New Enclosure Design

[devincox]

Guys,
I mocked up a quick design in Sketchup and wanted to get some opinions on the function or lack thereof in the design, before I get more into it.
I will be running flood, but mostly mist coolant. Each end/side will be removeable, to gain access to the mill and for moving purposes. (buying a new house soon) the end/sides will also have doors in them to gain access to the table ends and stepper motor assembly. It was designed around my existing table for the mill and based on those measurements. The bottom has 4 - 36" LONG 2" square tubing to support the base and the cage/frame is made up of 1" L channel steel. The bottom is 10 guage steel.

Also, I am interested in what features would be good to have in an enclosure like this.

make the front door hinged or removeable?
plexis glass or sheet steel for everything besides the front door?
Thank you,
Devin

[BlackMoon]

your bottom seems a little excessive strong unless your planing to drop 500+lbs of chips on it. But then, at least it won't rattle..
For your sides, you might want plexiglass or fiberglass or even wood. etc.. something other then sheet metal as sheet metal enclosures have a tendency to amplify noise, not deaden it. (unless you are careful with the design and rigidity)

[HimyKabibble]

Since I just put an enclosure on the table of my knee mill, I feel qualified to comment: I'd go with Plexi for the walls - It's nice to be able to see what's going on, though you will spend some time keeping it clean on the inside. I'd DEFINITELY go with a door for the center section. Right now, mine is a slide-out panel, and that is a PITA. Next week, it becomes a pair of hinged doors. Not sure I'd bother closing off the top.

Regards,
Ray L.

[devincox]

Blackmoon, I agree the bottom is overkill but I had the metal left over from another project. I was thinking that sheet metal might make it boomy , guess i will probably use sheet metal for the electronics sections and plexi everywhere else. Like Himy said it would be nice to see whats going on.

Himy, thought the pull out might get old. Do you have pics of yours up?

Thanks,
Devin

[HimyKabibble]

Originally Posted by devincox Blackmoon, I agree the bottom is overkill but I had the metal left over from another project. I was thinking that sheet metal might make it boomy , guess i will probably use sheet metal for the electronics sections and plexi everywhere else. Like Himy said it would be nice to see whats going on. Himy, thought the pull out might get old. Do you have pics of yours up? Thanks, Devin

Devin,

Mine is a little kludgey right now, since I've got scrap plexi in it. The new stuff should be here in a few days. I'll post a picture when I get it finished later in the week.

Regards,
Ray L.

[bohica]

Good looking design! Here are some of the features I put in my enclosure. It's build with 16ga steel.

Vibration: I used 1/4" rubber isolators between the mill base and the mounting pads in the enclosure. In addition, the entire enclosure rests on hockey puck feet. My mill is not loaded in the enclosure so I can't tell you if the viabration and noise control works.

Coolant: Use a large coolant drain (3"). I put mine in the center under the mill. To control chips, I will use wire mesh around the base of the mill to prevent chips from going down the drain.

Cleanout: I put 2 gasketed cleanout ports, one on each side of the mill. This should make for easy chip removal.

Cleanup: A simple diversion of the coolant to a quick disconnect hose fitting will make cleanup of the mill and enclosure very quick and easy.

Have fun and post pix of the finished product.

[devincox]

Ray,
I look forward to the pics.

Bohica,
I am using the hockey pucks as well, to quell vibration. I hadnt thought about rubber insulators for other points of contact. hmmm
I like the idea of cleanup very much, that's definately getting included.
I will definately include pics upon completion.

Thanks,
Devin

[youngjim]

Would an application of truck bed liner to sheet metal enclosure panels be effective - and economical - in deadening the noise? That was what I was planning to use for sealant anyway.

Jim

[devincox]

Originally Posted by youngjim Would an application of truck bed liner to sheet metal enclosure panels be effective - and economical - in deadening the noise? That was what I was planning to use for sealant anyway. Jim

I thought about this too, might have to give it a try.
Devin

[pete from TN]

If you are planning on spraying the outside of the enclosure to deaden the noise/vibration then that is fine but I would not spray it inside the enclosure. It is too soft and bumpy and will collect chips and crud like a huge sponge. Hoss painted his plywood enclosure with the stuff and he mentioned in one of his nice videos that he was not happy with this side effect... peace

[ViperTX]

I have to agree with pete...I followed Hoss's build and did the same with my enclosure and the bumpyness of the bedliner stuff was a pain. When I moved I chucked that enclosure. My next enclosure will either be using a fiberglass pan or a metal pan lined with the shower stall vinyl sold at Home Depot.

Paul

[devincox]

Ok, definately no truck liner on the interior. What is a decent paint that will stand up to the solvents and stuff?

Thanks,
Devin