Re: Using Vacuum to hold down sheet metal.

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, <biggranger@...> wrote:

>
> I've been using a home made vacuum table for a while. It's 3' x 3'

and have a grid of 75 x 75 0.187" holes in it. Not all the holes are
covered all the time so air does circulate through the shop vac, and I
also picked up a 10 Amp variac on eBay to dial down the shop vac motor
a bit so it's not running at full speed for 10+ min at a time. BTY, it
a Craftsman 6 HP shop vac, at least 8 years old and still running strong.

>
> Darren Clark
>

A vacuum gauge and bypass damper would help to get optimum
performance. if the motor is not passing any air, it is much less
efficient and will either loose vacuum by air loss, and/or overheat
the motor.

None of this is rocket science. And it would be possible to have an
automatic damper on the hose to maintain a desire level of vacuum.

Dave