How often do your guys air compressor need to refill when using the spindle? I’m trying to find out if I have an air leak somewhere-
My air compressor is a 30 gallon with 175 psi limit so it’s a decent sized compressor, it is kicking in to refill about every 10-15 minutes of milling time, not using the ATC at all.
This seems really excessive to me? The shop bot I was using prior had a tiny compressor and would run for an hour before having to start refilling.
If the electronic control box is not switched on the air flows freely through the spindle, is that normal?
Yep, its normal for the solenoid to vent with the electronics off. It’s not ideal, but having a on/off valve at the machine is a good idea.
Sounds like you have a leak to me. Disconnect the altmill, close the valve at the compressor end, and see how long it takes for the pressure to leak down. Add a gauge if you have one handy.
You have an air leak! If there was no leak, your compressor would not cycle. Does your compressor cycle when your ATC is not connected?
Air leaks are a pain in the rear. If you have a small system, it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate any leaks with soapy water. I have a fairly large system (pipes to a lot of locations) and I have long given up on finding all the leaks.
Every quick coupler can (and will) leak to some extent and leakage will go up with age. If you have flexible hose (urethane, rubber) these will age with time and can spring leaks. Of course any joint can leak as well. If you have lots of pipes running all over the place it can quickly turn into a whack-a-mole situation.
I would go about this very systematically. First, disconnect everything from the compressor, run it up to pressure and let it sit. Watch the pressure gauge over the next few hours or even til the next day. Note that there are a number of places an air compressor can leak without it being connected to anything. You need to figure out what rate of leakage is acceptable to you since it is unlikely to have no leaks at all.
Gradually add sub systems and again watch the rate the pressure goes down. This will tell you where to concentrate your search for leaks.
In my case, my compressor is only on for short periods at a time so leakage, even though substantial, isn’t a big issue.
When spindle is running they are using compressed air constantly to blow off dust and chips. Its not full blast that happens during ATC change but still uses air. Its annoying but i do see the reason why they are doing it. I think you can disable that with M64P0 and M65P0 if you want to try it.
When my electronic box is not switched one, mine does the same. I have 27 gallon compressor and it does cycle on as well during spindle on time.