3D Puzzle's

[ericks2]

Done these recently...

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[BobL]

They look good where did you get the plans from or did you do them yourself?

[ericks2]

They look good where did you get the plans from or did you do them yourself?

Thanks....got them from makecnc.com

[elanjacobs]

Can't see burn marks so I'm assuming it's a router and not a laser. How did you hold everything down? Vacuum table?

[ericks2]

Can't see burn marks so I'm assuming it's a router and not a laser. How did you hold everything down? Vacuum table?

Yes router with a 1mm endmill. Just strips of double side tape...

[BoneInspector]

I imagine double sided tape would be about only way.
Vacuum does not work well for small pieces.

I broke my only 1mm endmill before I could really use it, what cut depth and speed if you don't mind sharing?

[elanjacobs]

Vacuum can work for small parts, but you have to zone it properly and be a bit tactical with how you cut

[ericks2]

I imagine double sided tape would be about only way.
Vacuum does not work well for small pieces.

I broke my only 1mm endmill before I could really use it, what cut depth and speed if you don't mind sharing?

I cut through the 3mm mdf with one pass at 3.4mm at 18000rpm and feeding 600mm/m....

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Vacuum can work for small parts, but you have to zone it properly and be a bit tactical with how you cut

True, that will be the next thing i need to sort out

[elanjacobs]

The trick is to leave everything attached for as long as possible; back when I was running a big CNC router I used to cut a full sheet of parts, leaving about 1mm at the bottom of the cut and then go back over and cut everything out. This meant that I had full vacuum to hold the sheet while doing all the heavy cutting, but only a tiny amount of tool pressure as the parts were separated from the sheet so they didn't shift around.

Using this method means you can keep your normal speed/feed, so there's no extra heat and tool wear from running slower, but you also get to keep all your parts.

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Obviously, I had a LOT of vacuum to play with (10hp pump, sometimes making up to 9 tonnes per square metre of negative pressure), so you might need to fiddle with speed and depth for your separating pass, but that's the general idea. Using a down-cut spiral for your finish pass will also be a big help with keeping things stuck down if you're able to swap tools easily.

[ericks2]

Thanks for the tips. I have a vacuum table from a German supplier. It did not do enough research on it. Now it's stripped and in storage atm. I might make one myself sometime.

[BoneInspector]

The things you learn. I'll keep it in mind if I ever go the vac route.
I actually use masking tape on the bed and workpiece and simply superglue the back of the tape together. A lot cheaper than double sided tape.

[ericks2]

Your tape idea sounds great, did you use masking tape?

[BoneInspector]

Yup, the 32mm stuff from bunnings. Bear brand, 3M is better and nothing needs to be fancy about it.
Then the cheapest superglue I can find.

Only thing is that you need to remember the 0.2mm lift to the workpiece, which in many cases helps me as it means I can cleanly cut the wood without eating my wasteboard.

Link to a you tube vid showing how it's done, plenty of others out there.


YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uTsQ3dYRrk)

[ericks2]

Yup, the 32mm stuff from bunnings. Bear brand, 3M is better and nothing needs to be fancy about it.
Then the cheapest superglue I can find.

Only thing is that you need to remember the 0.2mm lift to the workpiece, which in many cases helps me as it means I can cleanly cut the wood without eating my wasteboard.

Link to a you tube vid showing how it's done, plenty of others out there.


YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uTsQ3dYRrk)

Thank you, this is a great idea :)

[ericks2]

Installed a better dust extraction setup. Will install a bin full sensor and automate the setup next :)

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[Lappa]

Installed a better dust extraction setup. Will install a bin full sensor and automate the setup next :)

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Your hoses are the wrong way around.

[BoneInspector]

I missed that myself. Good pickup. Swap them on the cyclone and it will work a lot better.

[ericks2]

Your hoses are the wrong way around.

Thanks, i did not realise!!
Much appreciated :)

[ericks2]

Again many thanks. The vacuum bag was totally blocked up with mdf dust due to swapping the hoses. All good now...also added a bin full sensor :)