[badhabit]

Whoa that is a hefty price, I took a brief look at screw compressors and found out they have a tendency to put out oil with the air since the screws are covered with oil. On the other hand I found a compact compressor for 900EUR from Junair (https://www.esska.de/shop/JUN-AIR-Le...992920000-9810). A little over what I was hoping to pay but it works at 35 dB. The search continues.

yeah, well, those types of compressors you are suggesting are not usefull for this, not for me at least.....11L/min@8bar for the one you linked...that is waaaaaay to small to drive anything i have. Lets say the 40L tank i ordered should sit at 8bar, then it would take 40L * 8bar / 11[L/min] = 29minutes just to fill the tank...and on top of that it only allows for a 50% duty cycle(15min on/15min off), so it'll take an hour to fill it ;-) Maybe i could live with that since it won't need any air after pressurization, but i also have pistons inside the toolchanger and the toolclamping in the spindle is also pneumatic...and there is a airseal in the spindle that requires constant airflow...and i was also planning on using aircooling for some cuttingtools which requires a huge amount of air...and a airblast-gun is also handy for clearing chips... it requires a LOT of air when everything is added up...

I think anything below 100-150L/min@6bar will be annoying to use for any sizeable machine. I'm planning on using hand airtools in my shop/garage aswell, so i'm looking at 400-500Lmin@8bar...and if i have to consider my next door neighboor then a screwcompressor is kinda my only real option because of the relative low noise level...

The oilmist is not an issue unless you need the air for painting, airbrushing or similar, but that can be easy fixed with a inline filter...

/Thomas

[ardenum]

yeah, well, those types of compressors you are suggesting are not usefull for this, not for me at least.....11L/min@8bar for the one you linked...that is waaaaaay to small to drive anything i have. Lets say the 40L tank i ordered should sit at 8bar, then it would take 40L * 8bar / 11[L/min] = 29minutes just to fill the tank...and on top of that it only allows for a 50% duty cycle(15min on/15min off), so it'll take an hour to fill it ;-) Maybe i could live with that since it won't need any air after pressurization, but i also have pistons inside the toolchanger and the toolclamping in the spindle is also pneumatic...and there is a airseal in the spindle that requires constant airflow...and i was also planning on using aircooling for some cuttingtools which requires a huge amount of air...and a airblast-gun is also handy for clearing chips... it requires a LOT of air when everything is added up...

I think anything below 100-150L/min@6bar will be annoying to use for any sizeable machine. I'm planning on using hand airtools in my shop/garage aswell, so i'm looking at 400-500Lmin@8bar...and if i have to consider my next door neighboor then a screwcompressor is kinda my only real option because of the relative low noise level...

The oilmist is not an issue unless you need the air for painting, airbrushing or similar, but that can be easy fixed with a inline filter...

/Thomas

You seem to know your stuff, I've been trying to find resources about the whole pneumatic/hydraulic counterbalance and how it works but only finding bits and pieces of information here and there doesn't really help. Any guides or videos you went over to understand how exactly it works and exactly what parts are needed in the system?

[badhabit]

I've been trying to find resources about the whole pneumatic/hydraulic counterbalance and how it works but only finding bits and pieces of information here and there doesn't really help. Any guides or videos you went over to understand how exactly it works and exactly what parts are needed in the system?

Well, i'm an engineer by heart and education, so i kinda "just wing it" :-) Common sense and math takes you a long way :-)

There isn't much to it actually. Estimate the weight of the z-axis and then find an aircylinder that can deliver the force required to hold that weight. Make sure you do the calculations for a lower pressure than what you have, so i'm going to run 8 or 10 bar in my shop, so i designed the counterweightsystem to run at 5-6 bar, this gives me the option to increase the pressure if the z-axis is heaver than estimated...

[ardenum]

Well, i'm an engineer by heart and education, so i kinda "just wing it" :-) Common sense and math takes you a long way :-)

There isn't much to it actually. Estimate the weight of the z-axis and then find an aircylinder that can deliver the force required to hold that weight. Make sure you do the calculations for a lower pressure than what you have, so i'm going to run 8 or 10 bar in my shop, so i designed the counterweightsystem to run at 5-6 bar, this gives me the option to increase the pressure if the z-axis is heaver than estimated...

What about other system components like valves, regulators etc.?

[badhabit]

What about other system components like valves, regulators etc.?

Well, a pressure regulator can be bought in almost all major "home depot"-like stores. So my plan was just to get one of those...didn't do much thinking on those parts....fittings etc will also be needed...but i'll cross that bridge when i get there :-)

[StrawberryBoi]

I assume he's running a manual regulator, but you could also use a controlled valve. Since he has an accumulator he's made a 'constant force' gas spring system. The accumulator will add enough capacity that he could use even slow-ish binary control on a valve and not need a proportional valve at all, as long as the valves have enough restriction (ie, small!).

[peteeng]

Well, i'm an engineer by heart and education, so i kinda "just wing it"

Do Engineers have hearts? Peter

[badhabit]

Do Engineers have hearts?

I'm pretty sure that a lot of my professors back in my university days didn't have one ;-) So you might be right? Maybe i'm not a real engineer after all...hm... :-D

/Thomas

[ardenum]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of my professors back in my university days didn't have one ;-) So you might be right? Maybe i'm not a real engineer after all...hm... :-D

/Thomas

Same thing happened to me when I did an internship at a local company that made sheet metal products, the soulless environment made me realize I do not want to work in the industry...well failing programming and electronics helped a bit too.

I'm surprised you ordered a ready made ATC, were you not interested in making your own?

Anyway this is the best I could find so far when it comes to counterbalancing.(attachment)

[badhabit]

I'm surprised you ordered a ready made ATC, were you not interested in making your own?

Yeah, well, in principle all components can be made by myself if i put enough energy into it. One could also make the spindle, ballscrews, etc… but i have to draw a line somewhere… i’m also going to buy the table for the machine…