Looking For a Conductive Coolant

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Mrpep Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 8	Looking For a Conductive Coolant 01/11/2008 10:48 AM
	I am trying to manufacture a product that is made of a thin steel strip .025'' , this is a galvanized strip by the way and is form rolled so there is no cutting involved just bending and friction from metal to metal contact. The tooling wears and metals gets hot so we use a water soluble coolant which does its job at extending tool life and keeping things cool. When the product is complete it is tested for conductivity and holds up well but if I retest days later the results change drastically. I cleaned the product with an alcohol based solution and the results are again acceptable. This means that the water from the water soluble coolant evaporates and leaves behind the oils from the coolant. The oils then becaome a barrier which distort the contact points affecting the conductivity. I am trying to find out if there is a coolant out there that is actually conductive or maybe a chemical or something that can be added to our coolant, any ideas or solutions would be appreciated.
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TVP45 Guru Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4448 Good Answers: 143	#1 Re: Looking for a conductive coolant 01/11/2008 12:03 PM
	Do I understand that you are using galvanized steel as an electrical contact? What voltage across the contact? What current? Are you finishing with something like a chromate wash? And, not to be nebby, but why galvanized steel? I've made a fair number of contacts in my life but never considered that. What's the other contact made out of ? Any copper in there? __________________ "Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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Mrpep Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 8	#2 In reply to #1 Re: Looking for a conductive coolant 01/11/2008 12:25 PM
	The part will be used outdoors and must be grounded , thats why we need it to be conductive. The product is a conduit made of many convolutions. The inner convolutions make contact throughout the length but when the oils from coolant are working as a barrier it interferes with the conductivity.
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mikey Power-User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 167 Good Answers: 4	#3 Re: Looking for a conductive coolant 01/11/2008 12:38 PM
	Hi MrPep, Why not wash the tooled parts before assembly? Like you said, the results were satisfactory when cleaned with alcohol. As far at the lubricant/coolant, what I think you would need is something that does not leave behind an oily residue. I think you will be hard-pressed to find anything like that that still has lubricating properties. Best Regards, Mike __________________ "Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact." George Eliot [Mary Ann Evans] (1819-1880)
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Mrgreentoo Active Contributor Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 23 Good Answers: 1	#4 Re: Looking For a Conductive Coolant 01/11/2008 7:30 PM
	I'm a chemist and familar with galvanized coatings. The requirement for conductivity is like asking for rain in the desert. By nature, the Zinc is designed as a sacraficial coating to protect the steel. It does this by oxidizing it's surface to create a coating of zinc oxide. This by nature is an insulator. That is why flux is required to remove oxide in many applications. You could gold plate the metal and the gold won't oxidize. I realize that is not possible. You need to talk to those requesting the conductivity requirement and reach an uderstanding about the charateristics of this coating. Paul Eckerson
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MUKULMAHANT Guru Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Long.92E,Lat.26N Posts: 1336 Good Answers: 14	#6 In reply to #4 Re: Looking For a Conductive Coolant 01/12/2008 7:59 AM
	Mrgreentoo has the answer. Zinc is doing its job as it should. If someody wants correct measurement of resistance/conductance/conductivity--OHMS i.e.--all you need to do is scrape the surface to reveal Zn(notZnO)and probe!
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TexasCharley Guru Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 30°30'N, 97°45'W, Elv: 597 ft. Posts: 2410 Good Answers: 10	#7 In reply to #4 Re: Looking For a Conductive Coolant 01/12/2008 12:29 PM
	If you are in need of plating but not wanting to plate the entire part, just the contact points there is a cost effective method to do just that. The method is called selective plating. I would be glad to discuss this further with you if you feel it may be of use to you. Please contact me via private message. Regards, Charles __________________ I never apologize. I'm sorry that's just the way I am.
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garth Guru Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW Australia Posts: 1101 Good Answers: 23	#5 Re: Looking For a Conductive Coolant 01/12/2008 6:26 AM
	Has not this post already been previously discussed? __________________ Dont get on to the roundabout if you dont know how to get off
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garth (1); mikey (1); Mrgreentoo (1); Mrpep (1); MUKULMAHANT (1); TexasCharley (1); TVP45 (1)

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