[sperman]

I did the same as Kevin. I spent a little more for a thicker curtain, and some nicer track, but still pretty inexpensive. I got everything from Curtain-Tracks.com.

[bevinp]

My splash screen solution is to use clear soft vinyl (? clear and soft anyway) about 0.5mm thick, one sheet per side of the head fixed there with masking tape at the top and large enough cover from rear to front of the head and touching the table at the height I am presently working.

For the front splash guard I have a sheet of clear polycarbonate 1.5mm thick, positioned between the front of the Y bed and the deluxe stand, high enough to minimise risk of chips/coolant being splashed over the top, and a little longer the table.

When I need access to the splindle, vise etc, I fold the side sheets up and hold them there with a magnet. The front polycarbonate sheet I can slide around either end of the table and the ends of the deluxe tray.

It works fine, with only a few chips escaping, although the Tormach SuperFly cutter produces long curly chips that ricochet at all angles and with amazing range. The clear plastic lets me see what's happening, coolant permitting.

I have used this solution for about a year and the only thing I have had to replace is the masking tape (the long application painters type). Cost was about $60 for the polycarbonate, can't remember the soft plastic cost.

[Uguessedit]

I tried the shower curtain way and it didn’t hold up well. Melted holes, tears, and it turns out messy looking really quickly when used everyday. The concept is good for an occasional user but my extruded enclosures with FRP panels ($10ea) cost $325.00 for everything per mill which isn’t too bad. This isn’t including doors which we haven’t installed yet not sure which cabinet will get what style of front doors a decision to make based on location in the shop.

As each has its benifits I decided to do both. While my machine is a Novakon NM-200 the concept is the same.

Outer enclosure of 1" PVC pipe, shower curtain hangers and thick clear poly.
This will ensure coolant & chips stay constrained.

While this works well, some have encountered coolant shortage problems, caused by the inability to return the coolant quickly to the container.
Additionally the mess is spread far and wide.

After using this for a while I decided to design a table top enclosure capable of accomadating 1 or 2 vises, various depths of cut and work positioning.

See attached pictures. The front, slides up and is composed of 1 or two pieces depending on vise(s) location.
The back allows for a 2" piece to be removed for really close to the vise operations. There are also small removeable hunks to allow access the "Edge" setup tool attached to the vise.

Finally the whole contraption is attached to the table with ceramic magnets.
Funky but effective. If you crash into the table in theory it should simply move away. If your work piece is too big the whole assembly can be quickly removed.

Expected benifits have been achieved. Most of the coolant is contained & quickly returned to the tank. The majority of the chips are also contained, making cleanup faster & easier.

John