Coolant, Flood, Mist, WD-40, etc

[Smitty911]

Ok so i'm tied of standing (actually sitting) over the mill while it runs for hours either spraying WD-40 on it or drops of A-9 Aluminum Cutting Fluid in front of the tool path. So the options are below.


Cutting Dry until the final pass
Continue dripping wd-40 or A-9 infront of tool path
Fogg Buster Low Air pressure and super fine mist
Mist High Air pressure and mist
Flood

Dry cutting, welding aluminum to the cutter bad
Dripping, boring and time consuming, cheap
Fogg Buster $310.00 ouch, super fine mist, Low air pressure and no Fogg = good
Mist - about $100.00 heavy mist, could cause clouding issues,
Flood - ENCO has a 10 Gallon unit for $100.00, Plumbing and chip issues, splash hazard

I don't know enough to make an informed decision, I have a partial enclosure made from Corian Counter Top stuff, so it's water proof, I'd need to seal the edges and cut a drain for flood. Right now I just scoop the chips.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Smitty

[SpeedsCustom]

I'm finishing a coolant system on my Taig mill. I bought a pump from ebay at 45.00, got some plumbing sullpies from Lowes and have a really nice coolant system, have yet too cut anything yet. Waiting for new Break out board. I get coolant from my Gf's father (machinist)

I use a vacuum to get chips that lie around.


-Speed

[Harryman]

I use a micro drip system, but I'm using small cutters.

[rc-monster mike]

I use the fogbuster - well worth the investment IMO. It is easy to install, works terrific and has a wide range of adjustment(can blow air only or very little coolant all the way up to near flood coolant and everywhere in between air and coolant are adjusted seperately). It isn't cheap, but it works great.

[LongRat]

Have you considered air-only? I have just bought a 70 litre/min aquarium aeration pump to try this out. I don't want to use flood and I figured I could always convert the air only system into a mister if needed. I got the pump from Ebay and locline will be from a UK supplier, total cost £40 ($80 US).

[maxboostbusa]

Is this going to be used on a CNC mill or conventional. Flood works pretty good but if you have to stand there and crank the wheels then you may have to wear a rainsuit. For conventional operation I like to mist and fogg stuff.

[Smitty911]

After looking at some other people setups cost, Clouds of vapor from mist, Drain issues.

I just ordered the Fog Buster, more expensive than flood, air, and mist, but I work in Fiber Optics and can't afford to mist $100,000 test equipment. That would be bad.

I got the good guy deal $5.00 off, plus tax, plus shipping. Looks like I need to be a gooder guy, for better deals.

It will be here Monday and than the fun will commence.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Smitty

[MonroePoteet]

I have a Fog Buster that I use with my Taig. Worth every penny, IMO. Well built, easy to install, easy to use, no problems at all. And I didn't even get the "good guy" deal. I just use brown paper towels to sop up what minimal coolant builds up on the stock / table. None at all gets into the air, from what I can tell. I use KoolMist formula #78, which appears totally inert and harmless (stains a little if you let it dry, though).

My only complaint is they didn't have any good requirements for air supply, so I bought a compressor that was too small and had to upgrade. I now use an 8 gallon, 2HP, 4cfm@90psi oilless compressor from Harbor Freight, which is located about 40 feet away in a separate room for noise suppression and so it's on a separate circuit from the mill (prevents browning out the mill circuit and causing missed steps). Works great when I keep the supply pressure at about 35psi...above that and the FB oscillates when it first starts up. As I said, worth every penny, IMO.

One caveat: be sure to align the FB each time you change cutters. I broke about 3 of my 1/32nd cutters before I realized the FB was pointed too low. It appeared to be working (saw coolant flowing) but it was cooling / blowing on stock rather than the contact point. I now use an inspection mirror and sight up the FB's nozzle tube from below the cutter to make sure it's pointing at the cutter contact point.

mTp

[Pres]

Imho, MonroePoteet has the right/best approach.

Flood coolant is a messy pita for everything except high production using ALREADY checked out programs and tooling.

Most of the hobbyists and small lot producers are hindered by not being able to see actual tool motion and cutter contact with the part to ensure they will not make (more) scrapped parts.

Pres

[Smitty911]

Originally Posted by MonroePoteet I have a Fog Buster that I use with my Taig. Worth every penny, IMO. Well built, easy to install, easy to use, no problems at all. And I didn't even get the "good guy" deal. I just use brown paper towels to sop up what minimal coolant builds up on the stock / table. None at all gets into the air, from what I can tell. I use KoolMist formula #78, which appears totally inert and harmless (stains a little if you let it dry, though). My only complaint is they didn't have any good requirements for air supply, so I bought a compressor that was too small and had to upgrade. I now use an 8 gallon, 2HP, 4cfm@90psi oilless compressor from Harbor Freight, which is located about 40 feet away in a separate room for noise suppression and so it's on a separate circuit from the mill (prevents browning out the mill circuit and causing missed steps). Works great when I keep the supply pressure at about 35psi...above that and the FB oscillates when it first starts up. As I said, worth every penny, IMO. One caveat: be sure to align the FB each time you change cutters. I broke about 3 of my 1/32nd cutters before I realized the FB was pointed too low. It appeared to be working (saw coolant flowing) but it was cooling / blowing on stock rather than the contact point. I now use an inspection mirror and sight up the FB's nozzle tube from below the cutter to make sure it's pointing at the cutter contact point. mTp

I have my X-2 set up at work right now so I'll have shop air, if that 200 Gallon 120 PSI tank runs out of air, I won't be the only one screaming.

How bad do the chips blow around? You can see a picture of my mill in another post. Will I still be chasing chips all over, my side walls are about 10" high around 3 sides, I have the front, but have not put it on yet.

Sounds like I made a good decision, although more expensive. Kinda like the Geckos over some other stepper drives. LOL

I arrives Monday, can't wait.

Smitty

[Karl_T]

I made my own hench fog buster a few years back.
http://tinyurl.com/3aando

Many many folks have copied (and improved) this design. Look in practical machinist and here for more articles.

Karl

[MonroePoteet]

Karl_T: Since I'm a total novice at mill work, making my own wasn't really an option for me. Bootstrapping my ability to mill brass and aluminum at all was my priority, and "store bought" solution was definitely right for me.

Smitty911: There's an adjustment on the pressure for the FB, so how much the chips blow around will depend on that. Having said that, though, I keep mine at about 12-13 psi for all work, and the chips blow quite a bit downwind. That may be a little high, but it works fine and I have a full-box home-made enclosure, so it's not a problem for me.

mTp