Originally Posted by 1990notch  Willy,
The collection drawer sounds like a great idea.
What I would do is make the drawers with some kind of perforated metal at the bottom rear of each drawer. I would also maybe slope the bottom of each drawer leading to the perforated area to help the coolant runoff to the back. To collect the coolant to return to the pump, I would create a tray shaped like a square funnel under each drawer, somewhat larger than the perforated area of each drawer to collect any coolant that wants to drip from the edge of the drawer.
Regards,
Greg |
Hi 1990notch
That's a good idea to put perforations in the rear of the Drawers. You could build a U shaped channel under the rear of each Drawer to catch the Coolant. Position one end of the channel lower so that the Coolant would run over to one side of the Stand and drain into your Coolant Tank.
A friend of mine who works in a CNC Machine shop told me to try and do all you can to prevent as much Swarf from getting back to your Coolant Tank.
I was thinking of trying some of that Plastic Furnace Filter Material over the drains of the Drawers to help catch the Metal Chips. You could lay a chunk of it over the perforated holes of each Drawer. Haas use a similar material in the bottoms of their Swarf Collecting Tanks. It would be worth a try. If metal was still getting back to the Coolant Tank you could try installing a second collection Drawer between the outlet of the U Channel and the Coolant Tank. You could install a baffle system or possibly more Plastic Filter Material or both. With a Drawer setup, it would be easily removed for cleaning.
Willy