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This enclosure has been SUPERSEDED by this larger Milling Machine Enclosure !
This is a Lexan enclosure for the mill. I had to make is not too tall, so ti does not interfere with the ram, and also wide enough, so that I could home the X axis, and yet again, not so wide as to get in the way of the pendant. It is approximately 24x21 inch in size.
The main reasons for the enclosure is to keep chips and coolant inside, as I was especially concerned about the kids and chips flying down into the kids' eyes. I hope that it makes for cleaner machining.
I cut it with an electric scrollsaw. To glue tight joints, I used Super Glue, and to glue joints with large gaps (like where two lexan sheets join at an angle), I used hot melt glue and made sure to rough all surfaces. Hot melt glue does an adequate job on polycarbonate.
The thickness of 1/4" that I chose, was really an overkill from the standpoint of containing whatever may happen during milling, but it made gluing things together much easier.
