Have you noticed any issue with that big “sucker” causing slight deflection in the spindle as it tugs from one side to the other during carriage motion?
Which vacuum are you using, and how long is your hose?
Nice! How loud is it?
I too am running a full dust collector rather than a shop vac but it was here LOOOOOONg before the xcarve.
Yet, I m running the shop vac hose up to the 4" pvc duct along the cieling. I may need to rethink that and go for the 4" hose setup. But then, the 1.5" (2"?) hose seems to be working so…
As an FYI to everyone. I just finished putting together and machining all the parts to make this. I was able to get 25mm aluminum extrusion. The curved head bolts in 1/4 X 20 do not work for me. However an M6 hex head bolt in 35mm length works PERFECTLY in the channel. I will be assembling everything this week!!
I second that,
I converted from Vac to Dust collector and stayed for a while with 1.5 hose, recently took finally time to change things around to full 4 inch.
Effect is stunning ! amazing suction and huge drop in sound.
Best giggle I had when I seen cnc pull flying mosquito from like 2 feet away, CNC fighting Zika ftw ! I wish I had camera on 
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LOL… that is so funny 
I get a vision of the little skeeter flapping its wings and buzzing up a storm and still going backwards to her doom.
This is useful. What I read about DCs is that they move a lot more air, but don’t pull a very big vacuum, thus constricting them doesn’t make them pull any harder at the remaining surface area (vs. your shopvac, which just sucks harder through a smaller opening).
Its good to know though. Even 4" for a DC line isn’t huge. I was looking at 5HP models, and they seem to run best with 8" ductwork.
DC’s work on the principle of high volume low pressure (suction) whereas a shop vac is just the opposite low volume high pressure. As you and many others may have observed, when a shop vacs hose is restricted or blocked a heck of a lot of suck is generated and what air does get through is accelerated.
With a DC, when the line is blocked, it just merrily goes on with it’s business like nothing is any different.
The biggest benefit of a Dc is low noise and all day longevity. A SV is more suited for those short jobs or those needing a higher vacuum such as water removal, etc. and are not really meant to run all day every day.
Right. This I thought had interesting numbers. I have to admit, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whys, but I think you might say that a shop vac is way “stronger” but a dust collector is way “more”.
Shop vac:185CFM, 64" in hg pressure, 87"/sec flow rate
Grizzly 1 HP Dust Collector: : 500CFM, 2.76" pressure 235"/sec flow rate
I just finished cutting the arms for Phil’s dust boot out of the .355 in cutting board form Walmart I had to make some changes to the files as I’m using the 20mm extrusion that I had left over form converting from the 500mm shapeoko 2.
So now that I have to two sides cut and tested, I’m ready to glue them together, but they are HDPE - who knows what glue will work best for HDPE?
Jer
Thanks - I found a couple, most require you to heat the HDPE before applying the adhesive. I also found PPX5 which is quite expensive but seems to be the best option , you just clean, mix and apply, working time is 2-4 minutes and ready in 90 mins.
I’m thinking that maybe I can drill holes through each side, then counter sink on both sides. Put Epoxy in the screw hole and hand screw the screw through, filling the inside with extra epoxy, then when cured cut off the excess epoxy and screw sticking out. Thinking it might create a rivet that can’t pull back through.
Probably over thinking this!!
So, yeah totally over thinking. I used your screw locations and ran a small bit through as a starter, used some nice meaty wood screws and just screwed them together. Worked perfect. Now to cut the actual boot part and get some standoffs for the excrusion.
Jer
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In the market for a dust boot. WAS gonna get a suckitdustboot.com until I realized it’d cost me about 300$ canadian. thinking this would be a better option. How hard is it to cut the arms out in easel? OR would anyone here be willing to sell me 2 printed arms for cheap? I’m confident I could cut the rest on the xcarve
Ah you know what… Ive added it to my cart twice so when I checked out it was buying 2… I’ve been in and out of that site contemplating buying one, I kept adding it to my cart thinking I had to redo it everytime haha. My bad! However it looks like it is priced in USD. So the total price with taxes and conversion is exactly 157$ or (116.38$USD) Weird that they would be a Canadian company and force me to pay in USD… Here is a question for ya, is it worth paying the 157 or should I give this design a try and make my own?
Yes please do let me know what they say! I am actually from Ontario myself!
Here’s an idea for attaching t-slot rails (instead of 1x1 extrusions) to the x-axis carriage without drilling into the x-carve. I think it would work well with this design. It does reduce the clearance height, but nothing a couple holes drilled into the x carriage wouldn’t fix.
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I dug through this trying to find a dxf or other file to download. Would you have this in a downloadable format with the curves? There doesn’t seem to be an export feature from easel… would be great if they added that.
I’m working on modifying this for a 4 inch hose. I also don’t have a 3d printer (yet)
Thanks!
new idea… going to mill it out as a one sided cut with no track cutout the back… then drilling holes to insert 1/4" hex bolts which is what the track is made for that I ordered. this way it should just slip on. one will be for sliding the other will be for clamping. Should be simpler as far as milling the sides are concerned. no double sided cuts or putting halves together.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017AP5066/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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