My new TAIG and enclosure...also flood cooling ?'s
Hi, I just wanted to share some pictures of my new TAIG mill and the enclosure that I built for it.
This enclosure is built using the 8020 product. From the outset I intended to go with a flood cooling system. Since the room I have my mill in is used for other projects I needed to have it entirely enclosed to keep chips and coolant from flying around.
This presented me with an interesting problem. The bottom of the enclosure needs to be sealed to keep the coolant from leaking out all over my workbench, but with the 8020 product the bottom piece of plastic is in the T-slot, so it is suspended off the bench by about 1/4". That means I can't just set the mill down in the middle of it because it would bow the plastic in the center of it and all the coolant would pool there. I could put the drain in the middle, but that would mean I'd have to cut a hole in my workbench and I didn't want to do that.
So, I came up with what I think is a unique idea. It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but the mill is suspended on three t-slot rails spanning form front to back inside the enclosure. I did the deflection calculations and consulted with an 8020 supplier to make sure this would be strong enough and vibration free to run the mill. Everything seemed plenty strong, so fingers crossed! With this design it means the bottom piece is one solid piece and I don't need to drill holes in it to mount the mill, which will minimize leak problems. The mill is mounted to the enclosure and then the entire enclosure is mounted to the workbench.
Here is the first picture:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...e/CIMG0166.jpg
Then, I made sure to put a rubber gasket on the bottom and back of the plastic panel and another at the top in front. Plus I also used some shims underneath the plastic panel. These both make sure that the plastic panel slopes slightly towards the front of the enclosure where I will install drain holes to drain the coolant. Since the enclosure overhangs the workbench in the front by about 4in I don't need to cut any holes in the workbench there.
Picture #2:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...e/CIMG0167.jpg
A neat added benefit of this design is that it allowed the mill mount to be very adjustable. I can slide the mill front to back and side to side to make sure it's positioned just right so my servos and table will clear in all directions, before I secure it down.
Picture #3:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t...e/CIMG0169.jpg
So, now I just need to figure out the details of the flood coolant system.
Any advice on how you think I should set up the flood cooling system?
I was thinking of putting a drain towards the front of the bottom panel, then I'd have a hose running down to a bucket. The bucket would contain the coolant and a pump, which would pump the coolant back up into the enclosure.
I've heard that some people have had success with some inexpensive fish tank pumps. What pump would you recommend?
What about a filter? I assume that I need to filter chips out so they don't ruin the pump or get pumped back into the enclosure.
What other parts do I need?
I'd appreciate it if anyone has any good links to some websites that have details on building a flood cooling system.
Thanks!