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I got tired of getting coolant and chips sprayed all over me and decided to build something to control it this weekend. It is about $80 worth of lumber, screws, lights, electrical, shower curtain etc.. etc....
It does the trick in my early testing. It is simple 3mil poly on the sides so that I'm not limited on doing stock longer than the enclosure. I can poke material right through the sides. It doesn't get in the way of mounting anything on the table and is easy to work around. Since it is simple 2x4 construction I can see adding a couple racks on the side for tool storage. I'm also considering adding an LED light under the back of the spindle for better lighting and I've already ordered the parts to add a dual coolant nozzle setup after finding out that one doesn't always do the trick.
My computer is on a caddy with wheels and a storage rack for my TTS tools. Space for my mouse, and control pendant are right at hand. This is one modification that I've always appreciated. Rather than mounting them to the machine I like having them external on the cart. I can roll the combination anywhere around my work space with minimal hassle. Notice.... E-Stop close at hand by my monitor.
I also splurged and installed the new power draw-bar. Other than testing it hasn't seen any use but it works like a charm. The install was fairly painless with the exception of losing a screw down in the spindle which took an hour fishing to extract.
I bought some plastic and was planning to do the exact same thing until i got a more rigid structure designed out of 8020. The splash screen of my 770 is too small and I get coolant everywhere. Like the idea and good to see someone else has already "experimented" with it. I'll probably leave it up in the back/sides as most of the spray is deflected out front anyway.
Is that a home built stand?
Yea.... I built it basically to the design Tormach published with a few changes. I covered it in fiberglass and epoxy paint. My coolant drainage is using a 6" flashing material that empties into a large Walmart laundry tub. I modified the top with a screen entry, stuck a submersible pump in it and that did the trick for my coolant system.Originally Posted by compunerdy
Would you have a link to that Tormach design?
Or is this the one to which you're referring?
Basic CNC Mill Stand | Tormach | We provide personal small CNC machines, CNC tooling, and many more CNC items
Images: DIY CNC Mill Stand | Tormach | We provide personal small CNC machines, CNC tooling, and many more CNC items
DXF's/PDF's: http://www.tormach.com/document_libr...ndDrawings.zip
That is it..... I love the fact that I can easily move it around with the pallet jack. If I need to work on something I just lift it up and pull it out. It takes 30 seconds to move the entire mill and I could pick it up and move it across the shop if it wasn't for the 220V wiring that limits it to where I have it installed.
I've not had the metal stand but the wood has great damping properties and is easy to modify.
How much do you think it weighs? I took the drawings and used them as a basis for my own design (making a few tweaks), but in the end, I had decided to most likely order a deluxe stand and be done with it.
The price tag and seeing yours has me thinking about building it again though.....
Oh...it is wood so it isn't much. The machine dominates the weight. I don't regret building it but during the process I often thought that buying the Tormach stand wouldn't have been a bad idea.Like any project it takes twice as much time as you think it will and cost three times as much. ;-) I would have used thicker plywood than the standard plans if I did it again and I would have modified it to be a foot wider and 3-4" deeper and I would have built the back-splash to go up higher. I'd have left a large panel behind the machine for access. I would have also designed chip-guards to go over the coolant drains so that I wouldn't need to feed the shop-vac up there to get chips that get stuck in the passage.
If I was on a time schedule and I had a boss after me to get it done I'd order the Tormach stand and be done with it.
I made up a steel stand for mine, probably a bit costly to have the deluxe stand shipped to Australia otherwise I would have just bought it.
I had chips going everywhere so I enclosed the sides and around the corner at the front a bit. It's just a 20mm angle iron frame with some 2mm clear vinyl sheet hanging from it so I can flip it up to clean out the chips.
I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it will keep the chips inside.
Sorry, this wasn't meant to be a thread hijack!
Cheers,
Greg
P.S. yes, I did have to cut the right hand side of the coolant tray so the x-axis stepper motor wouldn't crash into it (serious design flaw)
No hijacking as far as I'm concerned. I love looking at what other people have done for their set-up. Mine is 100% enclosed now.... I took a 4x8 sheet of ply and laid it on top. Works like a charm and I just modified my coolant nozzle so I have two stalks.... one coming from each side for flood coolant. That way it doesn't matter which direction I approach the part I have coolant on the part before the cutter enters the cut.
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