VacSys under $100

[afish]

This is my working prototype #1 of my Vac Sys I designed and built.  Other than the CNC cut Russian birch every component is off the shelf so it assembles very easy and cheaply the most expensive part is the pneumatic valve and detent pins at around $16. It can be used on top of bench as shown or side mounted.  It tilts 180° and rotates 360° I used a series of detents instead of the twist knobs that Festool uses to help with carpel tunnel issues.  I prefer just pulling out the detent pin and letting it pop back in where I want it.  Both can be locked in at 30° intervals but truthfully I think this might even be overkill.  Every 45° of even 90° might be better. I guess this would depend on how you use it but My plan is mostly edge banding work so horizontal and vertical are really all I use. The upper and lower supports are fully mortised into the sides. As of right now there isnt even any wood glue holding it together and its solid.  Not sure how much weight it will handle but I can lift my bench up by the clamped piece so I have no worries about it holding anything I ask of it.   

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Nice engineering there [member=73094]afish[/member]!  Any chance we'll see a video of it in action?

 

[afish]

Yea, maybe.  Im not a videographer but once I live with it for awhile and see if there is any changes I want to make I will try and make a video. This is after all just a prototype for right now.  I designed and built it so I can change the pod sizes just like the Festool unit too.  I had made a piece to lock the pods in place with a 3rd detent but I'm questioning if I even need it.  Since the the panel would have to shear off the mount since it never tilts fully upside down.  Plus once the vacuum is on you cant pull out the pod anyways. Right now, I dont see a need for it. So its not in the pictures but I can easily add later if needed. 

Oh yea, I made it ambidextrous too the detent and valve can go on either side of the unit.  I wanted a switch not a foot pedal since I didnt want another thing on my shop floor but a pedal could be used instead of a switch. I just prefer a lever to flip.

 

[afish]

Here's a pic with the narrow stock pod.

 

[zachjowi]

Did you make the parts on a cnc router?

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I ordered the Dashboard Guide Rail Hinge Set for the 8020 table I'm building and really liked the idea of clamping the work piece from above rather than up against the fence since that can cause some deflection.  I wonder if you could make a recess in the table, like a router table, drop the VacSys in there, push the panel to the fence, activate the pump, and cut the panel with it being fully secured...

Or perhaps don't cut out all the holes in the MFT top, route these grooves, do an inlay with the seal, and you just need to connect the PVC to the hole in the area you want to have as a clamp...

 

[afish]

@ zachjowi Yes it was

Bugsy, Not sure I follow.  You are trying to use a vacuum clamp for making cuts on a MFT type bench?  I never felt the need to clamp my panels for cutting on the MFT.  However yes you can theoretically route the groves in a table and lay the rubber cord in.  This actually how most CNC vacuum tables are made.  however one issue is the rubber cord is pretty non skid so once you put a panel up there you wouldn't really be able to slide it around, the bigger the panel the harder it would be even without the vacuum being turned on.

The vacuum clamp (vacsys) is amazing for applying and trimming off edge banding.  Typically unless you own or have access to a fully automatic edge bander that applies and trims off the excess its a pain in the butt to stack and work on finished panels since the edge banding is sticking past the face of the panel so you end up trying to pack it up using small blocks or scraps.  If you catch the edge banding on anything while moving it you will most likely damage it.  The vacuum clamp solves all those issues by raising the panel up enough that your edge banding doesn't get caught on anything while applying or trimming it off with say the MFK plus it allows you to easily rotate the panel without fear of scratching the finished surface. 

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Usually, I stand slightly to the Left and behind the guide rail when I crosscut panels and so my Left hand holds the panel just fine; however, if I have a panel which has a lot hanging off the table, I've had to move to the Right and support the cutoff panel ... this of course means the panel to the Left is no longer held tight to the fence and has the chance to rotate CCW as you push the saw through the cut. 

It's for this reason I thought a clamp would be helpful but maybe you have a longer table or have some other method to prevent this?

 

[afish]

I no longer cut on an MFT or MFT type bench but when I did it was a 49x97 table so yes you are correct I didnt have to many of the issues you are describing.  However I think your problem is more supporting the drop.  I would look at either some type of support that can slide out of the table to support your drops better or hinging a Shelf type support that can swing out and give you another couple of feet of support on your waste side.

I know they have linear type bearings for 8020 you should be able to fashion up a T type support (think along the lines of those pickup truck bed extenders) that would telescope/ slide out from the end.  Then you could slide it out just as much as needed for the panel at hand or slide it all the way in when you dont need it.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Excellent idea, fix the support issue, and I can hold the piece without having to move ... thanks [member=73094]afish[/member]!

Oh, and about the edge banding ... I've only used solid 3/4" edge banding so I've not had the issue you describe but this is good to keep in mind since some day I may end up making some cabinets with the thinner edge banding.

 

[afish]

here is a pic supporting larger panel vertically.  The vacuum is very strong I think it would easily hold a full sheet, not that there would ever be a need to hold a full sheet off of one pod.  It gets to a point you need a second pod anyways because the panel is sagging at the ends. 

 

[Bugsysiegals]

That's pretty cool especially considering it's your own custom Vac Sys and you could make it out of whatever wood you choose, different exotic species, contrasts, do some signature style in it with the CNC/Epoxy, etc.

This really reminded me of a guy I found on YouTube.  I think he's Asian and it's just amazing the things these guys come up with ...
https://www.youtube.com/user/h28375

 

[afish]

I'm pretty much a function over style type of guy for shop fixtures.  As long as it works good I could care less what type of wood its made from.  More interested in saving the $1300 dollars to put towards other tools.  I also like trying these types of jobs.  The Russian birch works well for the vacsys.  You do have to seal the pod portion because the vacuum will draw right through any unsealed wood.

  Next project after this one is going to be a panel mover to move full sheet goods from a cart to the CNC.  Unfinished material isn't a big deal but when you start getting into expensive hardwood plywood or prefinished panels it gets hard moving the 4x8's onto the CNC without worrying about scratching them.  I typically keep all my sheet goods on A frame to save space so I need something that will grab a vertical panel and flip it horizontally.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I agree, that's a lot of money to save, but I still like those hand crafted tools assuming they're robust.  I was just thinking how this could even be used for holding down panels on a smaller CNC.  My buddy has a 4x8' CNC with vacuum hold down and if I'm not mistaken it sucks down the MDF spoiler board straight through to the actual plywood.  Not sure if you're CNC has this but could be useful perhaps for somebody building one.

 

[afish]

I would not use it on a cnc there is to much flex in the joints and detent pins for cnc work.  You could just use the pod without the tilt and rotation feature.  I do have a vacuum table already though, but it is pretty much the same principal just a much bigger pump with the spoil board over it.  The vacuum pump I use for the clamp is an old air compressor that was headed for the trash heap.  It would never have enough cfms for a 4x8 cnc. Its more low cfm's and high vacuum such as vacuum bagging/pressing or vacuum clamping it will work good if its a porous wood or has a single hole you would never get enough vacuum.  When you cut on the CNC you need a lot of CFM's for vacuum.   

 

[Bugsysiegals]

How does an air pump create a vacuum?  I've a smaller 12V air pump I'll probably never use but if it had to keep running that would probably be rather annoying although I'm not sure how loud the Festool Vac pump is.

 

[afish]

The most basic version is to just reverse the in/out on the compressor.  If its a tiny pump like those Chinese tire things its probably not worth it. You can try it for an experiment though if you want.  A small pancake compressor or bigger will work great though. It is slightly louder than the festool unit but I will locate mine to the shed where all my noise generating equipment is such as 3hp dust collector, large air compressor, and vacuum pumps for the cnc and then I will just run the 1/4 vacuum line into the shop area that way I dont have to hear it at all.  I did go a little fancy on mine and made it so it would cycle on and off as needed this costed a hundred or so dollars in extra parts.  You can find all the parts and instructions at joe woodworker.  If I did it again I would not make it cycle on off I would just get a couple large PVC pipes and caps to hold extra vacuum and pump it up as needed. As long as the system doesnt leak it takes very little air to work the clamp. 

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Yes, it's just a cheap deal.  I've a huge 50-75 gallon compressor in the garage which I ran 3/4" Copper in the garage to cool the air as I plan to spray at some point.  I have enough Copper to run a line back into the house and downstairs but that would be pressure rather than vacuum.  I also have a smaller tubular compressor I haul around whenever I use my air nailers ... perhaps that could be modified which could make for a neat experiment.

Why would you need to cycle the compressor unless the pressure leaks?  Couldn't it be setup to auto turn on like it does normally when pressure gets low?

 

[Michael Kellough]

I’ll throw this in, a battery powered vacuum suction cup lifer.

A relatively small battery lasts a long time. This particular product would need to be hacked to make it convenient as a Vac Sys substitute but maybe it proves that an easily transportable clamp could be assembled from available parts.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I wonder if my little air compressor motor for air brushing would generate enough pressure / CFM for a clamp?