As I'm planning for the next mill one of the areas of interest is tooling coolant. Currently, I'm using flood coolant which has been very effective where I machine mostly 6061(aluminum), and cobalt tooling has very long life while being cooled, and I ran 4 fluted endmills and don't has an AL gumup problem. But, because of the mess associated with flood systems, with the next mill, I would rather go with a cleaner setup if possible, hence Fog Busters.

So........ what experiences do you have with cutting Aluminum while using
Fog Buster cooling system?

Pipe up, and give your opinions.

Ron

Well at the Mold shop I work at they use flood for alum and the mister for steel but the mister is only used when they are doing fine detailed cutting. Most roughing is done with flood. But for my machine I prefer to use good ole wd40. As coolant seems to eat paint alive. I think if you are doing production cutting and drilling of aluminum then flooding should be used but for small jobs some wd40 or mister should be fine.

... But, because of the mess associated with flood systems, with the next mill, I would rather go with a cleaner setup if possible, hence Fog Busters.

Ron

Misting started giving me a sore throat. Flood gave me a mess. So I built an improved copy of the henchforth fogbuster. I LOVE IT. I run the unit so its putting out several times more coolant than a mister. This way it gives nearly all the benefits (of flood) without the mess.

Karl

Flood is ok for an enclosed machine (mess is contained). Mist is a pain. Works half the time. Ruined a couple long run parts due to mister pluging up. Fogbuster seems to be the ideal solution. We have installed one on every open mill (7) and have not experienced any issues (8 months running). Fogbuster has my vote!

Karl,
I saw your write up in another thread and could not put my hands on it, put from memory you took a 30 lb. propaine container and connected a pressurized air line along with the same pressure on the tank.

Karl, maybe you could explain it a little better and maybe if you could provide a link to the posting where you shared this info.

GCMAN,

How does the system work when cutting aluminum, I currently use flood cooling, but what a mess and you end up with a couple of buckets catching drips, and I never have cut aluminum with out it in order to clear the chips and cool the tool, so does this system clear the chips, and or is it really necessary to clear the chips.

I'm also thinking of cnc'ing a knee mill and this would make a more cleaner system where an effective enclosure would be an nightmare!!!

Ron

Ron, I have had a fogbuster for a while now. I work with aluminum 90% of the time. The system works great. It has plenty of adjustability from air only to a very wet fog. I tend to use very little coolant as I have just found there is no need for a heavy wet stream. The air blast clears the chips extremely well.
2 nozzles would be nice to have but I have been doing well with just a single nozzle.

Steve

Ron,

I agree with Steve. Fogbuster has great air/ coolant versitility. Should be ideal for your kneemill.

Guys,
Any idea of what kind of pressure and cfm that would be required by a small compressor.

Ron

According to the manufacturer, Fogbusters should be run between 10 & 20 PSI. The guage goes up to 30 psi. You should also try to mount the canister a little above where the nozzle would be located due to check valve. All info is included with unit. Liturature shoes no cfm rating. Hope this helps.

at 20 psi i wouldnt think that it could use that much cfm... i'm planning to just run a flood system, but i have had a thought of having an air nozle in there as well, just to help the chips along off the table... What kind of volumes of fluid flow constitutes a good flood rate?
i have 2 140gph and 4 60 gph pumps that i can use...

I run mine around 10psi. That's plenty strong to clear the chips on my x3 mill. Never once I have found the need to increase it to 20psi. Chips would be flying like crazy at that pressure. The airblast along with the fine coolant spray has a strong cooling effect. It is not uncommon for me to find my parts quite cool after machining.
The fogbuster also works very good on the lathe! If it's adjusted properly you'll barely have any fluid mess to wipe up.
My old 3hp 20gal compressor works fine with it.
Steve

Karl T,

I found you improved version of the fog buster by searching "fog buster" and well anyway I just happened to think of what can be used for the nozzle and that is the tips to a mig welder. The tips are made for .035 or .040 size wire so they would be about the right size and it seems that they are about 1 inch long.

Also, I was thinking about a mapp and oxygen torch setup that I have (you know the type that uses the small propane size bottles) and I was wondering how connecting the air and coolant lines to the O2 and mapp gas lines would work, because there are two fine adjustment needle valves to adjust the mixing.

So, what do you think? I might actually play with it and see what happens.

Ron

Sounds like a good idea. I had a ***** of a time drilling a nozzle, a mig tip would be the same thing. As far as another mixing chamber, small line size gives high velocity. Larger lines on htis may change things. I don't know. let us know how it works.

Karl

Well, I used the Mapp gas / O2 torch setup with 2 $8 regulators from harbor freight and a garden sprayer and I had success, it seemed to take a couple of minutes to get primed. The air pressure did best somewhere around 10 to 15 psi when the coolant tank pressure is at 20 psi. I'll try to get the setup placed on my machine and get some good pictures.

Ron

Ron,
I am not sure of your results but if you want to get the same type of flow as a fogbuster, what you want to acieve is no atomization of the fluid after it leaves the nozzle. Otherwise it is just a mister.
You want to see a tiny stream of coolant that flows within the air blast but is not broken up into small droplets. Now of course it is not necessary to go to great lengths to keep the fluid totally solid IMO as long as it does not create any mist that hangs in the air. But the less atomization the better and the closer it will duplicate the fogbuster system.
Good luck!
Steve

i dont know about mapp gas rigs, but i am familiar with aceteline torches, and it would seem to me that if you could use a cutting tip, that would be your best bet.. there is 2 seperate streams, the center is for your blow gas, when you hit the lever, and the outter holes are the mixed and burning gases... if you could pump the fluid in through the center hole, and then use air in the outter holes, i would think that this might acieve the desired results...

just a though.. you might already be on this path...

Call me crazy, but I havn't found the information to Buy a FogBuster.

Link Please?

Thanks

Smitty

a little pricy in my book. but here ya go.
http://www.fogbuster.com/Frame.htm
i think i'll build my own like these guys.
i'll have to see if i have some old welding tips.

Sure you could make your own fogbuster kit. I would have made my own but the system was a gift.
I have made many a nozzle, swirl insert and air atomizers mainly.
However I am not sure why you guys would bother trying to make a welding nozzle work when you can make something a lot better and precise from barstock?

Steve

Guys,
Steve is right, I just had this old torch setup that I was not happy with and was in a "play around with something moment" well I played around with it. I may do the same thing as Karl did when I get back into another "play with something mode", but I would recommend useing a mig welder tip for a nozzle, since Karl let us know the difficulty that he had in drilling .040 through copper. The big thing that I wanted to see for myself, is if this is a viable cooling method in case I decide to cnc a knee mill (where containment of a flood system would be challenging)

But on the other hand, it looks as if works so I may leave well enough alone.

Ron

I see the 0.040" nozzle diamter posted form my first attempt on the fogbuster. My second unit used 0.049" and worked just as well.

Much later, my line got cuaght in swarf and pulled of right to the mixing chamber. It made a good spitter with no line and I finished the job that way.

Anyway, the 0.040" dimension came from the patent and looks to not be that critical. I'd urge just using a mig tip if you build your own. Make a spare while you're at it. I've jerked the end of it at least three times.

Karl

Single head $310
double Head $400 bucks, wow. Well what ever the market will bear.

They are proud of them things aren't they. Looks like a trip to the McMaster-Carr for about $20 in parts and an hour or so.

Smitty