yo yo, flood cooling is sweet!!!

http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/flood1.jpg
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/flood2.jpg

I took .1" in copper with a 1/4" EM at about 3ipm with no complaints.

all that work with the 1/16" EM went really awesome, I cut a more complex bp than what is blurred out in 25 minutes.

Ill be getting some new hoses for it when I find them, I have that sheild and all drips into my drip catcher then down into my rubbermaid 12qt pre-reservior that holds all the chips, then drips through really small holes into a bigger 20qt rubbermaid rez I got at walmart. the pump is one I bought from homier for $10, really cheap, works well, high enough pressure and flow, actually too high I got it extremely clamped off with a C clamp;) couldnt find a valve laying around and it worked great. I clamped it closer to the nozzle so it doesnt take as long to flow up.

this stuff is great stuff! Im liking it a lot. Im thinking about completely encasing my mill and running the coolant at full blast:D

Jon

Need more pic of your whole set-up, looks great from what I see.

Very cool. And I have to agree with Mr. admin....more pics. :)

Just out of curiousity, I have never seen a vise like that in person. What is holding it down? It seems as the small block on the X+ side would have to have something extruding into one of the holes on the side. Since it looks like there is a step milled in the bottom of it, applying pressure when bolted down. Is that right?

go take a look at littlemachineshop.com they have the vice and drawings for the vice hold down blocks, but take caution, those drawings arent 100% right, I made them like the drawins said and they dont touch the table untill the pins bend that far when you put extreme pressure on it.

The vice is really nice, opens really big, really small in size etc. The vice stop that I made is sweet! Im loving it, it saves TONS of time, I just program it to cut one side of the part, flip it and cut the other then go in and mill whatever else with having to zero stuff only the one time. I zero the back of the vice and the stop and rezero it where zero will be on the part, works perfectly.
hopefully more pics are in the works, Im setting up mach1/2 right now, thinking Ill use mach1 because it seems a little easier with less stuff to confuse me;) I dont need most of the features of mach2 as far as I know.


Jon
Jon

Can't beat flood cooling, it can be a bit messy if your not guarded correctly. I bought a flood system from Enco for my Mini Mill, came with eveythng I needed from pump, valve, tubing and holding tank and I picked up 5 Gal of coolent all for around 100 bucks. I have been using it now for over 3 years and never a problem. I drilled some npt holes in the bed and drained that way. Some times I have to poke a wire in the drain if the chips get big and start to clog the hole, but all in all a very good purchase and since I am using a water based coolent, I have not even made a dent in the 5 gallons I bought, I just water it down from time to time. Keep the chips flying!
Glen

Yeah, thats the nice thing about it, it can be watered down again and again untill its gross and nasty, I work in a shop so I can just get a small amount for me from there, I filled up a 1ltr bottle full of the stuff and itll probably last me a year or so.

http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/mill2.jpg
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/tray.jpg
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/back.jpg
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/head.jpg


if you want me to resize these pics, just ask.
I can now see why people with broadband dont resize pics.


Jon

Jon: Looks good :)!

Just remember that the coolant can and does go "off" and can cause some health issues!

I traced a persistent chest infection to this and once I cleaned all of my machines and disinfected them with bleach my health's been much better!
(It can also cause skin irritation)

I'm looking at buying some skimmers to keep the coolant free of tramp oils from the machine but until then I overfill the coolant so the oil floats on top and use a kitchen towel to absorb it.

What kind of spindle speed are you getting with the pulley arrangement?

thanx, yeah Im figuring I might have trouble with the health issues from work, one of the lathes I run has steam pouring out the end:p

I have tried a few differnt pully ratios, 1:1 1:2 and a 2:2.25 for the speeds 3000, 6000 and 6700rpm 3000 seems perfect, anything over that and too little torque. I want to get a 1-2hp motor for this guy:) so if anyone knows of a good one for it, let me know!

Jon

LMAO Steam pouring out is bad mmmkay ;)!

heck yeah! I got some loc-line and machined a manifold
It sucked really badly drilling the holes having to hold onto my hose and direct it when I was making it, but now it is gonna rock!
I have a few pictures, and a quicktime video(stupid new cam using quicktime.)
Heres a quicktime alternitave, it rocks, uses windows media player classic,
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/1049831315/1
now for the pics
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/flood3.jpg
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/flood4.jpg
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/flood5.jpg
and the MOVIE! I'll make a new one, edit it and have it cutting stuff later
http://jfettig.wc101.com/cnc/flood.MOV

Enjoy guys:)

Jon


btw, Im not joking about the steam! go through 5 gallons of coolant/water(mostly water) in 8hrs easily!

excellent! :banana:

I've avoided the water mixed coolant because of the fear of rust. Is rust a problem?

No, I havent had any problems with rust, The machines at work that have been using this coolant for over 10 years have had no problems either, just mix it right.


Jon

Thanks for the info. I've got another query....which is about Flood versus Mist.....why do people pick one over the other?

I use a mist system, but I have never tried flood. The main reasons I chose mist over flood are:

1. No reservoir to worry about. My "coolant tank" is a partially filled 16 oz. cup that sits on the floor under the enclosure. hehe
2. Mist should be considered "dry" or "near dry machining," so there is no coolant recycling or mop up to deal with. If the coolant is flowing off the part, it is adjusted improperly.
3. I use about 1-2 ounces of coolant per hour of machining. (maybe running rich, but better safe than sorry)

Disadvantages of mist cooling:
1. You better have a full enclosure with ventilation. Not only for removing atomized coolant, but the high pressure coolant/air hits the cutting tool/part and throws swarf further than normal.
2. Air compressor running during cutting.

Why I'll keep using mist cooling:
1. Overall, part and tool is BELOW ambient temperature during/after cutting. I like seeing condensation on the coolant nozzle. This still amazes me.
2. No coolant to go bad.
3. Coolant is "consumed" by the process, so no coolant disposal if everything is adjusted properly.

These reasons come to mind immediately, I am sure there are more factors to consider. I obviosly can't give you a tool life comparison, but there have been several studies that have found that "dry" or "near dry" machining may be superior for production and tool life, even on high production machines.

BTW, "dry" and "near dry" machining both utilize mist systems...they are not without coolant/lubricant.

The full enclosure is easy for a mini-mill, but I imagine that enclosure size for a larger mill may cause many to steer clear of mist cooling.

Justin

I run flood coolant, no steam or vapor to breath in, all the chips are blasted out of the way, improved quality of finish, and no noisy air compressor blasting away, flood coolant is quiet. Properly contained and drained back to the tank the system works well. I run a user friendly synthetic coolant, bio-degradable, non-toxic, etc. etc.

Did you know there are regulations in the works on mist coolant systems as health (lung) safety issues are surfacing. I have asthma, no mist system for me.