ShopBot Purchase

[andracke]

I am in the process of purchasing a shotbot for the hs I teach at.
We are going to purchase a 96-48 alpha with the spindle. What other things should I look into purchasing? I have recently been reading a lot about the vacuum material hold down systems. I am not completely sure of how all that works or the best way to create our own system.

Any and all help or web links would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks - Eric

[dana_swift]

Howdy Eric, I am not sure a vacuum system is all that important in a school setting. There are many less expensive ways to secure the material to the table. In a production environment vacuum is just wonderful, but then the bot is run by someone who uses it all day every day. Students are another matter.. The bot will be misused not by malice but from the learning process.

I would invest in a very good dust collector if you don't have one already. As much as possible use metal ducting with flex hose only where necessary. That ground all the duct-work to remove static. That will probably be the best investment for reliability. Its also nice to touch a hose without that static zap.

There are other people using Bots in school settings, I expect you could call the folks at Durham and they would probably get you some contact info.

Good luck-

D

[hh_woodworking]

Eric as a teacher that has used a shopbot I would not do a vacuum at first. Maybe after you are very used to the system you might put it in. We used clamps and screws mostly in our shop. If you want pm me and I will talk to you about how I had things set up. An indexer is a good to have also.

Ed

[andracke]

Thanks for the replys

Dana, I am looking at a Jet DC 1100VX portable dust collector.

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-DC-1100VX-CK-Collector-230-Volt-2-Micron/dp/B004T86NAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348668542&sr=8-1&keywords=jet+dust+collector

I dont know that I can tie it into my main system because of where we are going to try and put the shopbot.

Eric

[gerryv]

Some of the fellows on here have found that using plastic screws for hold down is very practical when not using a vacuum hold down. Especially practical in a learning environment because the missteps that are bound to happen mean that the expensive cutting tools will zip through the plastic without damage which is far from the case with metal screws.

[signtist]

That unit seems to be too expensive (overkill). I bought one used for $150.
Seems to work just fine.

[myxpykalix]

Eric,
I haven't read all the responses but if it was me i'd buy a router instead of a spindle if it is going to be around a bunch of kids.

I have never owned a spindle but it is a piece of equipment that requires a long warmup and basic care and upkeep and these kids are going to turn it on and go and within 6 months you'll be replacing it.
I'd start out with a router because you can replace 10 of those for the price of one spindle.
Yeah it's louder and not as COOL as a spindle but many of us have survived for years without one.:eek:

[jerry_stanek]

Eric,
I haven't read all the responses but if it was me i'd buy a router instead of a spindle if it is going to be around a bunch of kids.

I have never owned a spindle but it is a piece of equipment that requires a long warmup and basic care and upkeep and these kids are going to turn it on and go and within 6 months you'll be replacing it.
I'd start out with a router because you can replace 10 of those for the price of one spindle.
Yeah it's louder and not as COOL as a spindle but many of us have survived for years without one.:eek:


I would go spindle they are a lot quieter and the warmup is not that bad. At the place I work they don't do a warm up routine and they are still on their first spindle after 10 years of production work.

[pkirby]

Another point to consider with spindle vs router is safety of the kids. You definitely know when a router is on because of how loud it is, but it could be dangerous for kids to forget the spindle is on because of how quiet it is.

[Bob Eustace]

Eric - the Jet dust collector works great with its vortex system. You might like to think about getting the 1200 model as its only 50 bucks more yes has a lot more gutzevwithout more noise. Quietest DC we have and great filtration around kids with the cannister filter.

Bob

[dana_swift]

Eric I agree with the opinion that a router is a better choice for a school. You can replace a lot of routers for the cost of a spindle. And the spindle is easier to damage from misuse. Schools usually have limited maintenance funds, spend the money on bits!

Another issue with that type of dust collection system, is anything getting sucked into the collector has to go past the fan blades. It slowly destroys the fan. Instead get a cyclone that separates the big stuff from the dust before it goes to the fan stage. The fan will last much longer and they are easier to clean out also. Usually the big chunk collector is a drum. You will have to blow the dust out of the air filters several times a year, but not nearly as often as with "simple" one stage dust collector.

Hope that helps!

D

[myxpykalix]

I would go spindle they are a lot quieter and the warmup is not that bad. At the place I work they don't do a warm up routine and they are still on their first spindle after 10 years of production work.

You forget he's dealing with a bunch of KNUCKLEHEAD kids! lol:rolleyes:

[jerry_stanek]

Yes but with a strobe on it and new lockouts it isn't to bad and everybody in the school wouldn't need to have hearing protection.

[hh_woodworking]

I teach students to use cnc equipment.
Router is loud-- but when you run it at 10-12,000 rpm it is not bad. After I changed to those rpms I never replaced the bearings in the router and the brushes lasted 3yrs. Most of the chip loads can be done at this rpm might just have to slow down feeds some, which is a good thing for students as it may give them time to react to a problem about to happened:) like a clamp in the way. With the collet system out there for 1/8 bits that also helps

I can't speak on the spindle because I have never used one, would like to but never spent the money for it. My worry at school was much more on the life of it because on the warmup cycle. 10-15 out of a 50 minute class time is a lot. I feel that I would have to have that done before the class started, which mean doing it while teaching an other class. Would love to have the versatility of it not sure in a school how well it could be done..

Ben, jump in here I think you now have a spindle at your school?

[andracke]

Dumb question, but why is there a warm up time for the spindle? What is it that has to warm up?

Is it something that I know if my kids are going to be cutting I can turn in on 10 minutes before the class starts?

[hh_woodworking]

Yes you can do it before class. Warmup is for the ceramic bearing that are used in it.