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Has anyone figured out a 'cheap & dirty' way to put some type of wiper or brush just ahead of the bearings? I get a buildup of dust on the rails that gets compacted after running a while. It has not caused a problem yet, but it might if I let the buildup get too bad. I've been cleaning them off after each job and would like to eliminate that step. A better dust collection system is in the works and that should help, but I'd still like to add some wipers.
Well, you should stop that dust where it occurs in the first place!
I'm in the same situation right now and am wiping down my rails with WD40 just about every time I start a new cutting job (helps with the rust too).
My plan is also to introduce a dust collection system, but I'm not quite there yet.
I've been very inspired by this next to perfect solution for several months now: Dust Shoe Demo - YouTube
To make that by myself, and looking at the cost for the acrylic sheets and the special bits to cut that material, it'll be almost cheaper to work with Kent to have something made that would fit my Chinese spindle, I think.
Here is his website: KentCNC
Although I'm very tempted to go that route, I think the Momus needs something more custom it's a little bit touchy on deflectional, forces at the end of the z-axis where the dust shoe sits. Dragging that hose around at the tip of an extended Z will not play out well, currently I think the best way to make this work is to have the hose attached somewhere to the back side center of the gantry, with a telescoping tube going down to the actual dust shoe, something like that - to avoid any forces messing around with the movements during a G program.
Wipers might still be a good idea, but difficult to implement. Lots of small parts and very little return to stop this stuff in the first place I think.
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Mac
I like the magnets holding the brush on. But that unit would not fit on our machines, so I am making one that will exit the rear. I had some plexiglass scraps and made one that mounts on my Bosch brackets. I found some very flexible air duct hose at an auto A/C shop to run out the back. Hopefully it will hold up to the vacuum. I made a connector out of some PVC pipe and heated it with a heat gun to squish it down to an oval for clearance. I'll have to remove the back panel and make a little extension for hose clearance. With the router all the way back to the end of it's travel, I still need about 3 inches more room. No pictures yet - I'm still working on it. If it works, I'll post some. I had an idea on a wiper for the rail and bearing, so I made one for 1 side. When I get the dust collector going, I'll compare the rails and see if it helps. The wipers are just some plastic name badge material. I heated it up with the heat gun and made them long enough so there would be some spring in them when they were screwed to the aluminum. On the picture, you can see the curve in the plastic. That is the spring pressure applied to the rail. The bearing wiper is right under it and presses against the bearing. So far, I've got less than $10 in it. But I haven't bought the brushes yet. It's definitely cheap, but it might accidently work.
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