Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] tooling table ideas

In a message dated 10/27/2006 8:29:44 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
wdavis364@... writes:

I,m Posting this on several groups.
Building a cnc machine.
I'm at the point where I need to come up with ideas for the tooling
table. My base plate is 14"x8"x1/4 aluminum. What kind of material
should I be looking at to use for routing and drilling circuit boards?
Maybe some of you could tell me what works best for you.
thanks
bill



Bill:

MDF works well for the "spoil board" or waste board. That is the board
located under your actual parts and is intended to be cut into just a bit. On
industrial routers, we use a number of materials for the actual table, it can
be aluminum, some type of polymer, or even wood. Whatever is used, you will
need to do a slow surfacing with a fly cutter to make sure it is at a true
right angle to the cutter spindle. You will also need to surface the spoil
board as most of this type of material is not uniform in thickness. Vacuum is
what we use to hold down our raw material and to hold the cut parts in place
until they are finished and can be removed. It works great until you get to
small parts, then the surface area of the parts is too small and the vacuum
just can't hold them while cutting. To summarize, I would recommend some type
of plastic or soft aluminum for the actual table, then use MDF (medium density
fiberboard) for the spoil board. I would use 1/2" thick if you have the
room under your spindle with the tooling fitted. Otherwise, you can probably
get by with 1/4" but nothing thinner I think. If you don't use vacuum as a
part hold down, you will need to cut your PCB material a little larger than the
finished board so you can have something to grip and use a mechanical hold
down such as a clamp.

Maybe this will help some.

Randy Abernathy
4626 Old Stilesboro Road NW
Acworth, GA 30101-4066
E-mail: cnc002@...

I furnish technical support, repair, and other related services for your
industrial woodworking machinery. My background as Senior Service Engineer for
the SCMI Group for nearly fifteen years with factory training, combines with
my extensive background in electronics, mechanics, pneumatics, electrical and
CNC machinery to offer you needed support for your machinery. Services
include but are not limited to the following:


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