DMG MORI utilises Additive Manufacturing for its Adaptive Coolant Flow system
DMG MORI, Tokyo, Japan, has developed Adaptive Coolant Flow, a solution designed to automatically optimise high-pressure coolant flow during machining. The function is able to reduce excessive coolant usage while maintaining machining performance, contributing to lower energy consumption and reduced CO2 emissions.
The system’s complex high-pressure piping components are additively manufactured via the company’s LaserTec 30 Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machine. The compact design is intended to enable efficient pressure and flow control integrated directly onto the coolant tank. Built-in sensors monitor flow rate, pressure, concentration, and temperature, with all data displayed in real time on ERGOline X with CELOS X.
The system consists of two elements: software that calculates and regulates the optimal flow rate, and a control unit on the coolant tank.
Conventional coolant systems discharge coolant at maximum pressure by default, which can cause unnecessary coolant and energy loss. DMG MORI reported that its Adaptive Coolant Flow reduces the energy consumption of high-pressure pumps by over 80% while maintaining tool life and surface quality.
Adaptive Coolant Flow is also designed to minimise mist generation and coolant evaporation in the machining area, decreasing total coolant consumption. DMG MORI noted that this results in fewer refills, higher operability, and stable automated production, thus making it particularly suitable for unmanned night-time and weekend operation.
