My shop, bot & vacuum pods

[Robert Rickard]

Our community had a two day Open Studios event last weekend, and since I cleaned up the shop I thought it would be a good time to post photos and to thank those on the forum who have helped this CNC novice over the past two years in getting things set up.

My shop is located in a former textile mill built in 1870. I'm not sure what my space was used for, but this sign is still on the wall:

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Entry, with fearsome guard dog:

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Bot is a PRS 48x96 with 2.2HP spindle. I found it used through the forum. It was the first ShopBot I had seen in person, and it was not running when I picked it up. Fortunately, with the documentation and phone support from ShopBot, I have a good, solid machine:

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[Robert Rickard]

General shots of shop. I do design work on the Mac, then transfer the .sbp files to a Dell running XP which I purchased used via Amazon for $200.

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An Oneida Mini Gorilla suck up the chips:

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I just replaced my Fein with a Storm from Black Box Vacuum Systems which I picked up at Aspire Camp at Mcgrews:

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[Robert Rickard]

I don't have a vacuum grid under the spoil board, just the 2" hole you see:

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I then use different size pods with the grid underneath:

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I work primarily with aluminum, but am beginning to experiment with PVC and HDU.

So thanks again to everyone who contributes to this Forum. I'm gradually learning and hope someday to be able pay things forward by being able to help someone else.

[tri4sale]

Entry, with fearsome guard dog:

Nice setup. Did you make the dog? He looks great.

[coryatjohn]

Clever vacuum setup. I like.

[Brady Watson]

Clever vacuum setup. I like.

Yes...I agree. It's called a BradyVac

Robert,
A few tips for you: You don't need the perimeter gasket on the BradyVac setup as long as the surface under it isn't too rough. Masking tape is a good temporary gasket around the edge on the outside (nothing underneath). You want to edge band the edges with something. It can be foil tape, 50/50 glue/water, latex paint etc.

Your table adjustment feet look way high. You want to get the machine as low to the ground as possible, find the low corner, and then adjust the other 3 for level. Make sure when you are done to lock them down tight with the nut inside the leg. Under heavy cutting, the entire machine will wiggle and the vibrations caused by this will affect your cuts.

Finally, that model of PRS only has 4 legs. Look down the length of the table with one eye. You will see the sag in the middle. At some point you might want to add some additional legs and crossmembers to true it up - otherwise critical cuts along the length will vary in depth & you will never get a truly flat surface.

-B

[gerryv]

Really nice setup and lots of character. I like the approach you took with the vac. hold down pods, nice work.

Just a thought. IF you find you have any table movement issues when the bot is doing direction changes you might find that the flex is coming from the fully extended adjustable feet. EDIT: Brady pointed that out as I was writing :-)


Thanks for posting.

[Ajcoholic]

Nice work space Robert! I know you described it to me but seeing these pics gives a much better idea of what its like.

Hope the new vac is working out well for you. Nice clean setup, and I like your wooden desk your Mac is sitting on.