Royal Filtermist turned on by CNC?

baran3 · Nov 20, 2014

I recently installed a Filtermist unit from Royal Products and was thinking I would like to have it turn on and off via the CNC control. I would figure either a separate M-Code or making it turn on and off when the coolant comes on and off. Is this something any of you are doing? I figure you may need a magnetic starter coming off a relay from the CNC? Just wondering if anyone out there is doing something like this and what your setup is like.

Matt@RFR · Nov 20, 2014

It says right in the instructions NOT to do that! Once running, they take very little power so I'm not sure why you'd want to do it anyway.

baran3 · Nov 20, 2014

Matt@RFR said:
It says right in the instructions NOT to do that! Once running, they take very little power so I'm not sure why you'd want to do it anyway.

Did not see that in any instructions. Just read them to look for it and couldn't find anything. Could not see what the reason would be other than being some liability statement on their part. As for why I would want to turn it on and off automatically? The primary reason would be so that I would not have to turn it on and off manually.

MK Proto · Nov 20, 2014

Mine came wired and powered right from the factory and is controlled by m code. I do not turn it off once it is running just on in the first program after that it ignores the turn on at the beginning of the program.

Edster · Nov 20, 2014

I have a filtermist on my Okuma Captain lathe. I run bars in this lathe and sometimes load a bar up and go home. I wanted the filtermist to come on when the lathe starts running and turn off when the bar is finished. I wired the filtermist to a contactor we added to the lathe that is activated by an M code. I call the M code to turn it on in the beginning of the main program that calls up the subprogram x number of times. The M code to turn it off is at the end of the main program. It works beautifully. We also wired our chip conveyor the same way. The only difference is we added a timing relay to the chip conveyor so it runs for 30 sec on and 2 min off. It runs like that until the M code to turn off the chip conveyor is called. The timing relay is adjustable, and it makes a big difference in the amount of coolant the chip conveyor drips into the chip bin.

IAMATT · Nov 20, 2014

Every single filtermist we have turn on when the coolant turns on and off when the coolant turns off. So far we haven't had any burn out BUT the filtermist does have its limitations.

adama · Nov 21, 2014

Daft question, but don't you really need it to run on a bit after coolant off to clean the remaining cabinet volume of mist? Certainly most dust extraction runs on a bit to clean the system once the tools shut down for that very reason?

IAMATT · Nov 21, 2014

Every machine we have one in clears out because they wind down for over 10 seconds. It is enough to clear the machine out.

adama · Nov 21, 2014

ok that makes sense then

Joe788 · Nov 21, 2014

IAMATT said:
Every single filtermist we have turn on when the coolant turns on and off when the coolant turns off. So far we haven't had any burn out BUT the filtermist does have its limitations.

Are you talking about the actual "Royal Filtermist" brand, or a different style, like Mistblaster? Cycling a Royal Filtermist with every on/off of the coolant is about the worst possible thing you could do to it.

IAMATT · Nov 21, 2014

Well Joe I will let you know when we have a problem. No problems with any of them even with the last one being installed 3 years ago. I can think of worse things to do to a royal filtermist. The filters will only live so long under constant air bombardment. They are an over glorified centrifuge. Every one we have is a 675 IIRC, or were they 750..all the same. I would like to hear from folks that own these what issues they have had, how long the unit was installed for and what was it filtering. God forbid you turn it on. LOL

Joe788 · Nov 21, 2014

We have FX900s and 1200s. They're meant to be turned on and left on. More power to you if you want to wear your shit out. :cheers:

IAMATT · Nov 22, 2014

No bad luck so far with all of them hooked up like that. It takes some power to get them spinning but between some twin arm vmcs they never wind down to a stop before powering up again. In our lathes believe it or not the coolant stays on between tool changes. So in the lathe application 3 of them dont power down until the end of the cycle. I would not suggest trying to think out of the box and not follow royals guidelines. But so far no issues.

Altimu · Nov 22, 2014

The reason they don't like you to start and stop with the coolant is that the motor on the mist collector can overheat if started to often in a short period of time. All electrical motors draw the highest current during start up. The larger the motor the less often you want to cycle it on and off. One person running longer cycle times may not have a problem while someoe else will overheat the motor due to short coolant on/off times. To be safe the Mfg recommends that you do not connect to your coolant on. ... I recommend the m-code system so that it can be programmed on and off and you can control the duty cycle.

IAMATT · Nov 22, 2014

Yes it is very obvious why royal would say that in their instructions. If you have enough time using these and changing filters you would know that leaving one on for long periods of time eats filters faster. That is why I posted they have their limitations.

IAMATT · Nov 22, 2014

I might best describe the filter as having a limited Q factor for filter degredation. It could be expressed with a series of formulas but all you need to know is for some applications leaving one on the coolant cycle may be ideal where a simple m code will cost you more in replacement filters than needed.

I suspect that not alot of actual science went into the filter types and dimensions of a filtermist. The foam filters dont last as long under constant use with the cimtech 1070 coolant we use. That coolant is like the least toxic most, general application and safest coolant I have ever used. I cant imagine other harsher coolant would fair better

Joe788 · Nov 22, 2014

IAMATT said:
I might best describe the filter as having a limited Q factor for filter degredation. It could be expressed with a series of formulas but all you need to know is for some applications leaving one on the coolant cycle may be ideal where a simple m code will cost you more in replacement filters than needed.

I suspect that not alot of actual science went into the filter types and dimensions of a filtermist.

3t3d · Nov 22, 2014

Can you add a VFD to the unit, and program a soft start up?
Shouldn't that solve the start up issue with the motor?

They are so cheap now days.

IAMATT · Nov 22, 2014

Joe788 said:

Its about what I would expect from you. I would like to hear from you how many filters you have changed and if your the one that bought them and pay for the filters or if your a button pusher just assuming the manual is gospel.

IAMATT · Nov 22, 2014

3t3d said:
Can you add a VFD to the unit, and program a soft start up?
Shouldn't that solve the start up issue with the motor?

They are so cheap now days.

I dont know that you would ever need a soft start on the little 3 phase motors used in a filtermist. Unless royal is using the same motor for larger cfm rated mist filters. That may be the case. But for a ones we are using (model 750iirc) we havent burned out a motor in tens of thousands of hours.

Royal Filtermist turned on by CNC?

Cast Iron

Titanium

Cast Iron

Hot Rolled

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Stainless

Diamond

Titanium

Stainless

Titanium

Stainless

Plastic

Stainless

Stainless

Titanium

Diamond

Stainless

Stainless

Similar threads