cleaning tormach, favorite method?

[300sniper]

i am wondering if any one has any cool tips for keeping your tormach clean. i am finding it a bit of a pain. one thing i am thinking about doing is putting a tee in line with the coolant feed tube with another valve. off of that tee i could plumb in another flexible line to a spray nozzle. i am thinking a one like the hose mounted spray nozzles used on some kitchen sinks. this would allow me to hose off the tins and collect the chips in the bottom. does this sound like a good idea or does any one already use this?

what about the chips that end up collecting under the base of the machine? do you have a favorite tool to pull them out from there?

what's your favorite method of cleaning up your machine?

[drwc]

I use a wet dry shopvac

[rwexec]

Hello, well after some decision making I opened the check book and purchased the Tormach.

I did not order the stand they have and was going to make one.

My question somewhat answered by your question is do you need good chip control to keep the swarf and coolant from flying all around ?
Do you have the table mounted splash guards ?

From what process do you find most of the mess comes from, Drilling,
milling ?
I was just going to make a shroud around the table, perhaps a bit more in hight than the Tormach version.
I do not want a big mess on the floor however.
Cheers

[drwc]

The table from tormach is very good at containing the chips and coolant for the most part, an additional splashguard out front and higher is necessary when high Z parts in process.

Face milling with large dia cutter really flings the swarf, but milling creates the greatest quantity of swarf by far.

I think your need a catch tray as in the tormach design if you want to avoid swarf everywhere.

[300sniper]

i was at home depot yesterday and grabbed a bunch of parts to put together a hose and nozzle for hosing off the tins on my tormach. my plan was to use one of those kitchen sink hose and nozzle deals. after i had all the parts i thought i needed i stumbled across something to make it much simpler. i found a detachable hose shower sprayer kit. this kit normally would fit between your shower head and the pipe coming out of the wall. it has a quick detach coupling and valve that diverts the water when the hose is connected. i put back all the parts i had and purchased this kit.

i installed it today between the hose from the coolant pump and the pipe that goes to the coolant nozzle. it didn't work as simple as i thought it would. i didn't think about the valve being directional and the way it was plumbed put it in backwards. i found a couple 1/2" pipe fittings in the shop and was able to turn the valve around and got it to work.

this kit came with a 6' hose that makes it about perfect for reaching every part of the tormach deluxe stand splash guards. when it is not in use the hose is simply removed and stored out of the way. there is not a lot of pressure with this but combined with a wide shower squeegee it seems to be very effective so far.

[keen]

Hi - Looks like a good plan! - and thanks for posting the pics. I have made my own table splash gaurd setup and did not realise there was what looks like some kind of a gap or step down in the front portion where it meets the stainless steel cover? - is that for swarf collection or 'exaust' - can someone explain how it looks and why?

This was mine when under construction - I now use use 2 different rear portions.

Cheers

[300sniper]

on the tormach stand, there is a gap between the front tray and the table. it is probably about 3/4"-1" wide. i would guess it is to let the swarf off the table. i personally think it would be better with out it on that side. i have found when making lots of chips, they can fall on the way cover below and clog up the x axis limit switch. this was an extreme case and i made lots of parts in a row with out cleaning up. now when making lots of chips i use a 2" paint brush and shove the swarf off the back side of the table on either side of the y ways and not off the front.

your splash guard looks like it should really keep the machine clean. i think i would fill it up during a run on one of the fixtures i have set up though. i filled up a 2-1/2 gallon bucket with chips after just a couple runs.

[keen]

Thanks - i see.......a gap - it would fall on the bellows - not ideal surely. What about a cover plate or something but short of full length so with maybe 2 inch gaps at each end? that should cover the bellows but allow swarf to be shifted?

[300sniper]

i think the newer tormachs have upside down v shaped bellows now (mine is a new machine but some how has a lower serial number) that would help the swarf fall off the sides. this may be enough to make it a non-issue.

[philbur]

I think it's the other way round. Older machines have the "upside down" Vee bellows design, which was somewhat undersized when extended, hence newer machines have the redesigned flat bellows type. Either way the rear bellows quite quickly get clogged with chips.

i think the newer tormachs have upside down v shaped bellows now (mine is a new machine but some how has a lower serial number) that would help the swarf fall off the sides. this may be enough to make it a non-issue.