Had a coolant line blowout right before a big run of 500 parts

I was running a late shift on a Haas VF2 in our shop in Grand Rapids, just started the cycle for a big aluminum housing order. About ten parts in, I heard a hiss and then a spray hit the window. The main coolant line from the pump had split at a fitting. Coolant was everywhere, and the spindle was still running. I hit the e-stop, killed the main power, and grabbed a bucket to catch the drip while I yelled for the other night guy. We had to shut down for two hours to replace the line and clean up the huge mess. Has anyone found a good way to check those lines before they fail, or is it just a wait-and-see thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

tylermartin19d agoMost Upvoted

Man, that's the worst. It feels like everything from car hoses to machine lines is just built to fail right on schedule now. You can check for cracks or soft spots, but sometimes it just lets go without much warning. Makes you miss when stuff was actually made to last, doesn't it?

irisjenkins19d ago

Actually some older stuff had planned obsolescence too, just maybe not as obvious. They just hid it better back then.

bennett.riley16d ago

Miss when stuff was actually made to last"? That's just nostalgia. Old hoses would rot out and fail too, you just forget about all the breakdowns. Things are cheaper and easier to replace now, which is better for business.