Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

To all the guys with cnc machines: does anyone have a link or a DIY coolant mister and pump? I won't use it often but nice to have one on hand when I cut an aluminum plate.

Thanks

I don't mist, I flood, but this link should get you started. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/uncategor ... ister.html

Mac The Knife wrote:I don't mist, I flood, but this link should get you started. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/uncategor ... ister.html

Thanks Mac.

Anyone else ever do a DIY Mister?

I have a comercial FogBuster and I built 2 from that link in the Zone. They all work equally well. There is no magic in the FogBuster design but it is well built.

I have a fog buster as well, I was going to make one, but in the end I decided it wasn't worth my time given the cost of the commercial unit.
I have both the Fog Buster and Flood on my mill, flood is nice to have, but you really need the machine to be entirely enclosed (and my mill isn't) or coolant gets splattered everywhere.

I agree, if time is money for you, the commercial unit is the way to go. That's why I bought mine originally. I have flood on 2 mills and "shower curtain" enclosures. Works great but I like the fogbuster best

Do you dispose of the flood coolant or is it recycled?

g.

Mine is "green". But, I have to top off with water as it evaporates. I've not had to dispose of the actual coolant since I recirculate it and some gets lost on the swarf when I removed it, requiring me to top off. The residue on the swarf evaporates leaving a greenish powder. My aluminum recycler is ok with it so it must be fine.

Do you have rust problems with a water based coolant?

g.

We use a water based coolant that we get as a concentrate in the lab at the college. One of it's major corrosion/biological inhibitors (Since it does both), is honey. This unfortunately means a sticky, sometimes slightly crusty coating on both parts and any skin exposed to it, and that once it can begin to have biologicals grow in it, they explode due to the large amount of sugar. But you can wash it off OK. However, I am uncertain how well a homemade version would work as a mist coolant. You would definitely need to ensure that it was fully dissolved. I might try some of the Tri-cool from Mc-master Carr, since I've heard that for the plastic bodied DIY mist coolant setups, the Kool-mist can cause the plastic to degrade and fail at an accelerated rate.

Some coolant isn't nice to sunglasses either. Walked through a machine shop to work on a computer and this happened.

Xenocrates wrote:One of it's major corrosion/biological inhibitors (Since it does both), is honey.

Interesting facts about honey: It used to be used to disinfect wounds (because the high sugar content dessicates almost anything that tries to grow in it), and you can't give it to infants because it can contain clostridium botulinum.