Cooling system mods.....

[309cnc]

For those with spindles..... Thought I'd share some work in progress:

As others have mentioned, there is no real way of just looking to see if your cooling system is working. Unless you have bubbles going through the lines on top of the spindle you can't tell if there is any flow and the only indication of the temperature in the cooling system is to touch the spindle and/or feel the air coming out of the radiator in the end on the cooling 'box'.

So I have decided (can't remember now where I saw the initial idea) to get this: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A0HIEFU and modify the cover. Below is a picture of the first prototype. I'll probably go through a couple iterations until I am happy with it but so far so good..... I picked up the 12V for the temp readout from the coolant pump. The various hose sizes still pose an issue but I will figure that out next. In other words, the see through plastic square with the spinning wheel is not connected yet....

Let me know what you think and if you have any additional ideas / suggestions.

On a separate note: Does anyone has a manual covering the cooling system? I suspect I know the answer... :-(  Draining the cooling system on mine is supposed to be easy by 'simply' flipping the switch and letting the pump push the coolant out through the elbow. Well... I could not get the plastic plug out without braking it (and subsequently trying to drill out the piece still stuck down in the elbow). Anyway, once I did, flipping the switch didn't do much other than release a few drops of coolant with the pump running. Turns out the switch was likely plugged somehow and only cleared after moving it back and forth many times. Now, at least draining works as intended but I have unscrew the switch from the tray, hold the damaged elbow over the side and aim the coolant stream into a container....

Here are a couple pictures:

[gerry]

I hope that toggle switch doesn't start the draining process. It's in a spot for accidental change.

[traindriver]

? I thought you had an AR Basic? Did you upgrade to a spindle?

[309cnc]

I now have two machines..... ;-)  The basic 12x12" machine with a palm router and a 24x48" Elite....

[traindriver]

Awesome! Have you retried the v-carve inlay?

[309cnc]

Yes, I still need to close out the earlier thread.... just have not gotten to it yet.

In a nutshell, the vertical 'system' Axiom uses on the 'Hobby' AR is made up of roller bearings rather than prismatic guides. So, especially in the y-direction, you have to be very careful putting any side loading (V-bit) onto the mechanism. I did a couple more cuts and the lighter the cuts were the better the result came out. Eventually, I ended up with a glue-up that, once all done and sanded, you really couldn't see any ridges....

I had the machine with me in OH when I attended the class at Axiom and the guys (Chad and Austin) looked at it and made slight adjustments to the guide bearings. It helped a little but I just have to accept the limitations of this machine for this particular type of work. Turns out those little palm routers are not ideal either but the machine mechanism (again, really only in the y-direction) appears to be the bigger contributor to the ridges than the routers I tried.

Bottom line, I am off course a little disappointed but still not that unhappy with the little machine and I will keep it. Plenty of (non V-Bit) work it can do.... And for the really accurate stuff, well.... I now have 'plan B' ;-)

[traindriver]

Thanks for the details. I didn't realize there was that difference. That's a lot of good information in just a few short sentences. Now I'm REALLY glad I talked myself into spending the money for the upgraded machine. Seems like anything the machine does would put side load on it, though.   

[tmcrocker]

You’re supposed to push down on the fitting’s release collar to remove the plug from the elbow fitting.

[309cnc]

thanks tmcrocker..... How did you find out?

[tmcrocker]

I’ve worked with those type of fittings before for air lines.