Polar vs. Coordinate Vacuum Grig=d

[bhenk]

Hi, I'm wondering what is going to work best here. We have been using a coordinate vacuum grid with no diagonal cuts. As I was making a new 4-zone grid, I thought: why not have all the cuts be angled out from the center, as to distribute the suction more effectively?

As I really don't know much about this subject, I pose the question Which will work better?

Here is a picture of both.
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/1803/polarvscoordhx6.jpg

[johnm]

Brian -

Others will chime in here, but I think that as long as you didn't have teensy li'l channels you would end up with the same vacuum pull down efficiency either way. A polar setup might pull the air out a little quicker, but I don't think it really matters.

Let the flame wars begin!

John

[Brady Watson]

Brian,
Going off of your drawings, the rectangular coordinate system would be more efficient and linear than the polar design. If you look at the outer bands of the polar grid, you will notice that the 'blocks' get larger and the distribution channels are less numerous. This means that areas with less channels will be vacuum starved. This would be especially true if you were running a non-porous plastic grid.

It wouldn't be much work to make 2 small (let's say 12 X 24") identical sized grids of each design and test them with your vacuum to determine which is best. I think that the rectangular channels will beat out the polar ones, but it would be nice to hear what results you get.

-Brady

[beacon14]

1. I can't prove it without testing but I'd almost be willing to bet that the ones with the hole in the center will give more uniform performance than the one with the hole near one end, especially if any leakage is occuring.

2. The polar designs definitely, unequivacably, look cooler than the rectilinear designs.

3. I agree with Brady. Smaller grooves closer together are better than larger groves farther apart. You could add extra grooves in the polar design where the sections get too large.

[bhenk]

Well, the hole in the bottom-left was put in by my boss a year or more ago. Its permenant in every sense of the word. The new ones are all going in the middle.

I keep going over this in my head, and it seems to me that both have advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, I doubt my boss will be excited to test both. I had just assumed that this idea has been brought up before. I will try to get him to do it, if for nothing less than looks. :P