Water-based coolant/lube use and handling

[jim_stoll]

I received a Spra-Kool Midget mist spray unit and hooked it up this weekend. I'm using the Kool Mist 77 coolant, mixed appropriately with water. The sprayer delivers an astonishing amount of fluid - I'd read stories about the air fogging, about very little coolant making it to the work, etc, and expected that I wouldn't have any actual water remaining after the mist was delivered, but I'm getting a very significant stream of fluid directed at the cutting tool and work - which is the point, I suppose. :-) (My next, immediate, plan is to build one of the electric modulation units - to partially undo some of this effectiveness... :-)

At any rate, its clear that I'm going to have to build some type of collection pan under my mill to catch the fluid. (the advantage being that I can actually reuse the fluid) My question at the moment is, how concerned should I be about the water component of the fluid rusting my Taig mill frame and feet, as well as lead screws, ways, vise/clamps, etc? There's an awful lot of water being distributed about (to include on the z-axis ways, with cutting debris - I need to find a way to shield those), not to mention that if I basically sit the mill in a collection pan, it'll be sitting in water while I'm using it.

This definitely beats hovering over my workpiece with a can of WD-40, but clearly is not without its own complications!

Thanks for any help/advice!!

[KOS]

well I had a few considerations when i built a small enclosure for my X3. THis my not work for you taig though. but here is my thread http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45602
mine was more out of space requirements but after figurinig out to go this route instead of builing on of metal that could rust I went with plastic instead..

[jim_stoll]

Hey, that's pretty cool. That exact setup wouldn't work for me, as I use my t-slots on my mill table for holding/fixturing, but that would certainly keep the wet stuff pretty well contained.

I'm also planning to use a large-but-shallow rubbermaid box - I may have to cut the sides down a bit so that they fit under the mill table. I'll probably just drill 3 holes in the bottom for my mill feet screws and then stick some sealant around the holes before sandwiching the tray between the mill and the base its mounted to. The problem I have there is that then the feet are sitting in water (the aforementioned concern), so I just want to be sure that I don't end up rusting my mill long-term.

I like the shower curtain idea - cheap, easily replaceable, etc. I may try something like that to protect my z-axis ways from the overspray and flying goop that the mister is throwing at it (as well as on the wall behind the mill... :-) Looks like I'm going to have to relocate my pegboard though. (its currently behind my mill)

Thanks for sharing your setup!

[KOS]

No prob Jim,

I am actually going to use a fixture plate on mine instead of just the T-slots. But for the most part it works well since my table space is limted.

[pdxalz]

I have a taig, with a spra-kool, using Kool Mist 77 and haven't noticed any rust developing.
When I built my enclosure I was more concerned with a fog getting on everything than I was with collecting coolant. I wish I had thought through the collection a little more. I do notice that the mist does collect to the sides of the enclosure. I wouldn't want to run the mist without the enclosure, but with the enclosure it isn't so bad that I need a venting fan.

For the short term, I put my taig on about a 1 degree tilt to the left, so the coolant drips off a little more to where I want it to go.

Al Z.

[jim_stoll]

pdxalz - Thanks for the good news on the Kool Mist 77 - I'll worry a bit less now!

Is your setup a fully-enclosed enclosure? (sides, top, bottom - the whole deal) I'm considering building a 3-sided enclosure if I need to - back and sides, and was thinking I'd just run it up as far as the bottom of the spindle can go up (assuming that the spray will always be pointing at least slightly downward). I don't envision the mister pointing forward either, though I'm sure some day I'll find that I have to do that for something... :-)

Anyway, just wondering how much fog you get - I haven't used mine enough to get a good feel for the overspray or long-term atomization. I've currently got the air pressure as low as I can get it and still get coolant flow. I'm going to try to pressurize the coolant container to get some positive feed on the coolant, and then further reduce the nozzle air pressure to try to reduce fogging and overspray even further. I'll also be building a timer/modulator to cycle the spray on/off periodically. But, if I do still have to build an enclosure, I'd like it to be as minimal as possible. (If you've got a full enclosure though, and it looks like the Amazon rain forest in there, then I may need to reconsider the minimalist approach...)

I like the idea of canting the machine just a bit, especially to the left to keep the goo away from the x-axis motor. I was thinking I'd try to cant the collection pan, but it didn't occur to me to try to cant the machine, too.

[pdxalz]

My setup is fully enclosed. Regarding fully enclosed or three sides, I think it would depend on how much milling you'll be doing.

I'm currently doing a mini production run of 25 aluminum cases for a work project, so I'm using a lot of coolant and I'm glad it's fully enclosed. There isn't a thick fog, but it does add up and after a while I got an oily film on the inside of the enclosure. Plus there's a lot of aluminum bits that get thrown about.

I think it's good to have a fair amount of air pressure, because it help blow the swarf away from the bit. My Spra-Kool is pretty sensitive about how high the coolant reservoir is sitting. I could run it with no air pressure and just let it drip by lifting the reservoir.

Canting the mill is working better that I expected. I have an aluminum lasagna pan catching the drips off of the left side and I'm getting about 80% of it back.

Al Z.