Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 21

Thread: DELTA 50-181 Dust Collector Mods!

  1. #1

    DELTA 50-181 Dust Collector Mods!

    Dust collection has always been a shortcoming of my CNC router set-up and I recently undertook to make some drastic improvements. I have an older DELTA 50-181 dust collector that sat on a 55 gallon drum. It could move lots of air and had a premium BALDOR 2HP motor but separation of fine dust from MDF or the plastics that I work with was very poor and much ended up in the filter bag, quickly plugging it up . Also as anyone who has one of these is aware, lifting off the blower and lid assembly to empty the drum is a serious chore as it must weigh at least 75lbs if not more. Anyway after a few years of this I finally decided to separate the blower from the drum lid and build a adapter plate that would allow it to attach to the 6" inlet of a Super Dust deputy cyclone. The cyclone alone was a massive improvement but I figured why stop there so I ordered up a HEPA cartridge filter from my local woodworking toy store and set about making the vireos brackets and duct work to tie it all together. With all this done I now have a very effective collector and I just have to run some duct work to the SHOPBOT and then improve my collector foot on the table itself. Gonna be great, I just know it! Initial tests show the separation of even the finest of dust is nearly 100% with virtually nothing ending up in the filter bag. This is such an improvement that it just amazes me. It did cost me $650 Canadian dollars to do this upgrade but since I already had the DELTA it was worth the investment as a readymade 2HP cyclone at the local store was about $1600.


    Gerald
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    I forgot to mention that I also added a wireless remote control system onto the motor for ease of operation! That may be my favorite feature for years to come!

    Gerald

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,621
    Nice modification. I run a Delta 50-850 with my cnc. It has 1 micron bags that work pretty good but I'd like to have a canister/separator setup like yours.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  4. #4
    Installed some metal ductwork today to get the "Suck" over to the router. Hoping the short length of 4" flexible hosing will cover the complete table without snagging but may have to relocate my ceiling mounted air filter. I still have to rejig the mounting attachment bracket on the router carriage as originally it was set up for a smaller pipe. The beauty of a CNC router is it can make parts you need for your projects and with a few minutes in ASPIRE I designed some 5" duct hangers to hold the pipe along the ceiling! These were cut from some scrap plywood.

    Some basic preliminary tests show that this is sure gonna be a vast dramatic improvement over my earlier set-up.

    Gerald
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,621
    I like your hangers. Mine's a large dog collar and a long spring, LOL!
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  6. #6
    Good Idea Bruce..............I suspect I will need same sort of thing on the flexi hose to keep it up out of the way and not snagging on the Z axis of the SHOPBOT but won't know for sure until I complete the mods to the router.

    My dog would love it though if she get to go on walks without her leash!

    Gerald

  7. #7
    Bruce,

    I installed a spring support much like yours and also performed a motion test to the 4 corner limits of my SHOPBOT, seems to work good. The spring support was a definite plus. I posted a short video on youtube to show the 4 corner motion test.

    Gerald


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,621
    Looks good Gerald. I thought about looping a chain around the hose like that but I was worried that it would poke a hole in the hose over time.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  9. #9
    The chain was what I had hand but I will keep an eye on it and if wear becomes evident I will sew a small vinyl sheath over it. The chain is very smooth with welded links so no sharp edges so hopefully is OK as is since I like things simple!

    Gerald
    Last edited by Gerald Hynes; 06-17-2015 at 7:30 PM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,621
    You have a CNC AND you like things simple? Does not compute..
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  11. #11
    To my highly evolved and modest mind, CNC is the simple way to make stuff. It can do things I couldn't even dream of doing with my own hands which are much less advanced than my mind ;-)


    Gerald

  12. #12
    Well I ran the SHOPBOT today for the first time with my upgraded dust collector and also the new added Y carriage dust curtains. I am very pleased with the results both from the dust collector and the carriage curtains. The containment curtains definitely have a place in your dust control arsenal. Even without a pick-up foot and just running the dust collector tube open most of the plastic chips were picked up and the dust curtains did a very good job with containing much of the stuff that wasn't collected to within the cutting area despite the fact my PORTER CABLE 3.25HP has a tremendous down exhaust even with an attached deflector plate. I plan to add side curtains to the Y car which will further enhance the effectiveness of the curtains. The cut on the video is .150" deep at 2.5IPS into PVC with a 1/8" 2flt Onsrud carbide upcut.


  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,621
    Interesting, I haven't seen that mod before. How do you like the pressure foot?
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  14. #14
    Bruce the pressure foot is awesome and absolutely necessary for cutting thin material without a vacuum table, it all but eliminates material lift on upcut carbide tools. I use it mostly for cutting 1/8" and 6mm pvc and ABS sheet.

    Gerald

  15. #15
    I added side curtains to my Y Carriage today and also I used the heat gun to form a more focused nozzle for my dust collector pickup. This combination offers reasonably efficient dust collection when using the pressure foot and will be suitable for use until I can come up with a design for a dust foot that will work with the pressure foot.

    Gerald
    Attached Images Attached Images

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •