If you do a lot of one-off parts on your CNC machine you’ll know setup is the worst part of the process. Usually you’re using scrap material, you have to figure out how you’re going to clamp it, make sure the the piece is big enough to use, etc etc. Wouldn’t it be nice to just throw the material on the bed and start machining? Well, with a vacuum table as nice as this, you pretty much can!
[Jack Black] has an awesome CNC machine. As he’s been expanding his prototyping abilities, he decided he needed a better way of securing work pieces for machining, so he machined a two-piece aluminum vacuum table.
It features four separate vacuum pockets which can be used individually or all at once. The top surface is a grid pattern with square channels. Using little rubber plugs or screws you can block the channels you aren’t using to maximize the vacuum force on your part.
When securing a part, another gasket is required between the work-piece and the table — but as you can see video below, once in place, it’s not moving anywhere.
If you need a vacuum table for your laser cutter there is a much simpler version available to make — it’s just not gonna cut it on a CNC machine.
Filed under: cnc hacks
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