Wanted to showcase what we decided to build here recently. Our initial table build with a metal table + MDF top turned out to be too flexible, resulting in vertical shifts of up to 0.060" in the table top depending on how hard materials were clamped down (especially if they were warped). This caused a lot of issues with the items we were cutting (mostly dimensional letters).
I previously operated a Gerber Sabre 408 for a number of years so i was spoiled by the rigidity of the machine & the vacuum, so that’s what we’re aiming for here, though the rigidity was the main factor.
To keep it simple, we just used 2"x4" and 2"x6" aluminum rectangular tubing to create the base, with a 1/2" intecel (plastic) topper to mill down and replace as necessary.
Still have to complete the piping and seal the top extrusion for vacuum & drill the holes, but I’ve had this setup for a month now and I am able to cut items out to within +/- 0.002" vertical accuracy (by increasing resolution on the Z).
We cut a lot of dimensional letters out of plastic so the ideal setup is to give the bottom of the sheet a few layers of premask, and cut to the inside of that layer without cutting through, leaving all the final pieces still stuck to the thin layer of mask.
With the new rigidity that is now possible so it’s increased our output massively, no sacrificial materials needed.
Will update later on once we get the vacuum portion finished. It’ll be a big boon for when we cut thin materials.
FYI all the aluminum cost us about $1200 i think.
Took about 6 hours to drill those 300+ holes.
