CoolantClear3™ Rotary CNC Viewing Port Window

A CNC spin window is a rotating glass disc that gives you a clearer view through a CNC door during coolant. It is also called a rotary viewing window, spinning window, self-cleaning viewing window or window spinner. “CNC window wiper” is a search term, not a physical wiper. CoolantClear3™ is a retrofit spin window for compatible machines. It bonds to the inside of your existing door glass, spins at 2,500 RPM, and gives you an 8.4 inch clear view of the cut without opening the door or bypassing the safety interlocks.

Centrifugal force. An industrial waterproof brushless motor in the center hub drives the glass directly at 2,500 RPM, so coolant and chips that land on it are thrown outward and the middle stays clear for the whole cycle. A stretched O-ring seals the edge, and an optional trickle of shop air adds slight positive pressure behind the glass for heavy coolant. There are no wiper blades or coatings to wear out. The spinning glass is the only wear part.

The listed price is $1,579 for the Standalone Kit or $1,989 for the Standalone Kit + M-Code, which lets your CNC switch it on and off. US shipping is free on orders over $1,500, so every CoolantClear3™ ships free, and you can order online today with no quote and no waiting for a callback. For comparison, Gimbel Automation estimates about $3,250 for a RotoClear S3 adhesive-retrofit setup including dealer-related fees. This is an estimate, not a verified current dealer quote; confirm included parts and final charges with the dealer. A clearer view can help you spot trouble sooner: watch the tool and part for signs of a broken tool, a wrong offset or a chip pile-up while your machine is running. It helps you inspect the cut with the door closed instead of repeatedly pausing to wipe the window. Outfitting several machines? Contact us about multi-unit orders.

Yes. You can order online with no quote, but if your purchasing team needs one first, email sales@gimbelautomation.com or call 855-444-3918 with your company name, ship-to address, kit and quantity, and we will send a formal quote. Ask us about purchase orders and tax-exempt orders when you reach out.

Both are complete kits with the window, control box and power supply. Choose the Standalone Kit ($1,579) if you are happy to switch it on and off from the button on its control box. Many shops simply leave it running all shift, and nothing gets wired into the CNC.

Choose the Standalone Kit + M-Code ($1,989) if you want your program to start and stop it, for example alongside coolant on at program start. It needs a spare M-code relay output on your control. Newer Haas NGC machines often need our Haas NGC I/O Kit to add user relays.

Film, coatings and air blasts work for a week or two, then they need replacing, and even while they last they still let coolant and chips bead up on the window. None of them spins the glass. Films and screen protectors scratch, cloud and peel, and they are hard to film through. Hydrophobic coatings wear off under flood coolant. An air blast clears a peephole and nothing else. Wiping the window means pausing the cycle or opening the door. A spin window keeps a clear view through every cycle, shift after shift, without anyone touching it, because the glass itself is moving.

It can fit compatible CNC mills and lathes with a flat door window. Check three things before ordering:

• Window area: the unit is 10 inches (254 mm) across, so you need a flat area of glass at least 10 inches wide and at least 12 inches tall. The cable stem exits the unit and has to be routed out somewhere, so more height is better.
• Depth clearance: about 30 mm (1.2 inches) behind the glass so the unit clears sheet metal, handles, brush strips and gaskets with the door both open and closed.
• Cable route: a way to get the cable and air line out of the enclosure. Most machines already have a hole or knockout in the sheet metal you can use; if not, one 3/4 inch (19 mm) hole does it.

On many machines the unit sits off-center to clear something on the door. On 5-axis machines such as the Haas UMC-500, it sits well off to one side. Haas horizontals such as the EC-400 are the main machines we know it does not fit. Common machining centers such as Doosan and Brother models are usually a good fit. Send us your make, model and a photo of the door and we will confirm fit before you order.

Yes. It fits virtually all Haas vertical mills, including the VF and VM series, and it can almost always be made to work on Haas ST lathes (see the lathe question for the one thing to check). On 5-axis UMC machines it mounts off-center to clear the door, and the UMC-500 needs a large offset. Haas horizontals such as the EC-400 do not fit. If you want M-code control, newer Haas NGC machines (roughly 2019 and later) often ship without the user relays it needs. Our Haas NGC I/O Kit adds the relays and terminal plugs, and our DIY solenoid guide explains which Haas M-codes to use.

Yes, we can almost always make a lathe work. Check what the door glass slides past when it opens: if the glass tucks behind sheet metal, a door gasket or a brush strip, the unit needs about 30 mm (1.2 inches) of room there. When there is not enough room, the brush strip or a piece of sheet metal usually has to come off. That is a minor modification and does not affect how the machine runs. If it looks tight, send us a measurement and a photo and we will tell you what the install involves.

No drilling through the door glass is required. The CoolantClear3™ bonds to the inside of your existing window with 3M VHB tape and is sealed around its outer edge with a stretched O-ring. Screw-on spin windows, by contrast, need a ring of holes drilled through the door window. The cable and air line do have to get out of the enclosure, and on most machines there is already a hole or knockout in the sheet metal for that; a 4th-axis pass-through or other access port works too. If there is nothing, one 3/4 inch (19 mm) hole with a step drill does it. A stainless trim ring goes on the outside of the glass, and the control box mounts with magnets to any steel surface. The Standalone Kit does not have to be wired into your CNC, and your door interlocks are not touched.

No. The CoolantClear3™ mounts to the inside of your existing door window and does not replace it, so your machine's window stays the operator safety barrier, and the door interlocks are not touched. Inspect the window before you install: do not mount it on glass or polycarbonate that is cracked, crazed or hazed with age. Polycarbonate windows become brittle from coolant exposure, so replace them on your machine builder's schedule.

Most shops install it themselves in about an hour, start to finish. The steps:

1. Lock out the machine. Choose the mounting position and check clearance with the door open and closed. VHB tape grabs on contact, so plan the position before the tape touches the glass.
2. Find the hole or knockout you will route the cable and air line through (or step-drill a 3/4 inch hole if there is none), and clean the inside of the glass with isopropyl alcohol.
3. Press the unit onto the glass, holding firm, even pressure for at least 3 minutes to set the VHB tape.
4. Slide the O-ring over the cable and air line, then stretch it around the outer edge of the frame to seal it. The stretched O-ring provides the seal; no sealant application or cure-time step is needed.
5. Route the cable and air line, install the spinning glass, and thread the center puck on by hand, then snug it with a flathead screwdriver.
6. Fit the outside trim ring, mount the control box, and plug in the power supply. Shop air is optional but recommended; if you connect it, open the regulator to a small purge flow.

Full illustrated instructions ship in the box, and the manual, spec sheet and CAD are under Specs & Downloads on this page.

No. The stretched O-ring in the box seals the edge on its own, and with the O-ring alone you can run coolant as soon as the install is done. Slide the O-ring over the cable and air line before you route them, then stretch it around the outer edge of the frame. CoolantClear3 uses the stretched O-ring seal, so there is no sealant application or sealant cure time in the installation. Sealant is not included in the current kit.

Everything you need to install and run it:

• CoolantClear3™ window frame, with 3M VHB tape
• Spinning glass window
• Stainless front bezel (outside trim ring)
• Control box with magnetic mount and air solenoid
• 24V DC power supply (120 to 240V AC input)
• 10 ft signal cable
• 4 mm air tube
• Sealing O-ring and puck O-ring
• Silicone hub pad
• Microfiber cloth

You supply isopropyl alcohol, a step drill if your machine has no existing hole or knockout for the cable, and a shop-air line if you connect the purge.

It plugs into a standard wall outlet. The included 24V DC power supply accepts 120 to 240V AC automatically, so it runs on US, Canadian, UK, European and Australian power. Outside North America you just need the right plug adapter. Rated current is 2A at 24V DC. Power it from the included supply, not from your machine's internal 24V supply.

No, but we recommend it. The air purge is optional: the unit runs without air, and the O-ring seal keeps coolant out on its own. With shop air connected, a trickle of air keeps slight positive pressure behind the glass, which matters most with heavy flood coolant or abrasive slurries. To use it, feed the control box's 6 mm push-to-fit inlet from a pressure regulator set to 25 PSI (never above 50 PSI), then open the flow control valve one to two turns. The solenoid opens automatically whenever the motor runs.

Yes, with the Standalone Kit + M-Code ($1,989). The signal input is a simple dry contact. Close the circuit and the motor starts and the air solenoid opens; open it and both stop. Wire it to a spare M-code relay output on your control, such as M51, M61 or another free auxiliary M-function. No voltage comes from the machine side. Most shops turn it on with the coolant at program start and off at program end. Newer Haas NGC machines often need our Haas NGC I/O Kit to add user relays. The Standalone Kit runs from the switch on its control box, so nothing has to be wired into the CNC. Plenty of shops just leave it running, and we have run ours for six months straight.

Yes, that is what it is built for. At 2,500 RPM, coolant spray and chips that land on the glass get thrown off, and the center stays clear. Aim your coolant nozzles at the tool and workpiece, not at the window. If a jet does hit the glass directly, the unit keeps working, but the motor load goes up and it may slow slightly. Normal speed returns on its own once the load drops. Do not aim a sustained high-pressure stream straight at it, and do not submerge it. The CoolantClear3™ is designed for CNC machine tools. It is not for pressurized, high-temperature or explosive environments.

Yes, it is built to run all shift, and many shops simply leave it on. The CoolantClear3™ uses a waterproof, direct-drive brushless motor, so there are no brushes or belts to wear out. Our own shop unit has run 24/7 for about six months; that is a shop observation, not a stated service-life guarantee.

The spinning glass is the only wear part. When it eventually scratches or hazes, swap in a Replacement Glass Kit ($349) in a few minutes. Replacement mounting tape and O-rings are also available from us.

It runs in both water-based coolant and cutting oil, and we have customers running it in oil for ceramics. Ceramic and quartz cut wet are fine too. For abrasive slurries, connect the purge air and turn it up a little. We have not proven it out for dry cutting, so check with us first.

The clear viewing area is 8.4 inches (213 mm) across on a 10 inch (254 mm) unit. The CoolantClear3™ drives the glass directly from the center, so a small motor hub and the stem that carries its cable sit inside that area. Mount the unit where you most need to look, so the hub is not in line with the tool, the part, or a robot gripper loading parts. If you run tall fixtures or part stack-ups, mount it higher on the door.

No camera is included, but filming is the reason we built it: we could not record our own automation through the coolant. Hold a phone or mount a camera outside the window and you get a clear shot of the cut with the door closed. That is useful for setup checks, checking chip evacuation, documenting processes and shop videos.

Both use a spinning glass to clear the view; compare door fit, mounting configuration, controls, air requirements and the replacement-parts path before you buy. The Rotoclear S3 is a premium German spinning window. Many DMG MORI and other high-end machines come with one from the factory, and Rotoclear sells the S3 through a configure-and-quote process, machine builders and resellers. The CoolantClear3™ is built for the machines that did not come with one:

• Retrofit: it bonds to the inside of the window you already have, with no holes drilled through the glass, and the air purge is optional rather than required.
• Price you can see: $1,579, listed online, against Gimbel Automation's estimated (not verified current dealer quote) $3,250 for a RotoClear S3 adhesive-retrofit setup including dealer-related fees (final price varies by quote), and you can order today without a quote.
• Simple control: its own control box has an on/off switch, and M-code control is an option.
• US support: it is designed, assembled and supported in California and ships from Los Angeles.

It is not a drop-in replacement for every Visiport mounting pattern. It may work as a retrofit. Visiport installs vary: some are glued to the window, some are screwed through it, and some sit on a mounting plate. Send us photos of your door and the old unit and we will tell you exactly what the swap involves.

Cleaning takes a few minutes, and you do not need a service call. Switch it off and let the glass stop. Loosen the center retention puck with a flathead screwdriver, unscrew it by hand, lift out the glass, and clean it with isopropyl alcohol and the included microfiber cloth. When you reinstall it, make sure the small O-ring is on the puck, and thread the puck on by hand, then snug it with a flathead screwdriver as shown in the installation video. Do not leave it loose, because a loose puck can work free from vibration and break the glass. Check the perimeter now and then for chips lodged between the glass and the frame.

The spinning glass is the only wear part. Normal scratching and hazing over time is expected, so many shops keep a spare. If the glass cracks, stop running the unit and send us a photo. The CoolantClear3™ Replacement Glass Kit ($349) ships as a complete pre-assembled rotating sub-assembly, so a cracked or clouded window is a quick swap.

Yes. Carefully warm the mounting area to soften the VHB bond, then work dental floss or thin fishing line slowly behind the mounting plate to cut through the tape. Do not overheat the glass; clean off the residue with isopropyl alcohol. VHB tape only bonds once, so moving the unit to another machine means fresh tape. Contact us for a replacement mounting kit.

The CoolantClear3™ has a 6-month limited warranty against manufacturer defects, starting on the order date. It covers the motor and hub, window frame, control box, 24V power supply, cable and spinning glass. Damage and misuse are not covered. If something is defective, email sales@gimbelautomation.com and we will issue an RMA and repair, replace or refund it. Replacement glass and mounting supplies are available, and support is US-based.

Glass coverage is limited to manufacturing defects. Damage, suspected damage, normal wear (including scratching and hazing) and anything else that is not a manufacturing defect in the glass are not covered. Gimbel Automation decides, at its sole discretion, whether the glass was or could have been damaged.

We machine the CoolantClear3 billet aluminum frame, motor mount and glass carrier on our own CNCs in Los Angeles. Our team inspects and assembles every unit there, and support comes directly from us. We source domestically where possible; some components, including the motor and fasteners, are imported. In-stock units ship from Los Angeles in 1 to 3 business days. We ship internationally; duties, import taxes, VAT and brokerage fees are the buyer's responsibility, and the power supply handles 120 to 240V. For support or a fit check, call 855-444-3918 or email sales@gimbelautomation.com with your machine make and model and a photo or short video.