Scratch-Resistent Material for Enclosure Door?

[Skuzzy]

Well, my enclosure is almost done. I went ahead and used 1/4" polycarbonate for the sides, top, and door. The door is made from two left-over pieces.

I formed the basin by hand from aluminum sheet and used 1/4" masonite for its backing.

The basin also contains a 'catcher' around the drain to catch large chunks and contain them in an area easy to reach. The coolant bucket has an internal bucket which the drain empties into and the drain pipe runs through stainless steel screen so as the coolant fills the internal bucket the screen should catch any remaining metal trying to float up due to agitation.

Hopefully that will keep most all the metal particles which could damage the pump contained.

Things left to do. Finish the coolant system, add a low volume fan at the top to extract heat from the enclosure. Not sure if I need to, but I have a small peltier cooling block I can add to the coolant system to extract heat from the coolant. Add a flourescent fixture across the top. Build a tool holder in the table. Mount the control eletronics.

Being my first mill and enclosure, I hope I did not make too many rookie mistakes.

[Skuzzy]

Hehe. No news is good news,...I hope. Or you guys are too busy laughing yer tushes off at the newbie.

[twocik]

Everything looks really good, but if you're going to make a flood system, you'll need to make sure everything is water tight (100%). I've finished my fourth enclosure now, the last three were for just catching chips only. I'll take a few photos and video tomorrow and post them in new thread to check out. Oh and make sure anything that might be made of steel is painted and sealed.


PS: Great idea with the shelf brackets for support, I might have to try that!

[twocik]

"Lexan, Polycarbonate is your friend. Its negative aspect is that it may yellow, and is often coated with a UV inhibitor for this reason."


So buy the UV stuff to prevent this?

Any reason why it turns colors (coolant)?

[Skuzzy]

All the screws and washer,s exposed to the interiior, are stainless steel with neoprene backed washers and all the aluminium around the polycarbonate was caulked prior to assembly. I took a water hose and sprayed into the box with as much pressure as I could get out of it and no leaks.

I filled the basin with water to the bottom of the mill and no leaks there are 3 days. The seal around the door (not in place in the picture) is protected by a 1.5" shelf extending from the inside of the door towards the mill. No direct splash is possible to the seal.

I was considering sealing the entire interiior in epoxy. Overkill?

[twocik]

I used outdoor silicone and outdoor paint for the best seal. The silicone works great, but can be a little sloppy at times. You'll also need to make sure that the coolant you decide to go with doesn't eat the epoxy or seals.

[ZipSnipe]

Being an owner of a glass business by day and production machinist by night at a tool and die shop I can probably give ya a good idea. The laminated mentioned earlier is the best as if it breaks it stays together but your looking at least $11 per sq.ft. . Tempered ($7)which is stronger but as mentioned earlier breaks into thousands of little pieces when it breaks(its strength is in front impact, weakness is the edge). Plexi and lexon just don,t cut it, they scratch and coolant just fogs it all up. For my machine I,ll use 1/4 clear laminated. But if I really was concerned about glass breakage 3/8 tempered is very strong, damn near unbreakable( because of its thickness the outside layer of glass gets tempered and the very center half tempered creating a very strong glass). In my 7 years of glass work , I,ve never seen 3/8 tempered break. Besides how often do you expect a chunk of metal to go flying off your Taig? I work with all sorts of milling machines and have never seen anything fly off other than HOT chips!! Goto a salvage yard and find ya a nice aluminum window and incorporate it into your enclosure, just change the glass out to lami or tempered.
good luck !

[Skuzzy]

Twocik, I used the GE Silicone II caulk for the sealing chores. I am looking at trying "Liquid Ice" for the coolant. I have read it does jnot have any odor. As the mill will be in the house when I am all done, I want to try and keep the Wife unit happy and minimize the smell.

The coating I was looking at is the stuff they use on garage floors. It should be up to the task.

[twocik]

Yes I think the silicone you're using is fine, just make sure it's water repellent.

I use Liquid Ice and it's great, no stinky smell, not really to oily of a finish left on the part, non toxic (but I wouldn't say it's ok to drink ). Time to time I've had coolant/WD40 splash me in the face and lucky I had my safety glasses on, but this stuff isn't suppose to burn or cause any harm at all ( I believe it's made with animal fat and a bunch of other stuff). However I haven't gotten any in my eyes and always take precaution, but it's definitely safer than the others especially if you have kids.