Table with Vacuum System

[gsmith]

I need some help with putting on the vacuum table.

Did you drill your holes manually or with the CNC for the vacuum ports? Was this done first?

I have the backer board down and I am getting ready to put on the vacuum board. Then the bleeder board.

[wberminio]

Greg

After you setup your plenum,locate your vacuum holes and cut them out with your machine.
I remember I had the same question 'way back when' and then realized-
"hey-my bot can do that!"

[dana_swift]

I use the bot to make the improvements to the bot, from table and hold-down equipment to wheel assemblies to move the machine around the shop.

One hint, I created a custom tool in Aspire (you could use partworks just as well) called "inertial hold down". It allows me to cut very slowly on sheet stock using inertia and friction only to keep the part from moving. That gets used to drill the holes that will line up with the 1/4x20 holes in the base plate. Use sacrificial material between the sheet and base (the aluminum slab in my case). The tool definition has very slow moves and joggs and is only used for drilling the first alignment holes in a new table component. Once I have the alignment holes in the sheet, I bolt the sheet to the table and make all the other cuts at high speed.

Another trick for this technique is to use another hold down material: RV stores carry anti-slip mats to keep things from sliding around when braking and making corners. Perfect for increasing the friction during initial alignment hole drilling. "How to make the first layer for your table before you have one to make one with." That works nicely with the inertial hold down tool definition.

When making those first reference cuts, accuracy in X and Y are important, Z isnt, as I am drilling holes completely through.

D

[ken_rychlik]

If you are running the plenum in the sb software, it will prompt you to cut the holes when the grid is done being cut.

[gsmith]

When you used your Bot to cut, did you cut through 2 sheets? I have the hook up for the PVC piping and (I think) it is a metal piece that is then screwed into a plastic connector.

[Brady Watson]

There are a number of ways to do this...I prefer to pull my tape on the table and find out where I want the center of the hole to be - making sure that the location is NOT over top a steel crossmember(!)

Then chuck in a v-bit and center it over the crosshairs you scribed for the center of your hole. Then chuck in a 1/2" straight router bit with a cutting length greater than the thickness of the 2 sheets.

In SB3, type in VC & set the diameter to 0.5

If a PRS tool, type in SK and turn on output 1 so that your spindle will turn on when you run the the next command.

When you are ready to cut, run the CP command and tell it that you want to do a 2" diameter HOLE/Inside with a SPIRAL plunge.

Make sure you tell it to plunge from zero and set the stepdown to 0.125. Set reps to 13. It should be pretty straight forward and easy.

If you want to check that it is going to do what you hope it will do, set the Z axis up 2" above top of spoilboard and ZZ (zero Z) - then run the command in the air (air cutting). Dont forget to reset your Z at the top of the spoilboard before cutting. I would advise setting the XY zero at the center point of each circle you want to cut before you air cut. You can do this by typing in Z2 (zero X & Y axes)

-B

[curtiss]

Here are a few circles that may work for you.

They are centered on the origin, 0,0. (.25 end mill bit) spiral
cut

Zero x & y over the center of the hole.



You can go deeper by adjustment of the z parameter before you cut.


AIR CUT / Practice first... you want to do this correctly the first time.

The circles are the tool path.... the hole is what happens...