[mmprestine]

Your selection looks good. One thought is a clear tank might be nice. For the secondary regulator you could use this, although it might not have the needed precision.

If you look at mendards or farm type places, here we have Fleet Farm, you will find nearly the exact blue one that fog buster uses. They are around $49.

Filters

[cnczoner]

Hah ha! I was just looking at that same regulator also, but realized it's more of a valve than a regulator. But now I'm seriously thinking of just getting a half-decent compressor once and for all, which would have a regulator on it.

For the needle valve, I will get a proper unit as I think that will be more critical. I'm sure McMaster has some decent offerings.

I was thinking of using an air tank for the coolant (like this), but not sure if they'll rust inside, and a smaller container like the water filter unit would be considerably enough for my needs. Really would like clear though.

I have no idea where to find a farm-type store in my area (Ft. Lauderdale & West Palm Beach), so if it's not available at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, then it'll be mail ordered. For a few bucks here and there, I'll suck up McMaster's premium and be done with it. I seem to place orders with them every week now anyway.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Your selection looks good. One thought is a clear tank might be nice. For the secondary regulator you could use this, although it might not have the needed precision.

If you look at mendards or farm type places, here we have Fleet Farm, you will find nearly the exact blue one that fog buster uses. They are around $49.

Filters

That is NOT a refulator, just a valve, and will NOT work with at all well with a Fogbuster. You MUST use a relieving low-pressure regulator to get a constant enough pressure for good coolant control.

Similar canisters are available in clear, but they are less common. There is also a larger size, about one gallon.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0070921x00003a

Regards,
Ray L.

[cnczoner]

...
Filters

Oops -- I just noticed this link. Nice find. This one looks like a good fit -- about 3/4 gallon, clear, and has a mount built in, for $30.

I think I should go ahead and document this with the sources for others to replicate easily.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[mmprestine]

Yes or this one for $22.

[mmprestine]

Here is a dang cheap air compressor at HF with a regulator.

Edit: Guess that coupon is expired!

[mmprestine]

Here are the latest popular science magazine adds that expire 3/10. There are some really cheap air compressors in them. I would get the $79.99 8 gallon one since it will run very seldom.

Popsci add 1

Popsci add 2

Popsci add 3

Popsci add 4

Popsci add 5

Popsci add 6

Popsci add 7

[mmprestine]

Here is an outside the box thought. I have no experience with paint prayers but I wonder how well one would convert to a mist system. Here is one on sale for $9.99. If you take a look at the manual it has a full volume and pressure control via two different knobs and the spray can be adjusted at the head.

[mmprestine]

The last thought continued.

paint sprayer

paint can

[cnczoner]

The coupon for the $80 compressor is valid in one of your other popsci links. But there are a couple $40 options that deliver 1.0 SCFM @ 40PSI, and should be enough. Yes, I know I said I should get a decent compressor anyway, but this is sooooo low cost it's pretty much disposable. I would've spent $15 for a regulator anyway, so that's like $25 for the rest of the compressor. Tempting.

I'm pretty sure I have a couple 20% off coupons that are valid to March and May. I need to find those.

Others have previously asked about paint sprayers for mist cooling and it's been shot down. AFAIK, to get a fogbuster, the specific hole diameters and transitions in the mixing block are important.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

The coupon for the $80 compressor is valid in one of your other popsci links. But there are a couple $40 options that deliver 1.0 SCFM @ 40PSI, and should be enough. Yes, I know I said I should get a decent compressor anyway, but this is sooooo low cost it's pretty much disposable. I would've spent $15 for a regulator anyway, so that's like $25 for the rest of the compressor. Tempting.

I'm pretty sure I have a couple 20% off coupons that are valid to March and May. I need to find those.

Others have previously asked about paint sprayers for mist cooling and it's been shot down. AFAIK, to get a fogbuster, the specific hole diameters and transitions in the mixing block are important.

Cheers,
-Neil.

The regulator that comes with a cheap compressor WILL be a piece of crap, and will NOT work at all well with a Fogbuster - it will alternate randomly between no coolant, and peeing a solid stream. You MUST use a "relieving" regulator, and NONE of the cheap ones are relieving. Expect to spend at least $30 for a suitable regulator. If it is not explicitly advertised as relieving, it is NOT. A small compressor (mine is 2HP, with probably a 20gal tank), will run almost continuously with a Fogbuster. The pressure is low, but the flow rate is relatively high, if you want decent chip clearance (and you DO). The almost continuous running is not a problem, but will shorten the life of the compressor.

Regards,
Ray L.

[cnczoner]

The regulator that comes with a cheap compressor WILL be a piece of crap, and will NOT work at all well with a Fogbuster - it will alternate randomly between no coolant, and peeing a solid stream. You MUST use a "relieving" regulator, and NONE of the cheap ones are relieving. Expect to spend at least $30 for a suitable regulator. If it is not explicitly advertised as relieving, it is NOT. A small compressor (mine is 2HP, with probably a 20gal tank), will run almost continuously with a Fogbuster. The pressure is low, but the flow rate is relatively high, if you want decent chip clearance (and you DO). The almost continuous running is not a problem, but will shorten the life of the compressor.

Regards,
Ray L.

Hmmm... was not aware of that. Good to know. I had also considered one from McMaster which was relieving (and $23), but was not aware that the type mattered, as IIRC it was also 3% accuracy like some of the others (non-relieving).

I've been unable to find clear data on how much flow would be needed (typical) but that info has been hard to come by. But I figured if a can of WD-40 can do the job (and sadly yes, I do blow away chips periodically with the WD40), then any basic compressor may work. I remember some time ago I was going to pick up a compressor and wanted a Campbell Hausfield wall-mounted unit, just for the zero footprint. It was a couple HP IIRC, but I need to find that again.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[yantra3d]

I went for the HF compressor when it was on sale for $99 and I really wish that I would have known better to buy a "noiseless" type instead - even at almost 3 times the price! That little thing is SO loud it scares the crap out of me every time it cuts on. It always makes me hit the deck cause I think I had a huge crash or something went very wrong. It still startles me even after months of using it. Nerve-wracking to say the least.

When I can manage it (hopefully soon) I'm going to upgrade to one of these models:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Makita-MAC2400-Big-Bore-Compressor/dp/B0001Q2VPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266117865&sr=1-1"]Makita Big Bore[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/All-Power-America-APC4406-Compressor/dp/B001GOQJOU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266117865&sr=1-5"]All Power Quickzone[/ame]


... either that or I'm gonna build a dog house for my HF and park it outside!

[alex781]

Does anyone use a CO2 blower (like a keyboard blower/tyre inflator) instead of an air compressor? CO2 in a capsule is about 800PSI and comes out freezing, seems like a cheap alternative in the short term. Better than canned air anyway I would think.

[knudsen]

Here is an outside the box thought. I have no experience with paint prayers but I wonder how well one would convert to a mist system. Here is one on sale for $9.99. If you take a look at the manual it has a full volume and pressure control via two different knobs and the spray can be adjusted at the head.

or maybe one of their econo air brushes gravity fed from a jug. Perhaps with the jet drilled out a hair or 3.

[Fastest1]

I have a fog buster on a benchtop and a full flood system also. IMO, the flood beats the fogbuster hands down! Also the fogbuster seems to blow chips everywhere regardless of the air pressure used. And of course there is the noise of the compressor continuously kicking on. The containment system needed for flood is probably still needed for any type of system. I was thinking why not use an inexpensive garden type pump sprayer? It has its own pump built in, the nozzle adjusts infinitely, no compressor is needed and they are cheap. If you get the 1 with a larger tank you probably would only have to pump it up a few times a day. In fact this has inspired me to reallocate the one in my garage temporarily to check it out.

[Fastest1]

Did you ever try kerosene as mentioned? It works great on aluminum, better than WD and for sure better than a thick fluid like ATF. Give it a try if you havent. I know this is an old thread.

I also heard that ATF works well, but I tried that in a spray bottle and can't say it did anything different than WD40. I never did calculate the cost of that though.

Thanks,
-Neil.

[BobWarfield]

The number one issue for coolant is not cooling, but chip removal, followed by lubrication to reduce the tendency of sticky materials like aluminum to weld to the cutter.

Because of that, if you're doing it right, you're going to wind up blowing chips around just as much with fog as flood would. Most people can tolerate chips on the floor more than coolant on the floor, but either way there's some mess to deal with that isn't going away. Fog can have the added issue of the compressor noise as was pointed out.

If you're leaving the chips in the cut, you're wearing out your tools faster and you need to cut a lot more slowly than you otherwise would.

A full enclosure is not a requirement, it's a convenience. Chips go everywhere otherwise, but that's not unusual if you've seen manual machining situations where much material was removed. Some of Widgitmaster's photos of his shop make his mill look about like digging your doorway out after a blizzard in the midwest.

There are halfway measures short of a full enclosure. Table enclosures are common on older CNC machines, for example.

In the end of the day, I'm skeptical a garden sprayer will move the volume of chips out of the cut as is needed. If you get a fog or mist system properly tuned up, it can operate within about 20% of a flood system performance-wise. Sometimes closer, depending on the material.

I'm in the finishing stages of setting up G-Wizard to account for these differences on feeds and speeds. Lots of interesting research is available on these topics.

Cheers,

BW

[cnczoner]

Did you ever try kerosene as mentioned? It works great on aluminum, better than WD and for sure better than a thick fluid like ATF. Give it a try if you havent. I know this is an old thread.

Have not, but I did get some kool-mist which and a hand spray bottle. Works well with a shop-vac to pick up chips, but it makes everything in sight rust, so I started wiping down all metal surfaces with WD-40 when I'm done for the day.

[cnczoner]

... Most people can tolerate chips on the floor more than coolant on the floor ...

Yep.

Fog can have the added issue of the compressor noise as was pointed out.

For my intermittent use, I can move the compressor in a far corner of the warehouse (not a big place though), and/or have it filled before I start machining.

A full enclosure is not a requirement, it's a convenience....

I've been thinking that a simple shower curtain, and the mist spray aimed accordingly, would keep the chip distribution to a small area.

There are halfway measures short of a full enclosure. Table enclosures are common on older CNC machines, for example.

But still take a lot of space, which is an issue for me.

If you get a fog or mist system properly tuned up, it can operate within about 20% of a flood system performance-wise. Sometimes closer, depending on the material.

Either way, it would still be waaaayyyyy better than I have now.