Air Assist Hose

[bdring]

My assist air hose is not always so too well behaved. When the gantry is towards the rear of the work area there is a lot of slack in the line and it drags across the work piece and sometimes rubs on the X-Axis belt. I was searching for a coiled hose. Most of the coiled hose I found was for air tools and has about 4" diameter coils (too big). I was hoping to find the type of hose you see on a blood pressure gage. I saw this paintball accessory hose on eBay for $9.00. I decided to give it a try. It is exactly the right size and has just the right flexibiliy, but unfortunately it has a huge backpressure and very little air comes out the end. The material is nylon and has a working pressure of 3000lbs. It must have a very small diameter hole through it.

Does anyone know where to find the hose I am looking for?

Paintball Hose

coil.png (67.16 KiB) Viewed 25462 times

Blood Pressure Hose

bp_coil.png (179.12 KiB) Viewed 25464 times

[lasersafe1]

I have what I consider to be the perfect hose material. It is a springy 1/8" capillary tube made out of some sort of nylon material. I believe it is sold for small tabletop air tools or pneumatics. It will definitely spring back when the gantry moves to home position and it is extreamely light weight and flexible. I haven't mounted it yet, because I haven't got the air assist nozzle, but I think it will do fine. It does have a lot of backpressure because it is only 1/8" capillary tubing, but I can blow through it and my air pump seems to provide a decent breeze.

I got mine from my brother when he worked for Kershaw Automation in sales. They were samples to hand out. The closest thing to it I see on the web so far is:

http://www.freelin-wade.com/coiledtubin ... 27_37.html

[bdring]

Thanks for the info.

What would you guess the O.D. of the coils are? Not the actual tubing, but the coil.

[lasersafe1]

.75 to 1 inch

[lasersafe1]

Finally got the air assist nozzle in place. Had to cut down on the length of the original suction plenum so the nozzle won't hit. I also extended the limit switch blades so they reach the photo interrupter before the stage wants to pass over the rail. It sure is good to have a friend with a lathe.

[LeonS]

I would recommend a coiled airbrush hose. They are springy but also light weight. They are also made for the pressures you are likely to have on the air assist (around 30 PSI).

I wish I had a friend with a lathe! Looks great!

Regards,
Leon

[bdring]

That's fantastic looking! Very inspirational.

The pictures are very informative. I have to get some of that hose. It is exactly what I was looking for. I think you cut the length perfectly. It does not over stretch yet coils up just right.

[lasersafe1]

I can send you a piece, but it might be too short for your system. What is the longest throw??

[bdring]

Thanks, I might take you up on that offer. A friend said he had some too. Either way, I am going to wait until I make some other changes first.