A vacuum plate for my cnc mill.
Now I can cut and engrave really thin things that I couldn’t hang onto before.
There’s a series of passages thru it, from the threaded port to the center of the plate.
Is there a link for a file?
No. I guess I could upload it. Didn’t think about that. I’ve got literally hundreds of tools and things I’ve made that I never get around to post. This was waiting on me this morning when I got my coffee, so I grabbed it off the machine and snapped a pic
I’ll get the for uploaded later today
That is cool. What type of filament?
I like the interaction between printer and mill in cnc. I imagine the future will be only one machine since they use basically the same type of brains (computer). But this is a really cool project. Thanks for sharing.
@Matt_Barth is just generic pla, inland brand.
Have you tried it yet? Is the surface sacrificial, or could you add a sacrificial surface on top?
Won’t try it till at least Monday. The surface won’t see any cutters. This is 100mmx100mm on the top surface. It’s just for engraving brass and aluminum identification tags, for attachments to tools and machinery. The cutter never goes all the way thru the material
So, rubber strips or filament or chopped rubber bands for the gasket? Also, will you be smoothing the surface level or milling off the very top?
I would print it upside down so the print bed ensures that you have a smooth surface where it matters. Too late for you, but it may be a useful idea for the next guy.
Hmm…I guess printing upside down may lead to bed squish to trim off, but that is a small price to pay.
@NathanielStenzel no gasket needed. Whichever part of it the tags I engrave don’t cover, just get masking tape over it. I’ve done this on a bigger mill I used to have. And it’s fairly common
@NathanielStenzel actually, that wouldn’t ensure a flat surface. The corners on a part this large and thick tend to try and pull up. I’ve place a machinists straight edge on the top, it’s plenty flat. I can take a skim cut across it if I feel it needs flatter. For what it is I doubt is needed
I doubt it eeds to be masking tape. The string shaped gasket allows you to just do a loop around the object. A piece of paper or whatever for covering the surface would work and I would go with something reusable. Each to their own, of course. I think masking tape as been used to tape down work pieces without a suction table before.
Masking tape alone won’t hold these pieces, I’ve tried in the past. A sheet of paper is great for covering the holes, but moves every time you release the vacuum. Tape stays put, and toy drop the brass plate right in place, the tape edges line it up. There is no gasket, these brass pieces are to thin, a gasket under them deform them. I’ve been down this road with the big mill. Appreciate the input, but as they say, this ain’t my first rodeo.
This is just a smaller one lol
@VolksTrieb what’s it do? Drum vacuumizer?
It creates a vacuum in a drum/barrel to suck up things ^^
Like this