Winsten
Plastic
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2020
Hey all!
I did a quick search and didn’t find any guidance buried under all the fancy CNC stuff.
I got a decent amount of encouragement from this forum when installing my “toy lathe”, as Doug called it, in my garage.
I rolled my earnings from that machine into purchasing a Kiwa colt VMC. I run it on a rotary, in a small rental unit. I am limited to a compressor of 3HP due to 110V electrical infrastructure. I use compressed air to cool the tool and clear chips (bronze, aluminum, delrin, and steels). I do not run liquid coolant because I have bouts where the machine will be idle for a month at a time. I don’t want it to stink or attract pests. I’m now getting a decent amount of work, but my compressor is cycling a lot. It is not continuous duty rated.
I bought a cheap regulator and was wondering if I metered down from 90 psi (which I can tell is overkill), what an adequate setting would be for balancing air consumption and efficacy. I was thinking 45-50 but was wondering what the experienced hands thought? I use the air manually/intermittently.
Thanks
I did a quick search and didn’t find any guidance buried under all the fancy CNC stuff.
I got a decent amount of encouragement from this forum when installing my “toy lathe”, as Doug called it, in my garage.
I rolled my earnings from that machine into purchasing a Kiwa colt VMC. I run it on a rotary, in a small rental unit. I am limited to a compressor of 3HP due to 110V electrical infrastructure. I use compressed air to cool the tool and clear chips (bronze, aluminum, delrin, and steels). I do not run liquid coolant because I have bouts where the machine will be idle for a month at a time. I don’t want it to stink or attract pests. I’m now getting a decent amount of work, but my compressor is cycling a lot. It is not continuous duty rated.
I bought a cheap regulator and was wondering if I metered down from 90 psi (which I can tell is overkill), what an adequate setting would be for balancing air consumption and efficacy. I was thinking 45-50 but was wondering what the experienced hands thought? I use the air manually/intermittently.
Thanks