[TTalma]

I am planing to build a shelf or something into my CNC stand. I was looking for some ideas to keep dust out of the PC, while allowing air curculation.

My idea was a case with about 1" space on top and sides. A couple of 12V fans One intake aimed at the PC intake, with a small section of furnace filter in front of it, and one exhaust, by the PC exhaust. Connected to the PC power supply.

Anyone have any better Ideas (Pics are always great!)

[Jim Dawson]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I just have mine setting on top of the control cabinet, easy to get to that way. I blow it out about once a year. Dust does not seem to bother PCs too much. I have seen them with an inch of dust and running just fine. Metal chips are another matter, then you have to keep the PC out of the line of fire. If you really want to enclose your PC then your proposal will work just fine.

Here is a pic of mine prior to its spring cleaning, was running just fine.

[awerby]

That's impressive, Jim! If you're still concerned about dust buildup, bringing air in from outside the room with a fan-forced duct and feeding it into an enclosure that protects the computer might be the best plan. If you were machining graphite dry, you'd probably need to do something like that.

[BrokenHorn]

The cheapest way to cure this is something like these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AR...mWL&ref=plSrch

This would be sufficient in most cases and it’s easy to clean.



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[awerby]

That would work for a while, but in a dusty environment it would clog up, and then your PC would overheat. If you go that route, clean it frequently.

[jo_ky]

I use a passively cooled PC in the shop. I made my own, using the H1.S case by HD-PLEX. It was a fun little project! That case is small, but still has a single PCI-e slot, so that I'm not limited in the type of motion control interfaces I can support.

[BrokenHorn]

That would work for a while, but in a dusty environment it would clog up, and then your PC would overheat. If you go that route, clean it frequently.

They’re magnetic so it takes just a second or two to remove them and blow them off with compressed air. Better and easier than letting the inside of the computer get coated in wood dust in my opinion.


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[A_Camera]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I just have mine setting on top of the control cabinet, easy to get to that way. I blow it out about once a year. Dust does not seem to bother PCs too much. I have seen them with an inch of dust and running just fine. Metal chips are another matter, then you have to keep the PC out of the line of fire. If you really want to enclose your PC then your proposal will work just fine.

Here is a pic of mine prior to its spring cleaning, was running just fine.

That is a massive fire hazard, apart from not being healthy for the PC or the people around.

[ger21]

Put the PC in a sealed box, and use automotive air filters and fans to pull air in. Automotive filters have a tight seal, and are far better than furnace filters at keeping out dust.
My PC is in my control box, which is completely dust free after 10 years of use.

[1Jumper10]

I use a fanless PC. Never tried to run Fusion 360 on it and its not connected to the internet but just running UCCNC and my CAM program it works fine. No filters to change, and I just clean it off with the air hose.

[wizard]

Lots of interesting suggestions here. If your electrical control panel isnt done yet and the budget permits build yourself a traditional electrical control panel in a NEMA 13 enclosure. Yes the enclosure cost a bit but on the other hand you need to mount your controls someplace so the additional cost is only above what your current solution is. Due to the fact that modern PC's or things like Raspberry PI's are very small these day, the panel box doesnt have to grow to an enormous size. You will generally need a fan often two to ventilate the box. Panel suppliers have all sorts cooling solutions including filtered fan assemblies.

Many people see panel boxes as an additional expense they arent willing to pay for a shoe string build maybe but for any machine expecting to operate in a business environment, or a machine where children might get access, it is a worthwhile expense.

In any event i wanted to highlight one thing wood dust is a massive safety problem. It can be easily ignited on surfaces as settled dust burning rapidly. In the atmosphere it becomes the fuel in a fuel/air explosive. Beyound your breathing health this is the other health risk from wood dust, it can burn you or blow you up. Most of us cant afford explosion proof in a home shop so the only other safety measure that is effective is agressive dust management. That includes cleaning what ever sort of control panel you have. Otherwise your electrics mght very well ignite the accumulated dust.

Be safe.

[TTalma]

Mine is a used machine. The panel is finished and has room, unfortunately it's to short to hold the PC. I considered pulling the PC from the case, but with the PC cards in it it's still just a little short.

I think the filtered box is the way to go Some of the machines at work use these . So I'm keeping a look out for something similar, but a lot cheaper. If I can't find anything in the next week or so I'll make something and use the car filters as ger21 suggested. I'm thinking this might be easy, get some of the old style round ones, cut a circle and opening, one bolt with wingnut and your ready to go. (hard to get the idea from my description, but look in my brain ad you'll see what I mean

[travis_farmer]

my thinking would be that if you pull the air in through filters, thereby creating positive air pressure in the filtered box, you don't necessarily need an airtight box.

at least that is what i had planned for my controller PC.

~Travis

[RicknBeachcrest]

I built a box that the computer lives in. A fan pulls fresh air through a car filter from the back and out the front. I originally was going to have a plexi cover over the front, but turned out I didn't need this. The constant flow of air going out the front and not much dust in the shop thanks to the vac on the spindle.