To get started with your new vacuum table, you'll need to setup your Vacuum Pump, Vacuum Table and select your Gasket Option. You'll also need a copy of this project: Vacuum Table Setup for X-Carve Pro
Vacuum Pump Setup:
1. Install Rubber Feet- These feet dampen the vibration. Install hand-tight only.
2. Install Exhaust Muffler onto exhaust port- Thread into place, hand-tight only.
3. Install Intake Components onto intake port:
Apply PTFE tape on all male threads. Apply liberally so that threads can be clocked to desired position in each connection.
Install Intake Filter to pump intake using male-male threaded adapter
Install T-adapter (male/female/female)
Install Vacuum Gauge. Be sure to end rotation at a viewable position.
Install push-to-connect fitting onto end of T-adapter.
4. Install a push-to-connect fitting onto one of the threaded ports on the side of your AirWeights table. There are ports on all sides for easy access depending on your specific setup.
5. Install the air line between the pump and the AirWeights table. Both sides utilize push-to-connect. Simply push the end of the air line firmly into the fitting to seal. To release the fitting, push the plastic collar towards the metal flange while pulling the air line out.
Vacuum Table Installation
The AirWeights (AW) vacuum table is designed to attach to any CNC machine. Installation and removal of the vacuum table are both quick and repeatable, using the included locating-pin setup.
1. Determine Installation Location, and Install locating pins:
Provide a clean, flat, co-planar surface to mount the AirWeights on.
This referencing location should be saved. Once the locating holes are in place you can re-install the Vacuum Table onto the same exact spot every time, for accurate repeat machining.
Use your machine to drill the 4 locating-pin holes into your spoil-board. Holes should be 0.25" in diameter, and 0.375" - 0.5" deep. The locations are marked in the project below.
2. OPEN EASEL VACUUM TABLE SETUP PROJECT
Select the workpiece depending on your machine size.
- 24x48
- 24x24
- 48x48
Use the HOME position as the starting point for this project .
3. Install AirWeights Vacuum Table onto Spoil-board
Place locating pins into "bottom left" and "top right" locating pin holes. You may face your spoilboard before installing pins to ensure flatness. The surfacing project is included in the link above. You may adjust the stepvoer for surfacing up to 80% for a faster carve.
4. Place the AW vacuum table onto the pins, constraining the vacuum table in the XY plane, and ensuring repeatability for every subsequent installation.
Use the included mounting screws to secure the AirWeights directly to the spoil-board:
Install 1 screw in each of the holes and slots along the edge of the vacuum table. (12 screws for the 24x24 table, 18 screws for the 24x48 table).
Use a torque wrench or clutched driver to ensure equal mounting force from each screw and a uniform surface.
*TIP: Consider using ¼-20 (or M6) threaded inserts in your machine table for easy removal and installation. This also helps control equal torque values. Mounting points are sized to receive ¼-20 Socket Head Cap Screws.
5. Run a Vacuum Test
Connect a vacuum line to the push-to-connect fittings on pump inlet, and vacuum table side-port.
Plug all 10/20 vacuum ports using provided rubber plugs. Don’t forget to plug the touch plate corner location(s).
Turn on vacuum pump for 10 seconds.
Turn off pump and watch gauge. Drop should be slow, losing less than 5”Hg every 10 seconds.
Gasket Options
The AirWeights Vacuum table is a versatile workholding solution, able to apply powerful and reliable vacuum clamping using several different gasketing methods. Depending on the specific needs of the job/material/shape, we offer 3 main gasketing solutions, each with specific use-cases.
Direct Mount on Grid Gasket
Direct Mount using Grid Gasket is a fast and economical way to set up a part. Simply align a gasket based on our 1” grid layout. You can achieve any shape or size, and create multiple independent vacuum zones for multiple parts.
When you are done, simply remove the gasket, and you have a clean grid pattern to create a whole new arrangement for your next cut.
With this method, you do not want to cut below the bottom surface of your part, since the table is sitting directly below the workpiece.
MDF + Tile Gasket
Tile Gasket is a quick, user friendly, and extremely versatile workholding method. The large “tile” of perforated gasket material turns the entire surface of your AW Vacuum Table into one large suction surface - delivering uniform vacuum clamping across the whole table. This is amazing for organic shapes, designs with uneven outlines, or items that would be otherwise very challenging to create a gasket for.
Fixture Plate Gasket
- Fixture Plates are a non-porous, semi-sacrificial surface that sits between your AirWeights vacuum table and your stock. It is meant to be cut into, allowing you to cut completely through your stock and leaving you with finished parts at the end of your program. This method provides the same level of holding force as direct mounting, but with the added benefit of cutting completely through.
- Gasket material is used on the top surface of the Fixture Plate to create sealed vacuum zones that sit within the boundary of your finished part(s). These zones must also account for any internal areas that are cut completely through, such as an internal hole. The basic rule is that there must be a seal anywhere that is completely cut through.
- There are 3 primary approaches to creating vacuum zones on a fixture plate.
Adhesive backed gasket can be recessed in a channel (commonly called in-board gasket), which should be 1/4" wide and .065" to .085" [1.65 to 2.16 mm] deep for the adhesive gasket sold by AirWeights. With the in-board approach, air channels must also be cut into the fixture plate within the gasket boundary to allow air to disperse underneath the material being held.
Adhesive backed gasket can also be used directly on top of the fixture plate (commonly called on-board gasket). Simply use the CNC to trace the outline of your part at a shallow depth, then install the gasket on the interior of that profile and drill a hole in the center. This method is demonstrated in the video below and is great for quick projects and thick stock. In some cases, the stock will float on top of the gasket, allowing complete cut-through capability without cutting into the fixture plate. - Finally, a continuous sheet of gasket material (commonly called cover gasket) can be applied to the entire top surface of the fixture plate. To create the required vacuum zones, an engraving bit is used to cut away the unwanted gasket material and create vacuum zones under each part position. This approach is great for very small and intricate parts that are otherwise very challenging to hold or require secondary processes.
All 3 of these options are valid solutions for fixture plates. - Within the sealed regions, there must also be hole for a vacuum inlet. Place a .400” [10.2 mm] diameter hole so it aligns with a channel in the AirWeights grid underneath, while still being close to centered within the gasket boundary. Smaller holes may be required for very small parts and are acceptable in those cases. Machine the holes last when making your fixture plate and DO NOT CUT THROUGH or pressure will release, your fixture plate may come loose and you may damage your AW by cutting into it. Use a drill, countersink or razor blade from the backside to break through the thin onion skin left at each vacuum inlet location.