[JohnPF]

Hi all... I have a business that makes large live edge tables... I am interested in buying a AVID CNC Pro for both surfacing and Sanding my large live edge wood slabs. Since these are the two most repetitive and time consuming tasks.

My question is if there is a way to automate the sanding process after surfacing using the CNC? I assume I could attach a rotary sanding head to the Spindle to sand with... but don't know if there is something that exists and how it would control the sanding pressure. Has anybody done this yet? Or ideas on how to do this... like a spring loaded mechanism?

Thanks
John P

[ger21]

You won't be able to use the spindle for sanding. The minimum RPM is much too high.
You might be able to fabricate a mount for a handheld sander. A second Z axis would be the best option for that, I would think.

[Kosh]

Sounds like what you really need is a LARGE belt sander machine.

[lambodesigns]

This doesn't directly answer your question on sanding with the CNC but I'll throw this out. To quickly sand a flat surface a Festool Rotex 150 is the ticket. I didn't believe the hype until I bought one. It just works.

I built this table out of 12/4 cherry that was left over from a project (they sent more than I ordered and it was so nice I couldn't send it back) for the wife. The Rotex was expensive but worth every penny because there was a LOT of sanding for this one. Since the wood was 12/4 I did a skirt on the bottom and just roughed it in with the cnc. I didn't spend much time with the cnc other than hogging out most of the material but left some big steps in the skirt because it was faster to sand by hand than let the cnc take off more material because of the Rotex. The table was 42x72 and I sanded the bottom in a couple of hours but the top took less than 10 minutes to 120 grit and that was with starting with the boards just glued up and not surfaced using the cnc. Ended up going to 800 grit and the surface was like glass. If you were to surface the tops using the cnc and then sand with the Rotex it would be fast. The 150 worked so well I ended up buying a Rotex 90 to go with it because the chairs had a lot more detailed sanding to do. I now have an assortment of ROS and belt sanders that will never be used again.

[R-Carpenter]

This doesn't directly answer your question on sanding with the CNC but I'll throw this out. To quickly sand a flat surface a Festool Rotex 150 is the ticket. I didn't believe the hype until I bought one. It just works.

That's exactly what I do. Surface the slab on CNC and then let the orbital sander do the work.

[Kosh]

@lambo - It's a shame that the most awesome part of your table is the UNDERSIDE.

[lambodesigns]

@lambo - It's a shame that the most awesome part of your table is the UNDERSIDE.

Yeah... but it is next to the staircase to the shop so I get to see it every time I come up the stairs