Shopbot prt carriage curtains

[backyard_cnc]

Hi Guys,

In my ungoing quest for a cleaner dust free shop (see my earlier post on a dust collector build up) I decided to do a simple mod today and add curtains to the front and rear sides of the carriage on my PRT4896. Picked up some clear carpet runner at the local Home Depot and as well some self adhesive 1/2" magnetic strip. 5ft of vinyl carpet runner yields enough for both curtains plus an extra bit for further uses. Be sure to get a plain plastic and not the stuff with the little nipples that hook into the carpet pile. I made the rear curtain as all one piece but the front curtain I made in 3 panels to allow easier removal when required for tool changes and set-ups. Not sure how effective this will be but at least on the surface it offers the hope of a much smaller containment area especially from dust that is normally blown out from the router exhaust. For less than a $20 bill it is certainly a cheap upgrade. I will update this post as I get a chance to do some testing. The curtains themselves just touch the table top and are cut into a series of narrow fingers for ease of motion. Neither side is long enough to reach the cutter so they should last for some time.

Anyone else done this sort of arrangement and have comments on how useful or effective it has been at keeping dust contained? I know I have seen similar sort of ideas on large industrial machines so it must help.

Gerald

[tri4sale]

Interesting, would like to see a video of it in action and see how it does for cutting down dust.

[backyard_cnc]

Next time I do a small cut I will try to remember to shoot a short video. My hope is it will work in combination with my dust collector and prevent dust from migrating outside the table top area especially if I am unable to come up with a good design for a dust foot that will allow me to use my pressure foot at the same time. A pressure foot is a requirement for much of the thin pvc I cut since I don't have a vacuum table.

Gerald

[backyard_cnc]

Well I ran the SHOPBOT today for the first time with my upgraded dust collector and also the new added Y carriage dust curtains. I am very pleased with the results and they definitely have a place in your dust control arsenal. Even without a pick-up foot and just running the dust collector tube open most of the plastic chips were picked up and the dust curtains did a very good job with containing much of the stuff that wasn't collected to within the cutting area despite the fact my PORTER CABLE 3.25HP has a tremendous down exhaust even with an attached deflector plate. I plan to add side curtains to the Y car which will further enhance the effectiveness of the curtains. The cut on the video is .150" deep at 2.5IPS into PVC with a 1/8" 2flt Onsrud carbide upcut.

[backyard_cnc]

Well I modified a simple 45 degree PVC elbow with the heat gun today to get a little more direct air onto the router bit when using the pressure foot. Works not to bad for now until I can design a pickup foot that will work with the pressure foot. Also added the side curtains to the Y car to further enclose the cutting area and further enhance the containment of the chips that are not vacuumed away. Overall things are dramatically cleaner than with me standing there with shopvac and the up side is I can leave shop and not come back to a mess of dust everywhere. The little bit that escapes and gets to the floor is at the front edge of the cut when the curtain is overhanging the front edge of the table. Probably gonna do about a 2ft extension to eliminate this and also provide a work surface for secondary work. Planning to make it hinged to flip up or down as required.

Gerald

[Ken Sully]

Gerald,
Noticed your dust collector, did that happen to be a Delta collector? I have a dust Deputy on my shop vac and it works great!
Wondering what parts you purchased to convert your Delta and an approx cost (if you don't mind). Also did you use the same base (drum) the collector came with?

[backyard_cnc]

Yes Ken, the blower is from a barrel mounted delta machine. I used a smaller drum for the mod, 30gallon wheras original was 55 gallon. There is another thread on the forum for the dust collector mods its under the Shopbot Accessories section.!

Gerald

[David Iannone]

Gerald,
I like your idea and progress so far. I wanted to get the pressure foot but didn't want to lose my dust collection.
keep us posted on your new dust foot that works with the pressure foot.

Dave