Dry machining is essentially machining without the use of any cutting fluid or coolant. It is becoming increasingly popular due to:

  • Concerns regarding the environment
  • Operator Safety – Fumes and splashing coolant
  • Issues related to the use of conventional flood coolants
  • “Dry” may work better for certain metals (Example Aluminum)
  • Eliminates cleaning and messy work environment

Dry machining is typically reserved for certain applications, and it may never completely replace the use of cutting fluids, but developments are being made. A significant new advancement called the ChilAire™ cooling system, offers the performance benefits of a dry coolant and the environmental benefits of dry machining, all with great economics.

The ChilAire™ system by Cool Clean Technologies, LLC represents the only machining dry coolant. Machining facilities can perform hard turning and milling of hard materials by utilizing the ChilAire™ revolutionary CO2 technology. Benefits of ChilAire™ are as follows:

  • Clean Operator Work Environment
  • No Splashing Coolant
  • Cutting Tool Does Not Experience Thermal Shock
  • Improved Economics
  • No Secondary Cleaning

By controlling the temperature of the cut zone, customers are able to use lower cost cutting tools on applications that typically require higher prices CBN, Ceramic, PCD, etc. The ChilAire™ system keeps the tool and work piece at ambient temperatures, hence preventing thermal shock. Until the advent of ChilAire™, there has never been a truly safe coolant that can also be considered “dry”.

The process is simple: Compressed gaseous CO2 is refrigerated into the liquid phase. The chilled liquid is transported to the nozzle where liquid CO2 and compressed air are mixed. The CO2 is allowed to expand into crystals that are delivered to the cutting zone. When the spray hits the cutting edge, the ice-crystals melt and flash back to CO2 gas in a process called sublimation – a physical state conversion, capable of absorbing significant amounts of heat.

For additional information about dry machining contact your ChilAire™ representative at 651-842-8600.