[rwskinner]

I noticed many folks use some of the clear tubing for their lube lines and tie wraps for the clamps.

The normal plastic check valves kind of have a universal taper for the hose and really no barbs and it seem hydraulic pressure would slide the hose right off. Maybe a little super glue there would fix that.

I'm thinking Grease-serts. You can get them in any size, they come in 90 degree angles, they have a ball on the end so clamping is more positive, they have a ball check in them, and they can act as an orifice as well. Best thing is they are pretty inexpensive.

They are not as nice as the slip-in shark bite fittings but heck if they will work then that would be pretty cool.

Thoughts?

[Fastest1]

Dont aquariums use some check valves? Here is a link to some check valves Check Valve Overview

[Fastest1]

OK 1 more site. Mini Check Valve | U.S. Plastic Corp.

[rwskinner]

I can find check valves all day. It was a brain fart that's all. It's metal, has a fitting on one end, and check built in.

Just ideas....

[gd.marsh]

Sounds like a great idea to me! ..

They're relatively cheap & a simple test would confirm the zerks ability to hold some back pressure .. you would still need flow control to adjust the amount of oil going to each particular station but there's also many ways to deal with that.

For simplicity's sake, I wound up going with the oil metering valves from McMaster - McMaster-Carr - A little more costly, but you get flow control & check valve in one simple fitting.

[rwskinner]

Do you mind saying which size you end up with and where? I was actually going to make mine a two stroke lube system.

Put a 3 way valve in, one coming from the pump, one going to the X, Y ways and screws, then the other would be to the Z ways and screw.

I have my X and Y albout done and they seem to distribute pretty evenly and I bet if the Z was on the same circuit without flow control it would be robbed some do to the head pressure.

Richard

[gd.marsh]

Richard,

#3's for the X ways
#2's for the Y & Z (they're shorter so should require less oil)
#1's for all ballscrews

The nice thing about these valves .. if you put them as close as possible to the point of distribution .. the pump will pressurize the entire system ..
I ran some tests with several different numbers attached to a manifold & 1 push on the handle would cause all the valves to drip accordingly regardless of how far away from the pump or how high up in the air they were .. seemed like it was going to work real nice to me.

Gary

[rwskinner]

cool, I may try those. When I get it together enough to try it all I'll know. Only looks like a Franklin for them all. Most likely the cheapest item I would buy for this critter.

[rwskinner]

I went back and looked at your build thread to see how you used these metering valves and it appeared you used standard Legres style fittings at your lube points. Did you come back and redesign it later or installed the fittings at the manifold?

Richard

Richard,

#3's for the X ways
#2's for the Y & Z (they're shorter so should require less oil)
#1's for all ballscrews

The nice thing about these valves .. if you put them as close as possible to the point of distribution .. the pump will pressurize the entire system ..
I ran some tests with several different numbers attached to a manifold & 1 push on the handle would cause all the valves to drip accordingly regardless of how far away from the pump or how high up in the air they were .. seemed like it was going to work real nice to me.

Gary

[gd.marsh]

It was redesigned ..

I picked up the necessary elbows /couplings /etc. to put the metering valves in place of the Legres at the end of each line.

Unfortunately, I have nothing to show right now because the mill is in a pile of pieces while I've been working on the pan /auger. I believe I'm finally ready for paint though, so once that's done I'll start final assembly on the mill and will be able to provide some pics as I complete each phase.

Gary