Vaccuum hold down for a Benchtop bot

[Phil O'Rourke]

I want to set up a vaccuum hold down for my Benchtop bot. Since the table moves there are more things to consider about routing the plumbing. Before I get started I'd like to hear from someone who has done this before.

[Brady Watson]

Phil,
Just use a 90° coupling below the table and attach your vac to that. Be sure that you secure it & the hose well and you won't have any problems. I recommend getting some zip ties that have a screw bung attached to it. This way you can use like a 5/8" wood screw to attach the hose to the bottom of the base board. Any ShopVac will work well...I like the Fein T3.

-Brady

[Phil O'Rourke]

Brady,
I'm considering the Trupan spoilboard you mentioned on a recent post. I have a Fein T3. Am I correct in assuming that you sealed the underside and the edges of the spoilboard? If so how did you seal those surfaces?

[Brady Watson]

Phil,
I didn't seal anything. I made it so I could just lift off the entire grid/bleeder in one shot and pop it in the material rack to get it out of my way when not needed. I DID put gasketing around the grid perimeter on the bottom and a strip down the middle to even it all out.

Out of sheer laziness, I did not seal the edges or the base board that it sits on. Just machine a grid for your table, pop a hole in the baseboard 2.26 or 2.27" in diameter and plug the Fein into it. Square up the grid you made and put it grid-side DOWN (you don't even need gasketing right now)...Then Using the CR command and your spoilboard surfacing bit, knock the top .06" off of the Trupan.

At this point you can put a full 'sheet' of material on there OR use it in conjunction with what I call a vacuum 'mask'. This would be a sheet of coroplast, luan etc that masks off all areas, except for the areas where you will be cutting parts. It will direct the vacuum in those areas and seal off the rest.

Just go cut it...the results will be both obvious and impressive


-Brady

[Phil O'Rourke]

Brady,
I really like the concept and I'm impressed that something so simple works so well. For the sake of conversation and trying to take your bleeder board a step farther do you think that a T-track system embedded into the bleeder board would still allow sufficient vaccuum to hold stock in place? I guess I've got hybrid in mind. I realize we wouldn't know for sure until a test was performed I'm just looking for a speculative response based on what you've done so far. I would guess the dados for the track would have to be blind to maintain vaccuum seal.

[David Buchsbaum]

I am installing a hybrid T-track/vacuum table beginning this very weekend. I'll let you know how it works, hopefully by this time next week. Mine will be a multi-zone system with the T-track between the zones. I'd be happy to dicuss details with anyone who has put thought into a similar system.

[Brady Watson]

Phil,
I would take a piece of MDF or plywood and seal/paint it. Then machine your t-slots into it. Place it on your grid/breather, turn on the vacuum and go to town. You can also do the same thing by sealing the bottom portion and run bare MDF on the top, machine it flat and just screw parts down. This will give you the option of pulling off the t-track board when not in use (and the grid/breather too!)

-Brady

[Phil O'Rourke]

Dave,

it sounds like you way ahead of me. I am considering a bleeder board like Brady described made of Trupan or Ultralite (is there a difference) and embeded T-tracks.
What arrangement are you installing?