A friend was complaining about the need for 6kW vacuum system on a large table and this got me thinking....
Another way is to divide the table up into squares, grid wise, and have a .. separate.. vacuum motor for each section. The motor is mounted under the table at the bottom of each 'box'. You can get ~1.5kW motors really cheap, and now it's easy to make up a system with as many kW as you want. Far easier to find 4 vacuum motors than a 6kW pump. Roland On Wed, 9 Jun 2021 at 17:13, Todd Zuercher <to...@pgrahamdunn.com> wrote: > For milling sheet material on a large table, an MDF spoil board on top of > a vacuum grid is usually the best option. But for small parts such as > solid wood items vacuum pods are usually a better choice. In a pod > arrangement with the part held directly is where the valves are useful. > > Todd Zuercher > P. Graham Dunn Inc. > 630 Henry Street > Dalton, Ohio 44618 > Phone: (330)828-2105ext. 2031 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Leonardo Marsaglia <ldmarsag...@gmail.com> > Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2021 10:47 PM > To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) <emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net> > Subject: Re: [Emc-users] OT: About a chat here on vacuum table ideas > > [EXTERNAL EMAIL] Be sure links are safe. > > Thank you guys for your answers! > > I've been reading and apparently MDF with a skim cut is pretty good to > distribute the vacuum all around it's surface given its porosity. I think > I'm gonna try that option first to see how severe is the vacuum loss when > the cuts are made. > > Second option would be what Todd suggests, wich is a little trickier > mostly because my surface needs to be 3000 mm x 2000 mm, so that's a lot of > springs... > > I'll keep you informed as the project progresses. > > Thanks as always for your help :) > > El lun, 7 jun 2021 a las 17:11, Todd Zuercher (<to...@pgrahamdunn.com>) > escribió: > > > It might work, but you may have trouble with the pellet sticking in > > the seat and not opening when you need it to, or worse yet if your > > part doen't quite seal good enough to the table, sucking shut and > > losing all holding power. > > > > What I've seen more commonly used is a spring loaded valve where a > > spring pushes the pellet(ball) up to seal the vacuum port. When no > > part is in place the spring pushes the ball up to seal the vacuum > > port, and the ball sticks up a bit above the part sealing surface. > > When the part is placed on top, it pushes the ball down opening the > > valve and allowing the vacuum to flow. > > > > Todd Zuercher > > P. Graham Dunn Inc. > > 630 Henry Street > > Dalton, Ohio 44618 > > Phone: (330)828-2105ext. 2031 > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Leonardo Marsaglia <ldmarsag...@gmail.com> > > Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2021 11:50 PM > > To: Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC) > > <emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net> > > Subject: Re: [Emc-users] OT: About a chat here on vacuum table ideas > > > > [EXTERNAL EMAIL] Be sure links are safe. > > > > I meant to say: > > > > When there is a part over that hole and before the pump is on, the > > pellet will be resting on the groove. As soon as the pump is on the > > vacuum will be immediately sealed by the part, not allowing the > > suction to suck the pellet > > > > El dom, 6 jun 2021 a las 0:48, Leonardo Marsaglia > > (<ldmarsag...@gmail.com > > >) > > escribió: > > > > > Hello guys, > > > > > > I hope you're all doing well. > > > > > > Not so long ago (or may be yes) I recall reading someone on this > > > list talking about an idea of using plastic pellets as closing > > > valves for an MDF vacuum table. > > > > > > The basic idea was: The pellet falls into a spherical hole that has > > > a round groove with a slight angle on its side. So when the vacuum > > > is not applied the plastic pellet can slide thru the groove and > > > leave the hole open (I imagine that the vacuum pump could be > > > reversed so one can blow to clear the holes and force the pellets to > the groove quicker). > > > When there is a part over that hole and before the pump is on, the > > > vacuum will be immediately sealed by the part, not allowing the > > > suction to suck the pellet. Once the hole is again free, the suction > > > will slide the pellet until the hole is sealed (useful to avoid > > > vacuum loses on the path where the tool cuts the material). > > > > > > Are there any practical examples or any real life experience of this > > idea? > > > That would be more than useful. > > > > > > Thanks as always! > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Emc-users mailing list > > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Emc-users mailing list > > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > > > > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
