Hey everyone. My X-carve will not ship for a few more weeks but im trying to make sure im prepared for when it arrives. Has anyone designed any mounts or solutions for attached dust collection for the X-carve yet? i have been looking around but i haven’t see anything that looks integrated and stable for it yet. Any advice would be appreciated and thanks in advance.
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This is the first thi,g I plan on making I have an idea but I wasn’t going to even design it,till I have the machine,in hands it gets here wednesday
Ok very cool im interested to see what you come up with. I have a 3d printer but havent had time to see what i could come up with and print out yet. Please keep me posted.
Hey Paul I came up with a good solution with sanded and painted plumbing fittings and a product I found on Amazon. Once I get caught up here in my shop I will post info and pics I think you would be interested in. I like it because unlike all the “boot and skirt style” systems you can still see what the bit is doing and it actually does a better job.
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Cool and thanks Don. Look forward to seeing what you designed and thanks for the info.
I’m watching this, too.
I’m planning on designing one that I’ll laser cut out of acrylic. Though it could also be cut on the X-Carve. Unfortunately I have another project I have to focus on for the next week. When I do make mine I’ll publish the design here and share any relevant files.
Cool and thanks Chris. I look forward to seeing what you design.
Ok here’s a quick set of pics and a video will come soon on my Dust Collection. It is Working fantastic. I found a version of something like this in an old shapeoko post. I did not want to make a boot type with a dust skirt because you can’t see what the bit is doing. I found this Loc-Line on Amazon. It can be shaped to any angle and holds it’s form. I paired it with some plumbing fittings to a shop vac dust collection system from above. I raided an old on board hose from a hoover vacuum because it was highly elastic and light. I was very concerned about whatever I built hitting the material or a clamp so I devised the plumbing side which is just reduced pvc that can slide up and not impede the spindle. you can also lock it in place with the set screw. So basically there’s two air tunnels. It works better than anything I have seen or imagined, so very happy with it.
I will post a video of it in action next.
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You tube Video of the above Dust Collection in action!
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I was thinking of going with something along these lines: DIY CNC Dust Collection | Hackaday
I like that it uses a flexible clear skirt so you can still see your work.
Your design is pretty nice, and it looks like it works great. Have you found any downsides to not having a skirt? Do small chunks occasionally have enough velocity to fly out?
I would say it catches 95% or more. I built the flexible clear skirt first, and though it is transparent, you still can’t really see. and it does not get into the groove made by the bit enough either. I followed the post exactly too. I like seeing the bit really more clearly because it helps me understand the toolpaths which I am new at. To give you an idea on how good it works, I have done 4 jobs today, medium sized, and maybe there’s a teaspoon of granular dust. I was carving wood on all of them, Oak, Plywood, and Maple. I actually had more dust escape the skirted one I tried first. I don’t know why, but I would bet the velocity of the air with these tubes is so much higher. Also the boot can’t move on the fly if you bit or something impedes it. This set up actually slides upwards if it bumps something and does not throw the bit or spindle.
Nice. More info, please. It’s tough to see exactly what you did.
Sure, I used a 3/4" PVC plumbing T. to create 2 air paths. I joined it at the top with a 1 1/2 " -1" reducer at the top which slid over the T. I got the Loc-Line on Amazon in 3/4" size, which came with an NPT fitting for the right side. I just screwed that on in and made the line by clicking the links together. For the other air path its reduced again to 1/2" tube about 6" long with a 30 degree elbow on the bottom. The left side and actually the whole thing slides up and down in a wider tube mounter to the holes in the spindle mount. This can be tightened to a set height with a set screw I threaded through the outer pipe, or it sits on the t fitting leaving about 3/4" clearance at the bottom. As the bit cuts deeper or if the tube comes in contact with a hold down or the material, it gets gently pushed up (as long as I don’t tighten the set screw.
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The 1 1/2 inch opening at the top is where I hook in my vacuum hose, which I used a little duct tape on the inside to make a tight joint. I did cut the 30 degree fitting on the bottom to be flat to the material and more effective.
So, 3/4" and 1/2" pipe?
Fantastic, I’m going to give this design a go this weekend, thanks for sharing!
Yes with reducers, probable the best approach would be to follow the above but there are likely many ways to get there. This worked best for me. I did make one major change. I got rid of the adjustable set screw and instead made spacers by clipping off about 1/3 of the pipe cut in lengths of 1/2", 3/4", and 1". spacers snap onto the pipe above where it slides making it adjustable to different depths but still loose enough to slide up if it begins to hit or rub on something below. Another footnote is when I make bigger cuts like with a 1/4 inch bit cutting deep some of the larger chips fly out around the project (about the size of course salt) and have to be vacuumed after completion but the workpiece and bit area and all the finer dust is completely captured and thats about all anyone should expect. If either of you need any further help I don’t mind 4798770179.
