getting new vac clamp-how do you cut thru?

[gsartor_1999]

How do you set it up so that you can cut cleanly thru a part but not cut into the surface of the vac clamp or the gaskets? I do not want to ruin it on my first pass!

[billp]

Gina, without knowing your intended application it's tough to give you a complete answer on this one. By their nature the pod is meant to have NO air gap between the material, and the pod. So your depth of cut would be MORE than critical, it would almost have to be surgical in it's measurement ( if your material,or table were not 100% perfectly flat you can imagine the result).
But most people use what I am assuming is something similar to a vacuum pod/puck for V carving/engraving where they do NOT cut all the way through. If you DO plan to go that deep you'll have to position your material in a way that the pod is inside/outside your tool path. Cabinet makers tend to place an entire sheet on multiple pods placed strategically inside the cut line, so when they have made their cuts the "waste"material falls to the outside. Hope this gives you some ideas. Remember you CAN string a few clamps together to cover a very large area.

[genek]

one easy way to be able to cut through your material that is being clammed with a vacuum pod with out cut or damaging you pod is to cut a sheet of 1/8 baltic birch ply wood, a little larger than your pod, use two sided tape or a good spray adhesive to attach work piece to the baltic birch..

another suggestion is if your table is level, zero to the top of the vacuum pod not the top of the work piece, allow a thousands (onion skin it) then cut..
if your table is not level this will not work very good.

[gsartor_1999]

Thanks for the info-that makes a lot of sense. I have never used the pod before it just seemed like a gadget that I needed to make life easier. It sounds like vcarving will be a breeze with a pod. What I was getting in to was some gears I bought in dxf from from Clayton Boyer (http://www.lisaboyer.com/Claytonsite/weirdgears1.htm)
http://www.lisaboyer.com/Claytonsite/gearsquare.png

I was trying to figure out how to create hold down methods to cut the gears. Most of them I can put tabs in the "spoke" cut outs and use screws in what will become waste. Of course, if I can make it faster, the students will be less likely to loose focus! I will try the method of putting a thin layer affixed under the workpiece as well and see how it goes.

I can only fuss around with the files right now since the machine is at school and I am not. The vac clamps have not arrived yet either, I just did not want to ruin them on my first job so I was thinking ahead (an unusual state I admit!).

[myxpykalix]

Gina,
If you are going to have students and others programming and using the bot i would start using a good doublesided tape as opposed to a pod, because i guarantee someone is going to cut right thru that pod and make it useless.

With tape if you put enough down to cover your parts they should be able to cut them out and have no problems even if they go into your spoilboard.