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• Main Cutoff Solenoid Installed & New Enclosure

  BrettBuilds • 04/08/2017 at 21:18 • 0 comments

  In order more accurately control the flow of paint I have installed a Digiten 12V solenoid. I am controlling it via an Uno and a 9v power supply. I think the real question is how well will it hold up with paint running through it vs. water which was it's original intention!

• V3.0 Enclosed Sprayer Test 1

  BrettBuilds • 01/04/2017 at 02:00 • 0 comments

  I built a quick looking enclosure for the sprayer out of a plastic storage bin that I had laying around so now I can start to test with paints, and not have it make a huge mess. I ran a test today with the following:

  Setup:

  Sprayer Setup	4 nozzles approx. 1.5" apart
  Orifice Size	N/A
  Pressure	~30 PSI
  Paint	Cheap Walmart Red Acrylic 1:1 paint/water
  Total Run Time	10 - 15 sec
  Fluid Used	2-3 oz
  Test Subject	Good ole toilet paper roll
  Avg Distance Between	7-8 inches

  
  Results:

  Surprisingly much better than expected. Nozzles had a pretty good misting spray; however pretty wide angle so quite a bit of wasted paint. Also the paint was a bit spotty meaning it wasn't atomizing enough, so maybe smaller orifice, more pressure. Could have eliminated 2 of the sprayers. Need the ability to cut of the fluid rather and just the air. I do have a valve on the fluid line but I can access it from outside the container.

  Go Forward To do:

  • Add a fill line to the container
  • Solenoid valve at the fluid exit at the container? https://www.amazon.com/DIGITEN-Solenoid-Connect-normally-Closed/dp/B016MP1HX0/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1483492282&sr=1-2
  • Probably better off with a rigid style sprayer main line to simplify testing. The flexibility of the current one make it a pain to work with. Switch to rigid then maybe consider something like this down the road to try and reach the tougher places of a part: https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-Arizona-Outdoor-Extension-10056H/dp/B0013I96VC
  • Need more flexibility with nozzle choice. So I am switching to a more universal screw on nozzle setup with 10/24 threaded nozzles. Major next step is to build this setup.
  • Also need to start thinking of a motorized turntable style system to spin the part. I am thinking a small geared DC motor with a small metal tube extension off the shaft. Place the motor on the top of the enclosure and attach the part to the shaft extension hanging down into the container.

• V2.2 Build and Testing: Successfully Run with Compressor

  BrettBuilds • 12/29/2016 at 04:32 • 0 comments

  I picked up a 1/5 hp compressor from Harbor Freight to test the sprayer with a constant pressure. I had to use like 4 different connections to get the dang thing from 1/8 npt connector to the existing connector I had installed (as you will see in the video). I was running at pretty low PSI (15-30). Overall I would say it is successful, it goes through quite a bit of liquid though (~10oz per minute) definitely lots of paint, on par with house paint sprayer. While spraying I put my hand about 8 inches from the nozzles and it felt like a pretty even distribution of spray, but my hand was dripping within seconds, which I am guessing will become and issue.

  I also test it with 2% milk.....yes milk. From what I could gather 2% milk is similar consistency to paint-ready-to-spray and it made for a much cleaner test. I filtered the milk with 100 mesh filter, just to try and avoid clogging. It did ok, there was some dripping and it wasn't as consistent of spray as water but it still looked usable.

  Overall I would say the testing was successful enough to move onto actually trying to paint an object. I plan to use diluted acrylic paint. I will it with basic shaped object plastic object and see how it goes.

• V2 Prototype Build and Test: Success

  BrettBuilds • 12/28/2016 at 02:45 • 0 comments

  I replaced the tube connecting with a male and female quick connect, and I replaced the air-in with a male compressor fitting. After a bit of tweaking I was able to get the spray coming out of all misters without any major leaks. The initial test was done with a bike pump hence the sporadic spray so next I will test it with a consistent air in from a compressor. Overall I am pretty impressed with the spray under low pressure (20 psi) I think if I can run it at 30-40 psi it will be a very nice consistent mist. I am thinking I may run into issues when I try to run anything else but water through this system...only one way to figure out......

  
  

• Prototype v1 Test : Fail

  BrettBuilds • 12/27/2016 at 15:42 • 0 comments

  Leaks at both the hose and shrader valve. I thought I could get away with the sloppy silicon glue seals but the container won't hold pressure. I am going to be upgrading today and replacing the shrader air valve with a 1/4" compressor male coupler and using barbed to thread connectors for the tube. Add a couple nuts and rubber washers and it should make a nice seal.

• V1 Prototype Complete, Test Tomorrow

  BrettBuilds • 12/27/2016 at 03:31 • 0 comments

  Current Objective: build a simple pressurized multi-nozzle sprayer setup to determine feasibility of spraying an assortment of different liquids through multiple nozzles with some consistency. Then attempt to cover an object with liquid (maybe paint) to determine overall feasibility of the project.

  Went forward with a slightly different plan for the prototype. I decided to use something with a screw top so I could easily access the inside of the container. I am going forward with a PVC container, shrader air valve from old bike tube, 4 - 2gph mister nozzles, 1/4" hose with stiffening wire,

  Build Notes:

  • It would be simpler to move the stiffening wire outside of the tube. Can consider just taping it to the outside for the prototype. Down the road maybe consider a 1/4 tube inside a stiffer tube (like a non-metallic electric conduit)
  • Need a bolt/nut style connection for both the tube and the air nozzle at the lid.

• 12/24/16 Basic Multi-nozzle Pressurized Can

  BrettBuilds • 12/24/2016 at 21:42 • 0 comments

  12/24/16

  First I am going to start by making a very simple spray paint style can with multiple nozzles and an outside pressure system. I want to see if an air-paint mixture throughout the entire system will work. Originally I was thinking I would make something similar to an airbrush however I think it is overkill since I really don't need that precision and control. So I am going to essentially try to recreate an aerosol can with a compressor, sturdy paint container, and multiple exit nozzles.

  1. Pressurize paint mixture and spray through multiple nozzles. (current)

  2. Iterate/modify to try and get consistent spray out of each nozzles. Options to vary:

  -Main orifice diameter, nozzle diameter, paint viscosity, pressure->paint sequence, and more.

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