[HobbyCAD]

I'm DESPERATELY looking for the name of the medium grey coloured rigid material found as spoilboards on the Chinese router vacuum tables. Usually they consist out of multiple slab sections of the stuff, selectable as individual vacuum zones, each one slotted to let the vac through.

It sure looks like some recycled plastic, the same consistancy as the old types of floortiles.

I need to buy thick sheets, to make up my own vacuum table. I orderd my machine with T-slots only, BIG MISTAKE, I need a vacuum table. I plan to fit it on top of my existing bed.

Thanks for anyone assisting in sourcing this material.

[MaNo]

HobbyCAD, what size table do you have? Or rather what working area do you wish to convert to vacuum table?

[HobbyCAD]

MaNo,

My table size is 3700 x 1450, with a working size of 3600 x 1300.

I would love to have the complete table with a vac holddown, but the best would be to have a removeable slide-on vac unit, of at least 2000 x 1000.

Do you have anything to offer?

[cabnet636]

phenolic or aluminum sheets make great plenums

[HobbyCAD]

Since starting this thread, I have learned the spoilboard material is grey PVC sheets. I would prefer that, for it is soft enough to cut into, and not break my 3mm cutters. I do mostly aircraft sheetmetal components, this stuff, I need a thin routing bit to cut out the rib parts.

I think it best to lay up 3 sheets of the PVC sheets, the bottom one as the bottom seal, the middle one cut out with chambers, the top one with the groove pattern to take the closed cell foam strips. I glue the lot together, and should then have a good vac table.

[cabnet636]

make sense to me!!

[cabnet636]

available in the us

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ite...3056&catid=733

[MaNo]

MaNo,

My table size is 3700 x 1450, with a working size of 3600 x 1300.

I would love to have the complete table with a vac holddown, but the best would be to have a removeable slide-on vac unit, of at least 2000 x 1000.

Do you have anything to offer?

My company has nothing to offer in that department but I am checking out a few things. I talked to Maxicam CNC and although they would be willing to help, they just have enough material for the orders presently in production but they expect a new shipment in a week or 2. I was told that the "bakelite" for a 1325 machine would be around USD 500 FOB Jinan City. So around USD 154/m2. Add to that the freight and duties etc and you might be better off purchasing 12mm 'solid surface' kitchen counter top material like Corian, Meganite, Decoram etc etc. That's what I would use over a MDF base/support sheet. The "solid surface" mateial has about the same density as the so-called "bakelite. Since the tubes from the vacuum hose go through the MDF support sheet, right up and into the vacuum grid of the "solid surface" material, there won't be a problem with the porosity of MDF as a substrate.

[MaNo]

available in the us

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ite...3056&catid=733

That's interesting Jim. The price per 1/2'' thick sheet isn't too bad either.

It appears that some Chinese CNC companies are switching from "bakelite" (which it isn't) to PVC for the vac tables.

[Phife]

i used 3/4" HDPE (Cutting board plastic sheet) for my first Vacuum table, I used 2 sections, a bottom and top. Top had the grid to hold the gasket and bottom had the suction port and a chamber to spread out the vacuum to 4 places on the top sheet.

I found that the 2 sections leaked too much for my tastes so I now use a single 1" HDPE sheet for my table. HDPE machines really easily and will hold up well as a vacuum table surface.