I've been eyeing the Fogbuster system for years for times/equipment where I can't use flood coolant, but I just can't swallow paying several hundred dollars for a water filter housing, some tubing, and a small block of metal. Along comes SST, and finally makes a similar fogless flood coolant system, the SST Lub Cube, that may even have some improvements.
▼ WHERE TO BUY
▶ SST LUBE-Cube Fogless Coolant Sprayer System - amzn.to/3QHQ0uM
READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE: www.engineerable.com/single-post/sst-lubecube-review-fogless-coolant-sprayers-that-s-cheaper-than-fogbuster-but-is-it-as-good
READ HOW TO INSTALL ON HAAS TM-1 CNC MILLING MACHINE: www.engineerable.com/single-post/how-to-add-sst-lube-cube-no-fog-coolant-system-fogbuster-style-coolant-to-haas-tm1-cnc-mill
▼ IS LUBECUBE A COPY OF FOGBUSTER?
Yes, but the original Fogbuster patent was filed in 1995 and has since expired, so anyone can make and sell this design.
▼ WHICH MACHINES TESTED ON?
I purchased the SST Lube Cube Fogless coolant sprayer primarily for use on the HAAS TM-1 CNC milling machine. This is currently an open machine, and until I enclose it, I don't want to use flood coolant, because it will be too messy.
It could also be useful in situations where an air blast works better than flood coolant, although the strong air blast needs to be on a separate nozzle, and it may create more mist if it hits the coolant stream.
I was planning to also use it on the band saw (no coolant collection pan) and cold saw (with coolant collection), but then I realized that those don't really need the airstream aspect, so using a simple peristaltic pump will be effective for dripping coolant on the blade.
▼ WHICH MATERIALS TESTED?
The SST Lube Cube has mostly been used on aluminum, 6061 and some gummier varieties that love to clog the end mills. Even the very nice, highly polished YG-1 Alupower end mills can clog when used without coolant on the softer aluminum (like machining aluminum t-slot extrusions). It is essential for machining aluminum without flood coolant, otherwise, the tool will eventually get gummed up with aluminum.
It has also been used for peck drilling high carbon steel to keep the hole cool and prevent material hardening.
▼ HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?
As long as the coolant is flowing at the correct rate it works very well to keep the tool cool and lubricated. Initially, I had some issues where I would set the flow and then the flow would change and decrease. If I wiggled the adjustment knob axially (there's no noticeable play), or the machine vibrated enough the flow would start up again, and then after a while, it would decrease sometimes all the way to no flow. I spoke to Juan the owner of SST (who was very pleasant and helpful) about this issue and he found it strange, and the only thing that he could think of is that there is a blockage in the needle valve caused by some debris or the coolant itself. I decided to back-flush it with water to see if I could clear out anything that was causing a clog. That actually seems to have resolved the issue and now the coolant flow appears to remain constant and it doesn't change over time. I don't know if I introduced the debris while assembling it or into the coolant (there is a filter on the coolant input), but whatever was there was causing issues.
So now that that is solved it works really well. I have never used a fogbuster system but I would expect that this system is on par. The adjustment knob is much larger which I've heard makes it easier to fine-tune the flow. I usually only turn the adjustment knob about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn.
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