Vacuum table Setup Advice

[JAZZCNC]

is that your machine?

suppose I could do something like that, I just like datrons way ;)

No not my machine and I like Datrons way but I haven't got £5000 + spare so I use £30 toggle clamps/bolts and it takes 1 minute longer.!
I then cut assured that the parts arn't going to slip and slid lossing accurecy or worse still get embedded into my neck when they Vacuum alone decides enoughs enough.!!

Horses for courses really. Vac is great for thin parts with no holes or large parts with few holes. Small with lots or large holes and it quickly becomes not funny.!

Anyway think i've said all that's to be said so hope you make the right choice in end so your wallet is stress free.!! . . . . . .. If not then you really have got too much money. . Lol

[andy_con]

lol

im very grateful for your help

[Boyan Silyavski]

Dean,very illustrative video, that's exactly how i work also. With the addition that when i have pass through profile and holes,sometimes i fix below a 3 mm sacrificial expanded plastic board . The board is not needed when routing wood or plastic, only for aluminum, cause for the aluminum the bit should go a bit in the sacrificial board for a clean cut.

Andy, as for repetitive parts like the panels example, if they come in cut shapes or as i do some hundreds of same pieces, the best solution is to make a custom vacuum fixture. Its not a great deal, simple to make once you know the principles involved and is very useful. Much better than universal table. You once align the fixture and then go.

[GEOFFREY]

Surely for wood the bit needs to fully penetrate the work so therefore a sacrificial (mdf?) board is still required. What type of expanded plastic board do you use as most plastics are virtually impermeable, or do you use some kind of foam board (polystyrene?). G.

[Boyan Silyavski]

Surely for wood the bit needs to fully penetrate the work so therefore a sacrificial (mdf?) board is still required. What type of expanded plastic board do you use as most plastics are virtually impermeable, or do you use some kind of foam board (polystyrene?). G.

3-4mm expanded PVC, used usually as backing for large photo prints. have friends with photo studio and use for free the rests. its sth like 6euro per sq m , sold on sheets of 3x2m. Easily cut wit cutter/exacto knife/. One of my favorite materials.

also from them i get super strong ultra thin double tape sheet, used to stick photo prints to methacrylate. This i use on small pieces for fixing the center not to flap. very strong stuff, if used bigger is impossible to separate. if cutter passes through it though the last cut should be way slower.

If the machine is precise and the table is surfaced plastic or even better- some phenolic sheet, the bit does not need to penetrate more than 0 for wood and plastic.Its very pleasant to the eye how it cuts through and does not damage the surface. of course after auto 0 procedure, preferably using calibrated material touch plate.

Only for aluminum it needs to go deeper as its slightly pushes the last material instead of cuttingwhen set to cut to 0 depth.

[GEOFFREY]

Thanks Boyan. Your machine must be super accurate if you can cut through without marking the undersheet. I have a metal matrix table and neoprene gasket material is fed into the matrix slots to form the vacuum to the the areas where i want to cut. Under vacuum the gasket compresses, more or less flush to the bed, but not 100%. This would certainly preclude only cutting to the spoilboard top, and all the large flatbed routers that I have seen ALWAYS leave a witness mark of some description. G.

[JAZZCNC]

Thanks Boyan. Your machine must be super accurate if you can cut through without marking the undersheet. I have a metal matrix table and neoprene gasket material is fed into the matrix slots to form the vacuum to the the areas where i want to cut. Under vacuum the gasket compresses, more or less flush to the bed, but not 100%. This would certainly preclude only cutting to the spoilboard top, and all the large flatbed routers that I have seen ALWAYS leave a witness mark of some description. G.

This is why you need a thin permeable layer to allow cutting thru without marking base.

Boyan most the Ali plate I cut comes with plastic protection layer and this offers enough cut thru in most cases. I always use finish pass which helps remove most of the burr and then I De-bur anyway so doesn't really cause a problem.