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Mike: Thanks, that answers my question. The mixing is at the end of the nozzle. Simple. I like the idea of a constant volume pump for coolant. It would give a lot more control than a needle valve I'm now using.Dave: That Microdrop system looks more like a no-fog set up? There the coolant reservoir is pressurized with needle valves to control the air and coolant flow separately. From Microdrop's site I didn't see a coolant pump in the system? But the nozzle looks simpler and a lot easier to make than a valve block for a no-fog mister discussed previously. First here and then here.It would be "easy" to put a solenoid valve on the air supply and a relay on the coolant pump for CNC control. That does leave a valve for air flow and a knob to control the pump under manual control. Those could be computer controlled but harder and less useful. I've not seen G-codes for "more coolant", just coolant on and coolant off. You could use two setting, one using M7 mist command and one M8 flood. But I think these setting require observation of the cut. I've not seen coolant settings along with a feeds and speeds table.Thank you all, good discussion.
Hi MikeYour new system works very much the same way as the Microdrop system I use on my mill, that is as far as how the lubricant is delivered to the tip. The Microdrop does use a pressurized container which forces the lube through the line and does use needle valves for air and fluid control. I have never had an issue setting these.I took a few minutes to sketch up the Microdrop nozzle, I thought you might find it interesting. They are easy to make and would improve the performance of your system.Attached are a few screen shots of the assembly. The brass hex has had the points turned down and the Loc-Line nozzle has been reamed so the brass tip is nice push fit into the Loc-Line tip. The lube flows up the center and the air comes down the flats. You can see as the air flows down the tip it collects the droplets of fluid and carries them on to your part. Dave
Hugh, your are correct this is a no fog system and the small lube reservoir is pressurized. With the low volume of fluid and dual delivery I thought that was also Mike's intent.I have an air solenoid in my CNC control box and it is mapped so M7 turns it on and M9 turns it off. The adjustments are still manual and for what I do is fine. If I just want air for plastics etc. I just shut the lube needle valves off. There are at least two industrial quality systems that I know of the Trico Microdrop and Acculube, Lots of home grown stuff on the internet probably because these are ridiculously expensive. The Acculube unit has a small pneumatically operated pump which is gravity feed from the small reservoir. Microdrop's claim is that all the lubricant is consumed in the cut so very little is used, and there is no mess. This is pretty much true, I can go for months or over a year sometimes on one fill of the reservoir, which holds maybe a pint. Both companies have there proprietary lubes and and are also not inexpensive. I started out years ago with Microdrop's vegetable based formula and it gummed everything up any dried to a sticky goo. After I worked my way through that I switched over to their synthetic formula which doesn't have these bad habits. Dave