Which is recommended? Dust extractor or dust collector?
I have both and probable EMI with both when carving or surfacing MDF or end grain cutting boards. You might want to start with what you already have to see if you’ll have a static problem that shuts down you HMI when doing different projects. If you’re good, that’s what I’d use. Only try something else if the first solution doesn’t work because there’s no guarantee that any specific solution will work. Some people are fine and some people have problems with any kind of dust & chip control. It was similar to the original Buildbotics machines, some never had an issue (me amongst them) and others couldn’t get any dust control to work.
It appears that the Redline controller is similarly randomly afflicted. I have followed all of the provided advice & documents on managing static electricity to no avail. I now take a picture of all the starting coordinates before a job so after the HMI locks up I can repower it and try to pick up where I left off. It generally takes about 3 tries to get an inlay cut on an end grain board.
If I can babysit the entire process I disconnect dust collection and chase the spindle with a handheld hose to keep some of the chips under control. Then when I’m done I spend another 5 or 10 minutes cleaning up the table and the shop.
I’m working on a design for movable walls I can put in place around the machine with a high volume low suction dust collector that won’t physically touch the machine to prevent electrical interference transfer but still keeps the chips and dust from getting all over.
Hope you get yours working.
I’m just wondering which is best. Dust collector moving large volume of air or dust extractor with high pressure.
For example 1.5 hp Rockler Dust Right dust collector vs Fein Turbo with Oneida Dust Deputy.
For a cnc you want suction and volume, but volume is more important. I would go with a dust collector. Usually you can find cyclones on FB Market place pretty often. I bought my DC system there…why pay new for something you are going to crap up right away ![]()
Hi Dan - generally, dust collectors move a lot of volume with low static pressure; dust extractors (e.g., shop vacs) move less volume at a much higher static pressure. A dust extractor will work a lot better on lower diameter hoses, like 2-2.5”, where as dust collectors are generally better at 4” and up sizes.
I have a shop vac on mine using a 2.5” hose - no problems.
I’ve not had static problems but as Jim mentions, nothing is guaranteed. I believe the HW should account for static and protect against it. Random restarts or lock ups should never happen with properly designed HW. That said, static is nearly impossible to debug and fixing issues is usually a shot in the dark each time. Given the cost of turning a PCB and crossing your fingers the fix will work, I can see why most manufacturers ignore the problem if it is not wide-spread. I quite literally am having a noise problem on a PCB I designed and after 4 months it’s still vexing me. Faraday cage here I come ![]()
Hope this helps.
-Tom
Have you tried grounding your DC plenums?
Yep.
I’m doing the wall shield method now. I’ve given up on getting the electrical interference fixed. That should have been fixed in design/manufacture. Anything I do is a band-aid. I’ve got a 5in tall wall that fits around my cutting boards with a hole in it to hold the DC hose.
BTW, if you use a Shop-Vac you need to watch your runtimes. A dust collector can run for hours but a vacuum motor isn’t designed for extended runtimes and can burn out if you do a lot of long carves (I’ve burned one out myself).
Synapse - Shop JDS Labs you could have a ground loop in your system causing you issues, if you go for the 3d printed enclosure this might be worth a shot for $50. I am a big fan of them and own a bunch of their gear. U.S. based manufacturing and design. Super responsive, maybe reach out. Usually the owner John answers.
Thanks. I’ll take a look.
My short walls surrounding the work area worked well doing my test board yesterday despite it being a multi hour job. Doesn’t clean the carve but it keeps most of the dust off the rest of the machine & shop.
I’m considering lining the Suckit dust boot with copper tape and see if that helps. The boot shows a lot of static from MDF dust or end-grain chips (those are like tiny straws and are as staticy as MDF dust). Other chips don’t create the same static build up in the boot.
It’s grounded to the spindle now, but that doesn’t stop the static buildup in the boot with those materials. I’m thinking the copper tape around the internal circumference of the lower boot with a sliding contact strap that will touch another piece of copper inside the upper portion of the boot with a grounding wire attached to the spindle or mount might work to give the charge a way to drain without building up to where it stops the HMI/controller.