Vacuum table - shop vac vs cheap pump

Hi,
I need a vacuum table for 3mm plywood. Lots of small parts. I dont like the tabs as I’d need way too many. For know I’mm using painters tape, but it takes too much time to prepare each sheet. With bigger parts it’s okm but small parts often pops out and stay on the way of the cutter. The finish isnt good as at some point they become “shaky”.
I’m going to try a vacuum table. I dont need to hold a sheet super tight(I use clamps), I just dont want those small parts to move too much. Im aware that the suction wont be strong for tiny pieces, but I cant think of a better solution. Anyone ever tried it?
Will shop vac be better or a ~£100 pump from ebay?
Thank you

I think that your vacuum table size will have an impact on how much power you will need. A simple Google search will provide you with many different designs with pros and cons for each. One thing you have to consider is the dust, it would plug a vacuum pump and hose so you do not have much choice but to go with a shop vac type of setup. Another thing is if you use a dust shoe, you may find your pieces lifting from the table.

I think PhillipLunsford made one and has a video about it.

@LucFournier. Here is a video of the vacuum table https://youtu.be/-2JTDiV9iJU

Nice vacuum table, I like the design, I had not seen your video previously. I see that you do not have a dust shoe in this video, I suspect that the small parts may lift of the table when milling if they happen to not be in line with the vacuum channels and the dust shoe suction is larger than the downdraft.

I do not use a dust shoe at all. The CNC is not the most dust producing equipment that I have

Ok, so I know that the shop vac will work better for my application. Could anyone recommend a cheap vac with separate motor cooling available in the UK?
At the moment Im just comparing the specs. I wonder if any dry wet model will have separate cooling. Btw. Do you use either wet or dry function?
The suction area will be 300mm x 330mm.
Thank you for all advices!