While I’m waiting on my x-carve to arrive, I’ve started to put together a workspace.
I started with enlarging my workbench. The workbench started out about 24"x65.5"x33", so I enlarged it to a full 4’ depth to allow for the 1000mm x-carve + some space for the enclosure. I realize that this leaves little space for other ‘work’, so I’ll have to craft up something else for work-space later.
Noise dampening and dust control are critical to me (my shop is my garage, and we have a baby girl on the way… so my wife has threatened to shut me down if my toys keep our little girl awake!) so I added a 2-piece enclosure made out of some 1x3 pine and .125" plywood that I picked up at the hardware store.
The idea is that the front piece will ‘flip up’ to allow access to the x-carve, but can be lowered and secured to the table with a hasp when in use. This is much like Nathan’s design above, but I wanted to be able to put the bench flush to the wall, so I added the 2-piece aspect. It’s assembled using pocket screws, wood glue and brad nails.
I’m going to add some plexi-glass for the front and open part of the top, as well as add some kind of insulation to the inside to drown out noise (anybody have a suggestion? I was thinking foam-board insulation but I’m open to any ideas). I also need to get some hinges to attach the two sections, and I’d like to find a gas-piston or something to hold the front part up when it’s open. I haven’t really looked into that yet.
I’ll add some more pictures as I finish it up. I’d love to hear any ideas for improvement!
Looks very nice. be sure you have enough light inside. I used these on my build and LOVE THEM. cheap and super easy to hook up. Amazon.com. A simple 12V power supply will power them and those even come with a plug to wire hookup connection. You can never have too much light when milling.
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Adding any sound dampening material? Not sure a wood box will hold out to much sound without it.
I would suggest a way to be able to remove the sides. When an eccentric nut on the Y axis comes loose it will be a challenge to tighten it back up if you can not get to the side of the machine.
Those big plexiglass windows will act like big speakers and transmit the sound from inside to outside I am guessing.
I don’t know if there is a way to dampen those widows so they do not transmit sound through them.
As noted above sound dampening material on the inside where ever possible is also a good idea. May be as easy as getting some egg cartons and attaching them to the sides and top of your
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But it will be stereo sound, lovely. 
By the way, egg cartoons on wooden area is clevar idea. Like French movie theaters, it works for sound stabilizing and dumpenning. Double plexiglass on windows might help. Best of all, quality bits doesn’t scream. I purchased Milescraft cheap double flut upcut, neighboor’s dog start hauling. I’m not buying cheap stuff anymore.
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If too much sound is bleeding through the glass you can make it “double walled” with a big air space in between.
So a plex panel on the inside edge of the enclosure frame and a plexy panel on the outside edge.
Dead air space is surprisingly good sound proofing for certain frequencies. Though my advice would be to test it out with just the single pane first and see if it is even an issue. How your specific enclosure will dampen and transmit sound will depend on materials, shape, frequencies, etc. It is actual a complex process to calculate and model that kind of thing (just Google “sound proofing walls” or “speaker cabinet design”)
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Thanks for all of the ideas everyone. My intention was to line the box (inside and/or out) with something to dampen the sound. I just don’t know what material yet. I was leaning toward foam insulation board but egg-crate foam might be better! Thanks for the idea!
As for the plexiglass, double wall is a good idea. I know that the openings would be a noise problem but I have to balance noise vs being able to see what’s happening inside the box. Double wall with some caulk for a gasket might be a good compromise.
To the question about getting in the sides, the idea is that the entire front assembly will be hinged to the back assembly on top (the back assy is only 12" deep. See 3rd pic for back assy) such that it will lift up 90 degrees. This should allow me to run the x-carve with the box open and reach anything I need to for adjustments.
The LED lights are a slick idea. I’ll definitely add that to the box.
Thanks again for the ideas. I think I have some plans now for where to go with this thing.
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One more thing Matthew, before going further, I suggest you to start your spindle, go outside and listen. Check to see how much noise you can hear. I was worry about neighbors as well, especially after upgrading to Dewalt. I am very distressed inside, but I go outside and listen, damn, there is no sound coming out of my basement. That might give you an idea how much sound proofing you need.
That’s another good suggestion Alan. I did start my DWP611 for a sound check the other day but I didn’t go upstairs to see how much sound transmitted through the floor (garage is under the living room). I know when I run my craftsman router on my router table, my wife complains that it rattles the walls. But, I also take big bites with ogee and chamfer bits on the table vs small depth cuts on the x-carve.
I bought hinges and clear acrylic sheet last night so I’ll get it out together and then test the sound levels with box open vs box closed tonight. That should give me an idea of how much sound dampening I need moving forward.
Thanks again.
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I like this design a lot and am thinking about something like this myself. I have tons of 2’x2’ acrylic sheets to work with, and I already picked up some 1"x2" poplar. How tall did you make it? Based on concrete block coursing in the backround, it looks like you’re about 18" high.
Matt
Good guess! The overall structure is 48w x 48.75d x 18h before I applied the .125" plywood.
I intentionally made it so that it overhangs my 48"d table by .75 in the front because I want to add a decorative front rail to the table.
You end up with an inside area of appx 46.5 x 47.25 x 17.25, which should just fit a 1000mm x-carve plus cable track
Here’s a quick progress update. I cut and installed the acrylic sheets today (I used screws and silicon sealant between the wood and plastic sheet) and added hinges and a handle. I also put some rubberized mat down on the table (the stuff that’s designed to be rolled out in toolbox drawers).
I did a test run with the DWP611 inside the open box vs. inside the closed box (with no insulation added) and there is a definite difference in noise level. You can talk over the router with the box closed, but it’s loud enough you’d have to shout over it with the box open. This of course is with router just sitting there running full speed (it will obviously be louder when cutting material).
I ran upstairs for both tests to see what the sound was like in the house. With the garage - to - basement door closed and the door at the top of the steps closed you can’t hear the router at all when the box is closed, but you can hear it with the box open (though it’s definitely not loud).
I’m going to stop there on sound suppression until I get the x-carve and see what the noise level is like when running through stock.
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Speaking of the rubber mat, what is everyone doing to keep their machines in place?
I just finished the basics of my stand (man, these 1m machines take up a ton of room), put my machine on the top and immediately noticed how easily it slid on a smooth, flat torsion box (thank goodness I decided against putting formica on the surface). I thought about the shelf liner gripper stuff, but felt that it wasn’t what I was wanting as it compresses and can result in the x-carve changing shape dependent upon the weight placed on it.
so are people using L brackets? some blocks attached to the top at key points?
I have access to a 3D printer but I’d like something with a bit more longevity and better finish than it provides.
I placed mine on two rubber floor mats and it holds it very securely and reduced the sound level significantly. I was getting a lot of resonance with the table before that acted like an amplifier.
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Mine will be securely bolted down because it will be tilted on it’s side when in storage mode.
Dave
I just use C clamps to hold it down to the workbench. At some point when I redo the floor in the workshop, I would like to put some anchors into the slab so I can bolt down the workbenches.
I’m not too worried about my X-Carve flying up off the table, more sliding side to side, so my plan is to simply screw down a few small blocks (using scrap 3/4" plywood, because that’s what I have around) into my work table flush up against the side of the X-Carve. Maybe a couple of blocks for each corner or something. Then it won’t slide around when I’m hoisting my CNC table up to the ceiling or lowering it back down to my work area.
Tis’ what I did. I simply screwed 1"x 1.5" x3/4" plywood blocks in the corners behind the front waste board support rail and in front of the rear one where they extend out to hold the y axis end plates. If need be I can lift the front or side of the machine to retrieve that small whatchamacallit that fell through the holes in the waste board.
No need to hold the thing vertically, if it goes vertical in my shop I have much bigger things to be concerned with than the x-carve.
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thanks for the input, I decided to go with a hybrid system; I liked the rubber mat idea as I was wondering about resonances so I laid down some 3mm cork on top of the torsion box and I’ve ordered some L-brackets and appropriate hardware to screw it down to the table. I had originally planned on just attaching some blocks as @StevenPaxman is going to do. Now I just have to finish the base (drawers, doors, wiring), route cabling through the top to the base and trim out the top in cedar to match the rest of the shop and it’ll be done.
