Vacuum Plate
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- A Vacuum Plate can be a game changer if you have to make a lot of parts.
It holds parts down quickly for machining or clamping to your workbench. This version I designed is for your workbench and it is made from cheap MDF. If you have to sand a batch of parts this will come in very handy. I think you can also use this vacuum plate on your cnc router when using smaller tools.
Generating the vacuum is a whole other topic, I demonstrate that your shop vac can do it but I recommend you get a dedicated vacuum pump if you plan on using this type of work holding frequently.
If there is something in this video that caught your eye here are some links:
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Starbond CA black (Amazon)
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Vacuum generator venturi (Amazon)
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Round Rubber Seal (Amazon)
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8mm pneumatic tubing (Amazon)
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I have been building my cnc for around 5 monthy now - and watched a TON of tutorials, etc. I have to day that yours are clearly one of the most comprehensive, well-made, logical, all-encmpassing, clearly structured ones. Thank you for that!
Thank you for that comment David!!!!
I've had a Campbell Hausfeld 60 gal. 6.5 HP compressor in my shop for 20 years and never did I know I could use it as a vacuum pump, amazing. As with all your postings I'm excited about this one but this is so true for all that you post.
Very informative and I'm looking forward to future postings on this topic!!
Thank you, Peter
That compressor will definitely work to run a vacuum generator ! Thanks Peter !
What a funny and scary coincidence.. I hit the like button just before 4:00 LOL! I think there is no other CNC beginner series on TH-cam that has this much info so thank you for this.
… and thank you for the like 👍
I've been using my CNC for about 8 months now and haven't been happy with any work holding method, this seems like a great idea. Now, if I could figure out how to make my bench perfectly flat then I'd be in a better place as well.
I think there is not “one fits all” work holding. Thin stock versus thick or metal versus plastic need possibly different methods of holding the workpiece down. If you have repetitive work it becomes also a matter of efficiency. I think I use the CA and tape method the most followed by the direct clamping from the top. Have you watched my video on work holding? I think it has value.
Another awesome video, right in line with my CNC journey. I am considering a large vacuum loch raster from Sorotec, but really need more hands on experience with vacuum work holding before dropping €3k. Thanks to your inspiration, I'll probably build one of these as an experiment. Keep up the awesome work!
Thank you ! Yes a Lochraster Platte can be nice. They still require quite some airflow in the case any of the openings become exposed. Just keep that in mind when designing your vacuum system.
A good generally free source of vacuum pumps are old fridges. Not any good for Vacuum forming but for lower volume applications like this or vacuum bagging composites they are great.
Thank you for sharing, I have one from an air dryer that also works like you said if the volume is low… but the vacuum it can pull is great at 900mbar.
Joerg, great video, ive realised that i really need one too. I think the best variant is 20mm thick alum plate. Tape method works 50% of the time, my parts overheat quite often, so vacuum is the way to go. But there is one thing: using the tape method, I’m not afraid to damage the table, because there are 2 layers of tape between the part and the table, in the case of a vacuum plate, you will need to leave 0.1mm or more so as not to spoil the plate. And btw i think vacuum pump from Easy Compsites will work very good, its 300 euro - good upgrade for the system.
Thank you! Yes once you make an aluminum plate you will be mad at yourself machining into it. You can use the VacuCard from Datron (if you can get your hands on it) and that will allow to cut all the way through the part and also restrict the airflow. Once there are any parts of the pate open the vacuum is greatly reduced no matter what style plate is used and then the pump becomes more and more important. Thx for the Tipp I will check into the pump you mentioned.
Any chance you have sourced a cable replacement? I may have turned the spindle on and ruined the cable. It’s a 3 wire usb-c.
I assume this is not for the vac plate but for the touch probe ? Unfortunately I don’t have a source for a replacement. I think usb c has 24 pins in its original configuration. Sorry
Hi Joerg, great video.
Thanks a lot for the previous ones where you tune the servos, it really made all the difference for getting my JAND servos tuned, and your videos was the only ones I could find that had any real information in them.
In this video, you're doing a vacuum table using only one piece of MDF. That means that the top surface acts as a poroous surface that has the pressure differential.
Ususally a grooved vacuum table is non poroous, and the tubing acts as a seal to make a very tight pressure chamber inside it. I see you cut the tubing for your test, but that's not necessary, the wide corners you've made should make it possible to route a long seal both in and out at the same corner.
Since your entire surface is porous, I would think that having NO grooves at all and thus no seal would work much better for you. Just do a flat piece, and put your stuff on that! The entire surface will now keep your workpiece down.
If you're using a shop vacuum cleaner, you might consider adding a valve somewhere so you can let in false air, in order to keep the vacuum cleaner cool, as running it with almost no airflow will probably get you in trouble sooner or later.
I've just gotten my 2.2KW vacuum pump, and I'm going to build a 1250 x 1400mm table using 2 x MDF boards spaced by ~10mm with the top one being porous and the bottom and sides being sealed. I'll add spacers all over, so it doesn't bend, and it should have the added feature that I can resurface the top whenever I want to.
Best regards, Lars
Hi Lars, glad you could use the tuning video ! Actually the MDF is sealed with shellac as I mentioned and one of the channels is drilled trough to intersect a bore to the fitting. Yes MDF is used often in the way you mentioned but in this case I used it because it’s cheap. Yes the rounding of the corners I wanted to do to protect the seal. Especially for a metal plate that is important as this often cuts the seal. Using a shop vac is a bit of the crutch I was actually surprised that it worked this well, I wanted to include this option (more pumps coming up) as I know people going to ask if this is possible. A bypass vacuum would be a must as the motor has independent cooling. Thanks for reaching out !!
I've been using HDPE plastic for my vacuum pads, much much better than MDF.
I'm also using a small oil-less vacuum pump that i bought from Amazon.
A lot of other people are using the Fein Turbo Vacs.
The grid gasket I'm using is 1/4" round "backer rod", from the hardware store. It's a foam material, that gets pushed 3/16" deep into a 1/4" wide groove, made with a 1/4" round endmill.
I tried a venturi pump, but you need an air compressor with a huge tank, to be able to use it for a minimal amount of time.
Yes a plastic material is much better my plastic pods are made from POM. And yes the Venturi will work if tiki have little bypass air like on a aluminum vac plate holding a metal plate down. I think the shop vac (with passive cooling like the Fein you mentioned) is a good solution for woodworking. Thx for your comment !
There is an alternative mechanism, with minimum cost, for those who have an air compressor and don't want to mess around with making adaptors for shopvacs, on small plates like that, using a venturi adaptor. It turns the hose from compressor from a blower to a vacuum. Obviously not so good on larger vacbeds.
Spot on! I show one at the very end and use it sometimes as well. Thanks for reaching out.
@@JBWorx My bad, hadn't quite got to the end, had to shoot off to catch up on an order. Left the vid up to continue watching later.
Perfect 👍
Very helpful video on how to make a vacuum clamp. Will the clamp remain effective when the tool cuts through the bottom of the job material above the slots in the vacuum plate?
Thank you ! For the Venturi pump in most cases no. For larger pieces where a regenerative blower works yes. There can be quite some leaks and the part is still held down firmly. You can also pull directly through a MDF plate, that has the effect that the air gets slowed down and the part is still held firmly in place. So it is a function of available air flow, size of the part (so force generated to keep it in place) and the size of the air leak.
@@JBWorx Thanks for that, you also answered the question I put in your next video :-)
Excellent
Interessantes Video
Danke dir !
Could you use a vacuum pump for doing Heat pump recharging repairs, they are meant for deep vacuum to draw out all air from the Refrigerant lines.
That depends on the application. These pumps don’t move much air, so if everything is and also stays relatively tight then yes. But if you have porous material or machine through then the vacuum is lost very quickly and the part moves on the plate. So yes doable with that in mind.
hello, great explanation! i would ask regarding the goorve for the gasket, is the gasket is 6mm how wide and deep would you mill the groove?
Yes this is a bit of trail and error. So I like to ensure that the part lays flat in the vacuum plate and not up on the gasket. So the pull down force changes with the amount of vacuum you can produce. Also the shore hardness of the seal changes. So for a 6mm seal I suggest a test using a 5.5mm wide by 5.3mm deep groove and adjust from there. I used 1mm less than the diameter for the with and depth and found that it is difficult to seat the part all the way down onto the plate. Hope this helps
@@JBWorx great, in this case if i would use a 5mm gasket, you suggest to start from 4.5 wide and 4.3 deep? do you think that the gasket dimension is crucial in this project (i would try a gasket smaller than 6mm if possible)?
Yes that sounds good. I don’t think it is crucial for clamping wood / plastics. Too small like 2-3 mm will not seal enough I think. For Al is a bit different you can use a small seal.
the video was great, but curious how you tapped the hole for the air fitting to go into the side of the mdf?
Actually I just screwed that right in and secured it with epoxy - no tapping
thats kind of what i was figuring you did. Did you use a pc6 m5 fitting? or like a regular 1/8NPT?@@JBWorx
and what was your predrill size? Looked around 1/8" OD
Yes M5 but NPT would work good too. I drilled 4.8mm hence the need for epoxy to seal it.
Are you depending on the porosity of the MDF as the evacuation channel? If not, how did you accomplish this operation?
No, there is a connector on the side and I drilled about 60mm into the plate from the side and then through one of the channels into that. The MDF is painted to seal it.
vacuum venture not have perfect use table pad, need alltime lot air. but better have REAL etc,vevor vacuum pump cost 60-150$ 1-4 CFM pump. 3 CFM pump normal good to table hold part. cost about 70-110 $. cheap buy good vevor etc, pump.
We can get the same type of here in the US at Harbor-freight tools. Unfortunately they put a lot of oil into the surrounding air and I see a health concern with that. So I cannot recommend that.
they make long running vacuum pumps for the automotive industry..... A/C evac....
Yes I will get into that with my next video. I bought an AC evac pump and it filled my shop up with oil vapors. Returned it and the replacement did the same thing. So I am not able to recommend it. But there might be a brand that works.
@@JBWorx oh and another thing is I had a what I thought was a good idea is a sanding pad flat sanding pad on a small arbor that goes in the chuck of the spindle for a .0001? light pass of sanding over the top of whatever it is you're doing you were talking about sanding and getting burrs it may not be relevant to this particular project but it feels like it might be a cool thing I've never seen anybody do that.
@@JBWorx and I'm really excited to see your evac pump video! 👍
That’s actually a pretty cool idea
Excellent, working on it right now.