Desktop making a Handibot

[Bob Eustace]

Brilliant modern technology possibility demo. Love that lovely yellow HDPE.

http://youtu.be/tpuVl_jS368

[wespor]

I want that vacuum table.

*begins e-mailing Dianna*

[garyr6]

me toooooo I want the vac table, how about the details?

[wespor]

Here is a larger picture from the video.

http://i.imgur.com/KoFTdCG.jpg

[Brady Watson]

It's not any more complicated that it looks, guys. Pretty much the only thing you don't see are the fittings that feed the table and the pump. This is ideally suited for non-porous materials like the plastic you see in the video. Porous woods, MDF et al, would most likely not hold without first sealing the back of the material to prevent bleed. Also, the vacuum jig shown is a custom setup - meaning that you would need to create one for every part you wanted to do. This is where a universal type setup that uses a bleeder may make more sense.

You own a CNC...make yourself one. Experiment. That is the best teacher. Search this forum for vacuum threads & learn. It is simpler than you think.

-B

[wespor]

It's not any more complicated that it looks, guys.

I just appreciate the slim profile. My first instinct when planning my own vacuum pallet was to build something clunky like the one featured (http://makezineblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/shopbotvactable_04.jpg) on MAKE magazine's website but that design brutalizes the z-height.

[wespor]

Dianne's response to my asking if they were for sale:


No, but if you join the training tomorrow you’ll learn how to make one for your desktop. The training will also be recorded if you can’t make it.

I presume she means a training class in Durham. I'll look forward to watching that video.

[scottp55]

Weston, online training is free and it's a good idea if you are free. TJ always gives a good class. Tomorrow at 1 PM eastern. Look under training and give yourself a few extra minutes if you haven't done a "GOtomeeting" before.

[Ryan P]

Although this is not an off the shelf part. We can sell you a fixture based on your needs. If you have a custom application that needs a vacuum system give me a call.

[genek]

Although this is not an off the shelf part. We can sell you a fixture based on your needs. If you have a custom application that needs a vacuum system give me a call.
RYAN I just sent you a pm

[bleeth]

Hey guys:
Making these fixtures is almost as easy as falling off a log. All you are really talking about is a block of plastic with a tunnel in it and some gasket tape coupled with the vacuum source of your choice. There has been tons of examples posted on the site over the years, and although there hasn't been a lot of this lately, don't let that stop you from applying the basic technology to your own needs and just build it.
Don't know if the do-it yourself" methods are still "taught" at the camps but Bill Palumbo used to do a how to on demand at any of them where he was asked.

[Ryan P]

Dave is correct it is not hard to make your own. This is the topic of TJ's web class tomorrow. The basics to vacuum is to remove the air from under the part to allow the weight of air above the part to hold the part in place. Hopefully after tomorrows class you will see how easy it can be.

[Bob Eustace]

You have to hand it to TJ for efficiency as the vacuum tutorial is already up on U-Tube. Wow!

http://youtu.be/ryJ56ESAHZQ

Great demo of just why vacuum works too.

[scottp55]

That was a great class for vacuum neophytes like me! Ready to tackle it now.
Great job TJ!:)

[GlenP]

I would like to know more about using the barcode scanner for running files. Looks like a cool idea. Maybe just more gadgets....but we like gadgets, right...;)

[myxpykalix]

I posted this in another thread before reading your post above
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19231

[Brady Watson]

A barcode is just a font. Usually something along the lines of "3of9" or other variant that can be read with a barcode scanner. You just enter the text you want (in Engrish) with a * prefix & suffix in MSWord etc, change the font to 3of9 etc, and print out your label. It can contain SBP codes or whatever you want...it isn't magic.

The challenge comes if you want to apply a barcode to your material. You either need to stick them on by hand or find an affordable thermal printer (even an ink jet) that is robust enough to print right on the material and deal with sawdust etc. It seems more trouble than it is worth in this regard. However, if you need to dumb things down for unskilled operators, you can use barcodes to call up different part files etc without them needing to touch the console in SB3.

-B