I had to spend an inordinate amount of time brushing aluminum chips off the tubes on my primo during a recent job I did with it. Those familiar know that a bearings riding over chips during an operation is no good. Unfortunately, this was a very long job involving about 16hrs of cutting time, and worrying about brushing now and then was a fairly disruptive task especially as fatigue set in at the end of a long day.
A while back I had an idea for making some protector/brush caps for the trucks on my primo, to keep chips out of harms way (can’t seem to find that thread, so started a new one). After this last project, this idea has jumped way up on my priority list. I have some ideas to protect the trucks that shouldn’t be hard to pull off… basically a sweeper cap that bolts on either side of the trucks. I think also the z-bearings need some protection, but I can’t imagine how to do that without making it very hard to work on.
Has anyone else made/used such a thing on their MPCNC? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
I tried a couple things and didn’t get any satisfaction. This is my biggest problem with my 12x24 primo right now. Even with wood and plexi, the danged thing is so capable that I can’t keep up with the onslaught of chips!
Ironically, aluminum is the best for me to run on it, as the chips don’t go very high, and even when they do they don’t stick to the tubes as long as I cut dry.
Someone on here made wipers for his trucks etc. Don’t remember, but i want to add them myself to keep debris off the rails and bearings. Wood dust and humidity make little speed bumps…
Funny thing is i use wipers on all my industrial machine bearings and have almost no issues
All great suggestions guys. The printable wiper thing is pretty much what I was conceptualizing, except if I made that I’d design so it covers those bearings too. The sock idea is even better, if it can be done in a way that is both affordable and bind free. When I used to race nitro rc cars, we cut off fingers from thin cloth gloves to use as sleeves over our shock springs. I wonder if something similar can be done… but the endstop switches will add lots of complications.
Some sort of sleeve over a rail or ball screw has drawbacks. Debris can still get in and then they are not cleaned or serviced as they are out of sight, out of mind. We removed the few we had on all but the dirtiest machines. Sounds counterintuitive, but actually allows us to visually check them.
I think if you ran a thin rod on the outside between the corners you could keep the “sock” out away from the end stops. Or maybe angle brackets or such if you’re already using that to support some cable chain or such.
@barry99705 Nah, form follows function is secksee as f*** to me LOL! You might get a giggle out of knowing I tried the exact same thing myself at first. The reason I ditched was the fingers kept getting sucked into the bit on certain parts. I think that’s because they don’t bend into an arc but rather kink at one point… which means more chance of reaching the bit (shortest distance between 2 points).
I may have to see what I can do with the sock thing when I get back into doing lots of alum. I think it could work if the endstops were reconfigured so they are out of the way more. Like just 1/2" farther from the tube would probably work fine… but that would also require a significant remix of the trucks. I just got done redrawing the burly J mount in f360 to avoid remix headaches on a new toolmount I’m designing. I won’t be REing those trucks, lol.
You can buy way covers / bellows but you will lose some cutting capacity due to the compressed length and the section to be clamped / affixed to the tube. And they can be pricey. But I’m sure you could source them somewhere else other than mcmaster for less $$$…
Just a follow up about the ball screws and sleeve or bellows over them. Like i said they become out of sight, out of mind and not properly taken care of. Here is one that failed due to the same scenario.
