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I *believe* this is the correct place to put this thread if not please excuse my lack of experience.
I am looking to build a "parts washing" basin for the aluminum parts that are coming off the machine. This will be used to rinse residual coolant and shavings off the product missed from initial blowing of compressed air.
I'm reaching somewhat of an issue here - to prevent shavings from going down the drain, whats the most cost efficient, DIY way of filtering through it?
Paper filter media will trap aluminum chips. That type of filter system is commercially available. It's also a fairly easy DIY project.
Dick Z
Thanks Richard! Do you have a reference/picture of an actual paper media product to narrow it down further? The only thing I can think of, is draining the dirty water into a holding tank beneath the wash basin, and then fashioning spare parts/pump from a home depot "wet vac" to pump water thru a filter and into the drain. But this feels more of a "roundabout" way than just directly filtering it because I would have to drain the pond literally every 20-30 gallons.Quote:
Originally Posted by RICHARD ZASTROW
Apologize again but this seems to be adding on "plumbing" skills on top of CNC. As you can see in my limited posting history, I'm setting up a small workshop :)
[edited]
You probably only need something like this: Shop Whirlpool Valve-In-Head Clear with Sediment Filter at Lowes.com
Or a pan with a screen in the bottom. Cover the screen with paper filter media and let your water drain through. Fairly simple.
"Google" paper filter media, or coolant system paper filter media or filter media on a roll. It is usually supplied as a roll.
Dick Z
On my pressure line for no chips blocking the outlet.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=t...ient=firefox-a
There's an ingenious device called a 'P-trap' available.
P-trap won't stop the small stuff that virtually stays in solution. Only the heavy bits.
My issue with filters and screens is they plug up. On a manual operation like you are doing where you are standing right there its not to big a deal to lift out the screen and dump it in the trash I suppose. How fine do you need to filter the metal out? Is this a disposal issue with your sewage provider or a recycling issue?
A metal screen coffee filter is cheap and seperates all but the very finest powder particles. I use it instead of cheese cloth when decanting off glug for the holidays. The problem is it will plug up quickly, but it is 100% reuseable. I tried one for coolant on my little CNC mill and it plugged up almost instantly when doing fine cuts. Course cuts where no issue as the chips kind of make up their own filter layer as they build up.
Another option I have considered is some form of spiral concentrator. Wash your parts over the concentrator. The water goes over the edge and the particles go out the center. Might not work well with lighter particles or particles coated with oil, but...
For your application how many pounds of chips are we talking about in a typical day? Could your answer be as simple as forming a long cylinder of fine filter screen, putting a flange with a handle on it, and dropping it in the drain?
No, a conventional sink-type won't stop the small stuff. So you use a tank style, with a couple of baffles to stop all but the smallest fines that stay suspended. If it's in "solution" you'll need to remove it chemically.Quote:
Originally Posted by neilw20
The stuff in suspension can be removed at the output side of the tank with either flocculants, spun out with a separator, or filtered mechanically. There's also the option of allowing the solution time to settle before running it through a final stage. At this level we're talking about miniscule degrees of contamination, and municipal wastewater standards are pretty easy to meet.
We're going to be rinsing off a few dozen workpieces a day, all aluminum... basically the parts you can see will be air gunned off prior to removal from mill, and so what will go down the drain is residual coolant + few bits here and there. So, probably around 100 gallons of water a day.
In general, whats the kind of tolerance/attitude of municipal waste water treatment toward metal shavings of say, stuff thats finer than what a kitchen wire drain filter can filter out?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob La Londe
That will vary by municipality I am sure.
Why not just get a part washer then you do not have to worry about municipality. You have just change the fluid once in a while and if that is a problem there are services out there that will supply your needs for a small cost.