Homebrew mist system

[mysterious]

I was researching the different mist systems and was wondering if anybody ever made their own. I was thinking of just using a cheap air compressor filter/oil system like so , and just running a hose with a cutoff valve to one side and just making an outlet of some sort on the other side out of brake line of something. I think it should do the same job as the amflo or equivelent because I can adjust air pressure at the filter and the oiler is adjustable as well. Instead of putting oil in the oil reservoir I was thinking of putting tool coolant. What do you guys think?

[tsutt]

All I can say about mist systems is respitory problems. Todd

[Swede]

Originally posted by tsutt All I can say about mist systems is respitory problems. Todd

Agreed. Mist looks like it's ideal, but it fogs the hell out of any moderately enclosed area (like a typical home shop) and seems to coat EVERYTHING with a slimy grime/dust slurry.

I toss this out as a thought, perhaps before you invest hours of work. You can buy just the mister hardware (no container) very cheap if you just want to try it.

[ron davy]

You might try a cheep air brush

[HuFlungDung]

The thing about a coolant mist unit, is that you want it to output droplets, not fog. A paint type device is designed to put out a fog, which is unhealthy for humans to breath.

It takes a substantial amount of water to cool something effectively anyways, so usually the mist units simply use some kind of siphon nozzle, which siphons by action of the air moving past a hole at right angles to the air flow. You do want to use low pressure air to do this, to help minimize the fogging.

[wms]

Here are the misters we use.

They are Fogbusters from Hench Manufacturing.

http://www.fogbuster.com/Frame.htm


They really shouldn't be called misters as they don't fog up the shop like regular misters do.

[oldguy]

I did make one for a shop I worked at a few years ago where i was setting up some machining capabilities on the cheap for a sheltered workshop (handicapped workers do the work) and there was no budget for any serious machinery. Bought some govt. surplus and managed some corporate donations of obsolete exuipment, but tooling was very hard to come by so i made as needed to bid on or complete a customer job.

Anyway, I got the siphon/spray unit from McMaster Carr very cheaply and rigged up the whole thing for a few bucks. Never had a problem with too much fog in the air and the coolant I used didn't cause problems of any kind. Remember, the evaporation adds extra cooling to the mist and it is very effective in cooling and doesn't provide a whole lot of oil to be flung around by chips curling from a drill bit or milling tool. A soluable oil added does wonders for lubricating the cutting edge, too. The whole things, sans coolant, can be done for ten to twenty bucks. I will try to find the Mcmaster part numbers in my old catalog and pass them on in a later reply.

[oldguy]

Found some of the parts I used from McMaster Carr for the mister: A siphon tip for blow guns, part number5446K55 @$6.38 (old catalog so price may have changed); brass needle valve, 1/4 inch compression, Part number 455K13 @7.35. You will aslo need a valve to control the air flow through the siphon unit as the one I mentioned controls the liquid flow. I made the thing using a large coffee can attaching the mentioned needle valve to the plastic lid with a couple of aluminium straps bolted throughj the lid. A copper tube went through the lid to pick up the fluid. the tube supplied with the siphon went from the valve to siphon. Can't remember if I needed aan adaptor or not. The siphon nozzle has an 1/8 inch npt thread and I adapted to that anmd ran another larger hose to my air valve. I also mounted the nozzsle on an arm witha magnnet on it so I could position it as needed bending the arm to suit. by adjusting the two valves and keeping the lift height of the pick-uop hose not too high one can get enough coolant (water/soluable oil mix) such that you get just enough to lubricate and coolo without wasteing too much and filling the air with spray or running all over the place. Try some fiddling around and yours will serve for years. the one I made worked for five years, last I knew.

[mysterious]

How about a Mistic Mist system. Does anybody have any experience with these?

[Swede]

Originally posted by wms Here are the misters we use. They are Fogbusters from Hench Manufacturing. http://www.fogbuster.com/Frame.htm They really shouldn't be called misters as they don't fog up the shop like regular misters do.

These look nice. I was getting excited until I saw the price... These prices are similar to the "microdrop" systems that I have seen. Jst a little too steep, tempting, but I can't justify it.

Anyone used a microdrop system? These are designed to deliver minute quantities of concentrated cutting fluid right at the cut.

It seems that coolant/lube systems fall into one of these categories, set up as Pros | Cons

Flood - cheap, effective | messy, can go rancid, hi maintenance

Mist - cheap | foggy, messy, bad for the lungs

Fogbuster - no fog, economical with fluid | expensive to buy

Microdrop - clean, no mess | expensive unit and fluids too.

Vortex (cool air) - clean, efficient | expensive, no lubricity

Are there any other options for a small shop?

[HuFlungDung]

Hi Swede,

Yes I use the microdrop system extensively on my mills. It works very wheel for aluminum. It is really not enough cooling for milling steel with heavier stock removal with HSS tooling. However, it is likely better for carbide mills because it reduces the tendency for thermal shock cracking, in situations where coolant flow could be intermittent.

Yes, the unit is too expensive, but the oil consumption rate is extremely low, so that cost barely even factors in. All the "smarts" for the microdrop appear to be in the nozzle design itself, so you might see if you can buy the nozzles and rig up the rest of the system from cheaper airline components (like a pressure regulator and a lubricator to serve as a supply sump.

[ESjaavik]

I haven't seen those microdrop devices. Do they use neat cutting oil, or just a high concentration soluble oil?

Do they drip the oil, or shoot out droplets like an inkjet?