Fingers crossed it'll cut ally

[blackburn mark]

its a bit scruffy at the mo but it is working well :)



iv been looking at ways of clamping work to the bed without drilling and taping hundreds of blind holes that will inevatably clog with shit
im thinking i will drill and tap some choice holes as and when things develop

i may have a job with a hundred or so small control panles to engrave so iv been looking at ways to clamp easily and with repeatability


20mm o/d o-ring with 0.34mm protruding above face

one way valve

one way valve holding the vacuum,, at 20mm O/D it only just holds onto this alli plate


35mm o/d o-ring 0.3mm protruding above the face

valve holding the vacuum

takes quite a bit of effort to get this one to pull off
i left it stuck there like that for an hour and i had to give it a good pull to get it off, i wouldnt trust it to hold while on the cnc but it gives a good indication of how well the valve holds the vacuum

very simple and cheap to make in any size , im looking at machining both sides and just placing them between my bed and work peice out of the way of the cut

once iv proven the cocept i may use a peristatic pump (nice and quiet) to pull the vacuum
iv also orderd some transparent valves so i can see which modules are failing to seal

cant see it not working at least for engraving :)