got my mill, it is mixed well, and when fresh, and in those few rare cases where I used my mill weekly, it does seem to do a good job of keeping the rust away... but that is not my standard usage pattern, and I really don't want to have to replace the coolant before every 30 (at the minimum) minute 'milling cycle' or whatever you would call it...

I have also tried the spray the table down with WD40 and STARRETT M1 (not at the same time), the M1 seems to last longer than the WD40, but neither really last months in my environment...

so I am looking for plan B....
(or maybe plan C, depending on how you count it)

[BIG IGG]

I have a dehumidifier in my shop and i spray things down with wd-40

[twocik]

I use hangsterfer's S-777 coolant that works awesome on AL & Ti, but has eaten the paint off my machine in most areas. I'm not sure why but my coolant dries sticky (maybe due to mixing with the way oil). Back a few years ago I first noticed the paint coming off where the way oil was. I've never had any issues with rust and have always keep my concentration at 10 - 12%. I run the tank for 2 - 4 months, dump and start over (with a few recharges here and there). I planned to repaint the machine & stand, but honestly since I've never had rust I think it's really just cosmetics.

As for FL lightning, there's nothing you can do but turn off, unplug and wait. Anodizing can be a nightmare this time of the year I'll add. Just last month a tree was struck dead and would have caught fire if it wasn't raining....

[hjl4]

Same here, during T-storms, I shutdown. Not worth the broken tools and failed parts when the power goes off.

[Don Clement]

I use hangsterfer's S-777 coolant that works awesome on AL & Ti, but has eaten the paint off my machine in most areas. I'm not sure why but my coolant dries sticky (maybe due to mixing with the way oil). Back a few years ago I first noticed the paint coming off where the way oil was. I've never had any issues with rust and have always keep my concentration at 10 - 12%. I run the tank for 2 - 4 months, dump and start over (with a few recharges here and there). I planned to repaint the machine & stand, but honestly since I've never had rust I think it's really just cosmetics.

I have had the same problem of the paint coming off using coolant on the Tormach. However the paint on my Kurt vise exposed to the same coolant has not deteriorated. No rust problems though. I do coat the non-painted surfaces with WD40.

Don Clement

[LSM]

Same old coolant complaints,

Got to keep the mix right or you get rust also needs changing once in a while.
don't spit or pee in the coolant tank.

yeah the paint on the Tormach isn't that good look at it funny and it practically falls off.
got to remember it was painted by the Chinese.

coolants have been known to case paint to fall off some more then others

[tmarks11]

I have a dehumidifier in my shop

++++!

Best $170 I ever spent.

OK, that might be an exaggeration.

But there is something satisfying about dumping out 1/2 gallon of water that the dehumidifier extracted from the air...

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Humidity, by itself, is really not a problem, if you handle it correctly. It only becomes a problem if you allow warm, moist air to come in contact with a cold machine. For example, put the machine in an un-heated garage, then in the morning after a cold, damp night, open the garage door - you'll get lots of condensation on the machine, because the open door lets warm, moist air in. When that warm, moist air comes in contact with the cold machine, the moisture condenses out of the air. Leave the door closed until the later in the day, and you won't have a problem. Leave the door open, and no dehumidifier in the world is going to prevent condensation.

My machines are all in an un-heated shop. On cold mornings, I open the door, walk in, close the door. NEVER leave the door open. I have no problems with rust, even though much of the year it's very humid, even rainy, here. About the worst thing you can do is run any kind of combustion heater that does not vent directly to the outdoors. The combustion products are loaded with water vapor. For that reason, the only heat I have in the shop is electric space heaters, and they are only on when I'm actually in there working.

Regards,
Ray L.