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Post by craigbru on Apr 8, 2010 10:20:28 GMT -5
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Post by rneves on Apr 22, 2010 19:41:04 GMT -5
I would love to know how you like it.
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Post by craigbru on Apr 23, 2010 15:46:36 GMT -5
I haven't used the table yet, but I did come home from work today to find a nice sized box on my front porch. So, should we take a look at the table? Here it is as it arrived to me.  Opening the box revealed a very well packed table.  The table also came with a the necessary tubing for hooking up to a 2" vacuum line.  Also included was a solid rubber mat for blocking off unused holes during vacuuming, and a holed rubber mat that sits below parts that are being cut. The holed mat not only allows transfer of suction, but will help keep the end mill just above the aluminum table surface. These should be easily replaceable should the need arise.  The table looks to be of pretty good quality, and is well constructed.  Now finally, here is the table sitting on the machine. As you can see, it's the perfect size. All that's left is to get the vacuum lines hooked up, and it's ready for use. More coming soon!  |
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Post by craigbru on Apr 27, 2010 8:31:42 GMT -5
(The following is a copy and paste from one of my worklog threads on my own forum... ) I had a little more time tonight, and was able to get the vacuum assembly finished. As of now, the vacuum table is completely ready to use. I am pretty happy with the way that things turned out. It's compact, easy to maintain, and fairly cost effective. Of course, none of that matters if the table doesn't perform as expected. Well, I'm happy to report that it performs even better than I had hoped. I know everyone is anxious to see how it turned out, so let me walk you through the rest of the setup process... There are really only 3 major components needed in a vacuum table setup. The first is obviously the table itself which I covered in the last update. The second is the source of the vacuum itself. For this, I went to industrial parts supplier Grainger, and picked up a vacuum pump. I selected a two stage tangential unit capable of 97 CFM and 81.8 Hg vacuum. There were more powerful units available, but this one was an outstanding deal, and worth taking a chance. So, let's take a look at the pump...  Now, I should mention that although this is a vacuum pump, it's also a blower by it's inherent design. Unfortunately the only fitting for attaching a hose is on the blower end. That meant I had to get a little creative and epoxy a fitting over the vacuum hole. It was a simple fix, but just one more step I had to take before I could move forward.  Okay, now we've got two of the three major components out of the way. The third? Well, that should be easy. We've got to have tubing connecting the table and the vacuum pump. This shop vac hose kit offered the perfect solution.   As you can see the shop vac hose was a perfect match for the tubing adapter and splitter that came with the table.  Now all that was left was to route the tubing and hoses, mount the pump, and connect everything together. As you can see, the whole assembly is pretty clean and simple.   At this point I was pretty anxious to kick it on and do some testing. I'll try and get some video of that up in the next day or two, but as I mentioned above, I was very happy with the results. I could lay a block of wood in the center of the table, and with the pump running, it was surprisingly hard to move laterally. Keep in mind that this was without blocking off any of the other holes in the table. Doing so would increase the vacuum significantly. I'm pretty confident that as long as my feed speeds are appropriate, and my end mills are sharp, nothing is going to move while vacuum is applied. The only way to know for sure is to actually cut something, and I'll be doing that very soon! |
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Post by georgemyers on Apr 27, 2010 14:17:28 GMT -5
Nice looking setup,
Do you have the part number for the vacuum pump, I looked on the Grainger site but did not find it when I searched for vacuum. With 81.8 Hg vac and covering the holes not used I don't think you would be moving anything under vacuum. Is the motor on the vac continues use?
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Post by craigbru on Apr 27, 2010 16:28:49 GMT -5
Thanks George. The part number is 8M248 . There was no picture of it, and it was literally only $18... Spec wise it was comparable to most of the others they had listed, and it was even the same brand. I'm not sure why it was so cheap, but I couldn't pass it up.
The motor is on continuously, so how hot it will get under heavy use is an unknown. Although I'm guessing it has pretty good durability.
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Post by georgemyers on May 1, 2010 21:42:22 GMT -5
Thanks Graig
I agree for $18 you can't go wrong.
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Post by craigbru on May 3, 2010 11:16:34 GMT -5
Well, I managed to use the table a little over the weekend, and it was working beautifully. I was cutting aluminum, and the table provided enough suction to keep things from moving laterally. All in all, I think it was a worthwhile investment at around $260 total cost.
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Post by greggarriss on May 20, 2010 23:35:05 GMT -5
Nice.. Iʻm kicking around the same thing at this end.. Unfortunately, shipping is the biggest bite for me here in Hawaiʻi. ( Just ordered $50 worth of bits. $32 is shipping ) I make a lot (200 / month ) of small ( 1.5") flat wooden parts. So far, due to fixturing, itʻs still been easier and faster to cut them out by hand. Iʻm considering the vac table again since I ran across Vilmill. Itʻs a heat activated adhesive coated porous mat that grabs while youʻre cutting the part. The US rep is stackmaster.com. The demos are impressive but I have samples sitting here to play with.. The biggest gotcha so far is the need for a new table top with a lot more holes. Probably the same flow but much more distributed.
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Post by craigbru on May 25, 2010 15:26:14 GMT -5
Wow, that Vilmill looks like pretty great stuff. I don't suppose they sell retail anywhere?
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Post by greggarriss on Jun 4, 2010 4:32:31 GMT -5
Thereʻre a couple of places in the EU that sell hobbyist quantities but the US distributor also understands the issue and sells partials. www.stackmaster.com |
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