[ihavenofish]

that's peppy

[JohninOttawa]

Just back, thank you for the help on truing the machine.

Today's adventure - machining carbon fibre plate, about an hour's worth of cutting (1/8" diamond flute) per pass. I don't have a metal tabletop (yet), so flooding is going to pose a challenge, but everything I have been reading so far suggests I don't want airborne dust. I'm still running a Hitachi router as my spindle.

I'm considering enclosing the upper part of the spindle in a large dust collection hose, which will feed fan-driven fresh air to the router, exhaust out the bottom. While this would keep the motor from shorting out, it does, of course, create more airflow at the cut, which will worsen any dust issue there if the surface is not wet.

I would rather avoid a pumped coolant system if I can, but if that's what I have to do, so be it. My real concern is what goes under the plate. I need flat and solid hold down, so need to screw into the spoil board, but what should I use for a spoil board? What works best for fluid capture (the plate is 20 x 25"). Can I avoid the complexity of a flood system simply by filling up whatever containment I have to just cover the plate?

Thanks in advance...

-John

[ihavenofish]

the typical carbon cutting setup is a dust collection system similar to a router, but with about 15000 times the power. :P
the dust should go one way only, and that's into the hose. unfortunately its a system that costs a lot of money usually, with special filters, fittings and a many hp motor. you effectively want to pull a vacuum on your work area.

something like datron uses might be the easiest to implement, but its still going to be cheap and its restrictive.
see video on their page Machining Composites | Datron they basically seal the spindle and work off and suck everything out. note they also use this system for metal. its not a shop vac on the other end.

i dot really have any good suggestions for doing this economically. i know alot of people do cut carbon, but i suspect they are tempting the magic smoke out and have just been lucky.

[infer66]

Keeping the carbon fiber submerged is the safe solution. Suction can only do so much.

[JohninOttawa]

Thanks for the help! I'm checking with the maker of the carbon fibre plate to see what they say about liquid ingress at the cut line.

If it's an issue, then I will probably have to stay dry, so will rig up an enclosure with the only air intake feeding the router (so keeping the flow toward the dust collector) and dedicated HEPA vacuum with an anti-static hose (festool, fein or DW are my current front runners). I'm also thinking I will take several light passes (.5 mm per) to keep the dust cloud down. I'll be using a drill point diamond flute, hopefully I won't wear the thing out before I make it through the layer.

I think I will invest in a good cartridge mask while I'm at it...

John

[gio666]

Pool cues software

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M50IwulOxO8

[gio666]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99xi00FJz6E

[gio666]

Mini Raptor and Raptor now have open side rail pocket for fine adjustments

Attachment 310924

[West60]

Technically and commercially what are the differences between Raptor and Mini Raptor.

Thanks

[ihavenofish]

mini raptor is the same design, but smaller.

15mm linear rails instead of 20mm. 50mm frame extrusions instead of 80mm. slightly less z clearance and travel. 5" wide uprights instead of 6".

beyond that though, theres not much thats different. the mini is still all 3/4" thick plate for the frame structure, and because its so short, it ends up as rigid ad the big raptor.

[gio666]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeO5Uwis27Y

[gio666]

mini raptor is the same design, but smaller.

15mm linear rails instead of 20mm. 50mm frame extrusions instead of 80mm. slightly less z clearance and travel. 5" wide uprights instead of 6".

beyond that though, theres not much thats different. the mini is still all 3/4" thick plate for the frame structure, and because its so short, it ends up as rigid ad the big raptor.

Mini also has 12 blocks , 4 more than Raptor.
Mini has 5 or 7 inch clearance now

[gio666]

Raptor-24x48-clearance

Raptor 24x48 clearance

[gio666]

For private messages about cue software. Sorry i dont know where to get it .

[JohninOttawa]

George, I have what might be a dumb question.

Would it be possible or even cost effective to offer an HD upgrade kit for an existing Raptor? I realise it's probably everything from the uprights up and the bottom would be the original 3/4 and not 1 inch aluminum, but I'm thinking that the existing motors and at least Z axis ballscrew would would salvageable.


Thoughts?
John

[ihavenofish]

id sell the old frame (or whole machine), and buy a new one. in my experience the machines tend to sell fast for a minimal loss. so it may be easier for you that way.

[gio666]

George, I have what might be a dumb question.

Would it be possible or even cost effective to offer an HD upgrade kit for an existing Raptor? I realise it's probably everything from the uprights up and the bottom would be the original 3/4 and not 1 inch aluminum, but I'm thinking that the existing motors and at least Z axis ballscrew would would salvageable.


Thoughts?
John

Hi John , sorry. not one part will work on the Raptor HD. It is all based on the Predator design with 25mm rails and ballscrew but smaller .

[gio666]

Fabtech show in Toronto
Fiber laser / cnc router machine with add-on top for laser or plasma

also will be bolt on kits for XZero machines

[gio666]

New style Predator machines and similar 4x8 Demon.

[GreenEMu]

Is there a full spec sheet and pricing information for the Raptor Mini? What NEMA size is it designed for? Thanks!