Even with the new gantry?
Dunno. I figure he is safe starting here. Then he can increase his DOC little by little. Every machine is a little different depending on assembly.
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Yes, I am aiming to start âsafeâ. The machine I have is new to me - it was bought about a year ago or so. The man I bought it from had put it together, did some work with it, then had some projects come up that required a larger work envelope, so he bought a bigger machine and then sold this one. He had not gotten around to any modifications on it.
Does anyone use a coolant fogger or sprayer to lubricate their bit? I want to be able to set my X Carve up for 3-6 hour cutting sessions without sitting there with a can of WD40 to keep spraying the bit⌠I donât know where to start, but I am sick of babysitting the cutting.
I burn up bits if I donât. Itâs upsetting to spend $15-$45 on abit and have it dulled by aluminum. If I spray WD40 on the bit, and into the cuts so the bit can stay lubricated then I get perfect finish and the bit seems to stay sharp for a really long time. I usually cut .004 per pass at 25-30 ipm.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Hey Guys, I am the OP of this thread. My XC does not see much action these days as I moved on to much larger full ball screw mills. But I still cut the same type of projects, just faster and larger now. I used air chip clearance for a good while on my bigger mill (large full metal all ball screw gantry mill) and it did OK. I use Destiny Viper end mills and I could get very good cuts and my end mills lasted fine, but I was limited in cut depth and speed more than I liked. I took the plunge and added the fog buster to the bigger mill, I can tell you it makes a MAJOR difference. I more than tripled my cut depth (from .5mm to 1.5mm) and it also allowed me to really increase my speeds on the same cuts. So almost doubled my speed and tripled my DOC which of course cut down on mill time drastically. Adding coolant/mist is a very nice upgrade and it should allow you to add both DOC and speed to your cuts above you current setting and extend your tool life greatly. Dry cutting of aluminum can be done if done correctly as my post shows. We run the XC for over a year with the setup shown in my post. But adding mist coolant really does make a big improvement. But that being said. If you are burning up end mills, then you have something wrong in the feeds and speeds. It is not hard to cut aluminum dry and not burn up your end mill. But the speeds/feeds need to be correct and an end mill designed for dry milling will yield far better results over one intended for coolant milling.
Matthew
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Thank you very much for lending me your experience. I could cut for several hours without burning up a bit, but eventually it would dull. Adding WD40 has extended the life of the bit tremendously! I want a mister, but have never seen anyone using one on an XC. I donât know what kind of compressor to get⌠lol, Iâm clueless!
Any idea what size air compressor I need and what spray kit to use?
I would like advice on compressors as well. Even at 10 psi, my motor has thermal shutdown on long carves and it is a brand new high-end Kobalt unit. I do not think regular compressors are designed to spray air constantly over time. Maybe a good airbrush compressor?
I use this device and it works great:
https://www.amazon.com/Coolant-Lubrication-System-Milling-Machine/dp/B015545SWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481656387&sr=8-1&keywords=cnc+mister
I sprits with WD-40 once or twice during cutting, just to prolong the life of the bit, but the chip clearing is the real key.
With our Fog Buster I run the California Air tools compressor. ( http://www.californiaairtools.com/ultra-quiet-oil-free-air-compressors/1-0-hp-air-compressors/cat-4610ac/ ) It really is a silent as they say (60-70DBi) and works great on the Fog Buster. The FB is not a high air usage product so the smaller unit seems to keep up with it fine. I have done large plate (2âX3â 1/2" plate) runs that have have 9+ hour mill time for the entire plate with zero issues. The unit cycles every few minutes, but seems to keep up just fine. I run the FB at about 10-15 PSI and it works great.
In the OP above, I was running a simple blower fan that then went into a CPAP hose to direct the airflow to the surface of the plate being milled. It did not do much for cooling and did nothing for lubing the cut, but it did a wonderful job of blowing the chips out of the cut and away from the end mill so they could not weld back onto the cutter and cause issues. It was a simple $5 unit that runs on 12V and put out an amazing amount of air for the size,cost and being 12V. It is linked here. Blower - Squirrel Cage (12V) - COM-11270 - SparkFun Electronics
I used the same California Air Tool Unit and loved it⌠while it lasted. Less then 8 months and it is toast. It does not have thermal shutdown protection⌠apparently. So quite and nice though. I just canât justify buying another one.
I think we have had our first one about a year and the other two around 6-8 months. So far they all are doing well and run the fog busters and air hoses to clean the mills fine. We do not run them for anything else so they only run a few hours a day total, though they cycle off and on throughout the day as the mills use the air for the Fog Busters. They are so silent due to having plastic reeds on the pumps which do tend to wear out, but replacement it not very hard from what I hear. They are not cheap by any means, but in a small shop they really keep the noise down amazingly and we just do not sue them for anything with high air usage, that is what the 29G standard compressor is for. But they it sounds like a battle zone when it cycles! It is being enclosed in the next few weeks to at least make it bearable in the shop.
As soon as I get a free second (after the holidays) I will break mine down so I can get it back. I miss it. I hope I can fix it.
I ordered two of the blower motors you suggested, and came up with an automatic WD40 dispensing system using an aquarium air pump to pressurize a bottle filled woth WD40 and have drip line on/off valves to regulate the flow. Its working nicely and only costs about $10 to setup the pressurized drip! Now I just need the blowers and a power supplyâŚ
I wonât believe you unless I see a pic⌠
Mind sharing some info how you did WD40 drip? I seen some for sale here and there and people were asking for like 200$ for one and that is just crazy !
There are a couple of DIY designs listed at: Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable
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Sorry, I donât have any photos at the moment, and I broke a V-wheel today, and completely destroyed an aluminum part that was about 97% of the way done after cutting for 3 hours. I am not sure if I am going to fix the machine and keep it, or fix it and sell it. The really long cut times are a pain, and I think I want to get a more powerful machine.
if it was a vwheel coming loose and totally off⌠Iâve had that⌠reverse the screws⌠they wont be a problem after that.
Link to the solution.