Hurco Table Enclosure

I am going to need an enclosure for the table on this mill. I could build a fairly low wall enclosure that would help "some," but I don't think it would have the level of containment that I would like. Alternatively suppose I could build an enclosure that encompasses the entire front of the mill and rest on the floor. Something with partially sealed shower doors that I step inside of to setup a job.

Neither really fits my needs. One that set inside the table would substantially limit my choice of vises, as well as my Y axis travel to some degree. One that was short enough to have limited affect on Y would not fully contain chips or coolant when doing fast machining or using a face mill.

One that sets on the floor and encompasses the entire front of the machine would be much more expensive, although probably simpler to build. I would have to add a floor sump of some kind though, and I am not really crazy about cutting a sink sized hole in the monolithic slab. It would also take up a lot more floor space.

The one design I thought of that might work is one that extends outward to the front of the table about 8-12" and back from the table an inch. This would give me nearly full use of Y and not limit my choice of vises. I could also extend the front and side panels up more than 2 feet for plenty of chip and coolant containment. My son even suggest a fold up two or three section rear panel so I could raise it if I have to lower the knee, and fold it down when I raise the knee.

My problem with the last solution is that I don't see it being rigid enough and solidly mounted enough to hold up and not shake during some types of machining without screwing it to the table. That is, drilling and tapping the front and back lip of the table to solidly and physically attach the enclosure to the table. I had considered laying the base of the enclosure over the lip and making a clamp to bolt it to the table without drilling and tapping, but the lip is the same height as the surface of the table. This would again limit my choice of vises.

If I hadn't been chastised by "real" machinists about it I wouldn't hesitate to drill and tap the table to facilitate my solution. Especially since there is already a cast iron parts and tool tray attached to one end of the table by the same method. One that looks to have been installed or atleast sold originally by Hurco as it has the same aged Hurco blue hard paint. However, I have been chastised to "NEVER EVER EVER CUT OR DRILL THE TABLE EVEN BY ACCIDENT," by real machinists. This leaves me with a bit of a quandry. I can theorize and even visualize compromise solutions that are clamped near the ends and left floating in the middle, but my gut tells me when I am making multiple short rapids it will shake apart that way.

Suggestions?

I would otherwise build something like this ~

formatting link
~ with taller walls on the front and sides, and add a collapsible or foldable wall of some kind on the back. My table does not have a convenient T-Slot in the front as the one in this picture does or I would already be building it.

Reply to
Bob La Londe
Loading thread data ...

I wonder about the "Real Machinists". I started my apprenticeship in

1946 (I'm not sure if that makes me a real machinists, or not :-) and I've never noticed any reluctance to drilling holes in a machine to permanently mount something.
Reply to
John B.

Thanks John. LOL. I've been known to take a mill to a vise so it will hold a larger part too, but I can always take that one off the table and hide it before somebody comes in my shop. LOL.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Real Machinist - "someone who can't poke a hole in the machine because it's not theirs."

"I can do whatever the hell I want to it. It's still mine." Richard Rawlings, Gas Monkey Garage.

It's your machine. Do what you want, but try not to weaken the structural integrity of the machine.

Reply to
Steve Walker

That's kind of where I am headed. I think 5 1/4-20 socket heads with an extra thick fender washer for load spreading in the front and back faces of the table would give me good stability and a solid enough mount it would only shake from the most violent spiral drilling MOPs. Then closed rivet the side fences to the front and back sections. The table lip is pretty thick. If I plan well I don't think I even need to drill all the way through. Just use a bottoming tap to make sure I have enough good threads to do the job, and slap a dab of the red stuff on them once its all been fitted properly.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

My buddy had something like that on his kmb-1. Not a biggie.

What I would do:

Take 1x2 alum, groove the 2" side, make a frame around the table, bolt the ends together. Groove the top of 1x2's, into which you can just slip 1/8" clear plastic. Put a lighter version of the bottom frame on the top, just to hold the plastic together, so it don't wag so much. Heh, or a big rubber band.... lol

This way, you can take the whole thing off for other work, or fixturing. You no need no sliding doors. And you ain't gonna shake any of this loose -- itsa kmb1, not a 50 hp VMC.

Reply to
Existential Angst

I think I'm a "real machinist", I am self employed as a machinist and own my shop and everything in it. If needed I would drill and tap a mill table. I would just make sure it didn't weaken or lessen the accuracy of the machine. After all, being a machinist means I can make and modify things, I am not stuck with just what I can acquire from some other machinist. Eric

Reply to
etpm

I'm in the same class as you Eric. My mill is an old 80's Millport and I accidently touched the table with a large drill! Damn! I felt so bad I took my engraving tool and signed and dated the mark for posterity.... :>(} Good thing this is an old clapped out mill so it didn't matter that much. But it does have a Mitutoyo DRO that has never been turned off (except when the mill was moved) and it sure is handy!

Reply to
Phil Kangas

Gee, I can't imagine this. I have two splash shield schemes for my mill, they just sit on the table and work fine. generally, the idea is to have the shield taper inward so the coolant drains into the T-slots of the table.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

If you have some suggestions about doing what I want to do then I would glad to hear them. Here are the criteria. They are not negotiable... even if you "know better."

  1. I want a taller enclosure because I will be pushing the production volume with speeds and feeds when I can, and I want virtually zero chips and coolant on my floor.
  2. It must be secured to the table and be constructed in such a manner as to not shift or flex excessively under rapid reversals or even multiple rapid reversal.
  3. It must be deeper than the depth of the table in the Y direction.
  4. It must not set on top of the table in the front or back as that would negative the purpose of it being deeper than the table. (It can set on the table at the ends, and probably will.)

There are other things that will be a part of this, but they can be worked out with almost any type of enclosure.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

If you are successful, please share the solution, I'll copy it.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

I don't see anyway to do it with drilling and tapping the front and back of the table. Cyanoacrylates maybe... LOL.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Well, I think I figured it out. I was so obsessed with not losing any Y travel or use of the table I failed to really register that the table length far exceeds the X Travel. I can bolt a piece of angle (probably something like 2x2x1/4 aluminum) directly to the T-slots at each and and use that as the base for constructing the entire enclosure. By suspending the front and rear skirts under the angle I will be sure not to obstruct my use of the full Y travel, and I can always run an easily breakable bead of silicone along the front and rear of the table to contain coolant so I can remove the enclosure if it does get in the way for some projects.

I had taken my control console apart to extend the arm and get it out of the way of the enclosure, and I was reassembling it when the obvious answer just came to me.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

There's the contraption I use all the time. It is "sectional" so it can be disassembled for clearing the chips and for parts that interfere with it. Here's a pic :

formatting link

It drains into the T-slots to be compatible with the rest of the coolant system. Not much gets out of it.

But, it sounds like what you want is a complete enclosure for the machine, with its own coolant collection system. This would surround the entire table and head and maybe have swinging or sliding doors in tracks. I just don't need that in my shop.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

and I can always run an easily breakable bead of

You can run some flaps of 2" vinyl tape along the edges of the enclosure to direct the coolant back to the table. One piece of tape on each side, facing together covers up the sticky edge and turns it into a plastic flap, like a little roof shingle.

Sounds like a plan is forming!

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

I've seen that picture before, and its one possible solution. Simple and elegant. I really would love to have a walk in enclosure, but I just don't have the room or the cash for it. A full enclosed solution on the table might be possible, but it would be overly complicated. I have come up with a compromise solution. Tall front sliding doors (not over complicated if you have ever built a drawer before), tall sides, and a short rear with a vertically installed accordion way cover. The accordion way cover will hang on a rod that can be raised or lowered for different knee heights to maximize coolant containment on the rear of the machine, and totally removed when the knee is at its highest position and the way cover is just in the way. I have a plan! I have even ordered a few parts already. Yes, coolant recovery and recirculation is part of the plan. The table has two drains at the rear, and there is a wide channel between the main surface and the lip of the table, so I will probably cover the t-slots between vises rather than use them for drainage. Besides, I'll have t-nuts partially blocking them. I figure some PETG sheet and a bead of silicone will make a nice cheap way to cover the t-slots.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.