Water/Coolant Tray Reservoir for 4th axis CNC machine

thingiverse

This is a water/liquid collection tray for 4th axis CNC machining. (I designed it based on my Stepcraft D840 CNC machine's 4th axis) I wanted a tray that would have an outlet through which to connect an NPT hose connector, so that all the collected fluid would flow into a bucket, and then the bucket has an aquarium style water pump in it that pumps the liquid out through another hose and shoots it at my target stock material. That way a bucket of water can continuously be recycled and used as cooling fluid. Simply mount the tray onto a t slot table. Then, slide on the modular splash guards as needed. Prior to starting a cutting operation, please be careful to check that your CNC machine spindle has enough room all around it for the job you're performing, especially in the Z direction. The "front" splash guard has a rectangular shaped hole in the center to allow for room to insert a tailstock support piece. I'm using a Stepcraft CNC machine, so the dimensions were based around that. You should probably also print the Chuck Splash Guard, which is just a flat thin piece that sits right in front of the aluminum block (but behind the chuck) so that it just rests there, and protects your 4th axis stepper motor from any water splashing. Instead of spending the time to print it, it may be easier to just cut this out using a sharp blade and some thin 1.5mm / 1/16" plastic sheet. For the splash guards, print them upside down without supports. Here is the stuff I purchased: 1/4" NPT fitting: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZHGJ2PK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 8mm tubing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078HWTCC5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Water pump: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L54HB83/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I purchased this strainer to strain the aluminum chips out before the water gets recycled and reaches the pump, but I can't recommend it because even a 200micron filter/strainer is too coarse and lets the chips through. So this is a NON working example, for reference only: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023AW7JW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhdANJPcF0g