Thread: X3 Retrofit

It might work but you have large areas unsupported in your frame. I can imagine holes being punched through the fluteboard and pockets of fluid in the base. Mine is just an opinion.

Sean
DON'T punch holes in the fluteboard.

Bob

Hi Bob,
The holes in the fluteboard being punched by moving around and mounting the material being cut and not deliberate attempts to curb a frustrating moment.

An old mentor once said if you have a lot of time in a project don't throw away that time by shortcuts at the end.

Yep didn't think about dropping things like a MT3 chuck and bit could cause some problmes so I will put a sheet of gal for the pan I still have yet to put in a little more framing to support the frame and pan as well.

I may still use flute board for the sides though well will give it a try and if it doesn't work out I can re do it as I am a bit limited in the cash department and want a flood system before xmas.

Anyway so have been looking at these two units at H&F



1/8HP 240V pump
PVC supply and drain hose
On/Off switch
Magnetic base nozzle
9Lt PVC tank

Or



1/8HP 240V pump
Steel tank
Reinforced supply hose
Flow control valve
Nozzle and drain hose



Anyone aware of any other suppliers?.

Alternatives are a Diy version using an aquarium pump I have on the shelf, or a Mist system not sure on a mist system though as I hate air compressors.

Hi Sean

There don't seem to be many available from Oz sites. If you don't mind finding your own tank etc. then See this from H&F.

Bob

Hi Sean,
I have seen the submersable aquarium pumps on cooling systems before and they seem to work OK. It is a fair height from the floor to your X3 head so maybe test the lift of you pump and if needs be raise your tank accordingly.
In your industry there is bound to be a suitable plastic container for the coolant.

Rod what's the call on the number of nozzles I have seen one two and three.

Originally Posted by rodm

Hi Sean,
I have seen the submersable aquarium pumps on cooling systems before and they seem to work OK. It is a fair height from the floor to your X3 head so maybe test the lift of you pump and if needs be raise your tank accordingly.
In your industry there is bound to be a suitable plastic container for the coolant.

Well in that case I might as well just go the full Gal option on the enclosure and I can get a proper suds pump for my birthday or something and containers wont be an issue at all

At the engineering firm I worked at for some years they only ever had one nozzle per cutter on both lathes and mills and even on cold saws. More would seem to be a little superfluous. How fast are you going to running this mill that you think you may need that much cooling power?

Bob

Hi Sean,
As Bob said one is fine. I have two on mine because that is how the magnetic nozzle came but I keep one closed. You will find the X3 table battles to keep up with draining one nozzle and it will flow over the edge of the table. I drilled and tapped a second hole to help and put short flexible drain pipes to make sure it didn't flow too much over the machine.

Bob I have seen many X3s with more then one why I am not sure maybe its just X3 bling maybe they had a need thats why I am asking we have a few X3 owners on this forum so I am hoping that they come back and say one or can tell me why I think its comes down to spindle cutting speed.

Hi Sean,
As I said too much coolant causes a drainage problem for your table. Too much pressure drives coolant into the gap between the casing and the column and at the back of the column is all you motor electronics - not good to mix the two. Have a look at your machine and you will see what I mean.

I have a 20 litre tank and one of the coolant pumps Bob posted earlier and two nozzles running on that and lifting from the floor provides for low pressure. Not enough to push chips from a deep cut - one nozzle with a tap to adjust flow is much better.

What is worth considering is a swarf trap. If you build this into the design then when you clean down your machine you can just use the coolant to flush all the swarf down the drain. The trap catches all the swarf and easy to clean out. This saves me heaps of time cleaning my machine. You don't have to do anything fancy and good ones I have seen are a small bucket suspended inside your coolant tank and the coolant flows over the sides of the small bucket keeping the swarf inside.

Some photos of my pump and my idea of a complicated swarf trap.