I’m new in this CNC word, what affordable vacuum do you guys run for your Shapeoko 5 pro?
I tried a small industrial one but the engine died within one hour run.
The machine works sometimes over 2 hours non-stop.
The engraving and cutting create lot of wood dust, I am trying to find out what vacuum can I use to connect it to my CNC without fearing for its engine to die.
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The DeWalt Stealthsonic is the current darling of the CNC world, esp. the mid-size model which will take a 2.5" straight hose.
Some previous discussion here:
https://community.carbide3d.com/search?q=dewalt%20stealthsonic
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I use a Wen DC3474 which I mounted on the wall. This model has a 7.4amp induction motor which is much more reliable and quieter than permanent magnet motors. I 3d printed an adapter from the Sweepy 2 to mount a 4" hose. The 4" flexible hose from the CNC flows through an Oneida Dust Deputy dumping into a 30 gal plastic drum and the output flows into the dust bag that came with the Wen. I cut a hole in the lid of the barrel and mounted a piece of plywood to the lid for the Dust Deputy. Since the dust bag is by no means any sort of HEPA filter I have a fan that blows outboard of me towards my open garage door or I use a dust mask in cold weather. You could certainly rig up a HEPA filter on the outlet easily enough or just dump the output outdoors by way of a 4" pipe or tube.
If I had it to do over again, I’d still use this setup. It works much better than any sort of shop vac. Most everything winds up in the 30 gal barrel, so I don’t have to empty it very often and it’s very simple to empty when I do.
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If you’re going to do any type of continuous cutting on a frequent basis you’re going to want an actual dust collector - not a shop vac. IMO it’s worth spending a few hundred more on an dust collector with higher CFM (sometimes at the expense of lower static pressure). I have the wall mounted Grizzly G0944 coupled with G0863 cyclone (though I don’t recommend this one after use for a few years) and it’s worked out great so far. It’s definitely an entry level machine, but I ran a business for 2 years on this set up. You can get that model on sale fairly frequently, especially now with black friday coming up.
The added benefit to going bigger is expanded shop dust collection to other tools/stations if you have them. I was able to run a branch with some rigid 4" clear pvc tubing coupled with some blast gates to be able to run the CNC along with a router table and sanding station without a loss in extraction capability. Made life in the shop a lot more comfortable and clean.
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Like Will Adams suggested, the Dewalt Stealthsonic is the ticket. I’ve been running mine for over a year with a Dustopper Pro dust separator and it’s been a great combo. Quiet and does a good job sucking up the dust. For less than $200 for both of these items, it’s hard to beat.
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I have a large DC system and several smaller portable DC systems that run at ~ 650 to ~1000 SCFM.
For my S 5 Pro 4x4 I recently purchased the 12 gallon Dewalt Stealthsonic. It runs for hours on 5 gallon bucket with an equivalent Dustopper Pro cyclone separator. I prefer the higher static pressure for removing dust and more importantly chips out of the way of the bit. Typical DC systems have a higher SCFM flow with a lower static pressure. While agree DC systems have their place if not sized correctly it can underperform based on the application.
We all have different shop layouts, different pieces of equipment for the DC system load and ultimately need a system designed to work correctly.
My S5Pro is in the garage at the moment and the only thing that needs dust collection. Even when this gets moved to the shop it will retain its current setup for DC. The Stealthsonic 12 gallon model is 8 amps and is easily half the noise level of the previous Rigid shop that it replaced. I can actually hear the spindle running now that I’m using the Dewalt.
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Thank you William for your advice.
Thank you so much for the advice and all the details you gave. I appreciate it.
Thanks for your advice, I will definitely look in each advice and see what can I start with.
Thank you so much for your advice, I just wanted to know more about the dustopper, is it a different device or tool? and does it come with the Dewalt vacuum?
Yep it’s a cyclone generating lid that snaps onto a 5 gallon bucket and connects in between the cnc dust collection hose and the shop vac. Main purpose is to separate the dust before it reaches your shop vac. Home Depot stocks the dustopper pro for around $60. You can find the Dewalt stealth sonic for around $130 on sale.
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Henri,
the trick is to use a cyclone, that separates the chips and most of the dust into any kind of a large container before the vacuum gets the air:
I use this one:
and I am very happy with it, I only have to get the chips out to the garbage can every couple of months due to the really huge bag. It is difficult to get that heavy thing up my basement stairs 
, after several years I still use the first bag: thank the lord for duct tape…, the company does not make these systems with bags any more, still they make cyclones.
With such a combination one also saves a lot with vacuum bags and filters. I still recommend not to skip the vacuum bag, the filter(s) fill up quickly because what still ends in the vacuum is the fine dust, not much, but nasty. And consider HEPA-filters: there is no such thing as spare lungs.
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I will admit that this is likely very not helpful, but I find the Harvey G700 to be a great option for a CNC. It powers my whole shop system, but when I need to run the CNC for long periods of time, I turn it down to the lowest setting so it’s quiet and provides just enough suction to evac 98% of the chips. If/when you go to a full shop system, it’s a great choice.
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I have a shop dust collector, but I don’t use it on the CNC. I was using a DeWalt Stealthsonic shopvac with a cyclone dust separator, but I recently switched to a Harbor Freight Hercules Dust Extractor and the cyclone.
Where the shopvac worked okay, it didn’t do a good job and separating MDF dust, and the vac would get clogged with I had to cut MDF. With the Hercules, the cyclone works perfectly, and almost no MDF makes it to the dust extractor, and the self cleaning function keeps the air filters clean when the dust does make it through.
I don’t cut a lot of MDF, but I am sensitive to the dust, so that’s a massive win. The Dewalt is an awesome shopvac (and very quiet) but the Hercules is a much better option in my opinion.
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Thank you so much for your explanation, I got them both, Will receive the vacuum next week. This was very helpful.
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It’s great to know all this. thank you so much guys. thank you for helping me out.
Unfortunately, I got the Dustopper Pro from home depot, but I will write down a note for the Harvey G700, in case I need it in the future. It would be nice to be able to run it low or high setting.
Good to know, I will write down a not on my note book, once I get the chance to switch, I will. since I already bought the DeWalt Stealthsonic Shopvac. I needed to resolve the issue as fast as possible. Thank you for your advice, I will keep it in mind.
It looks like they’re releasing a G200 Baby Gyro Air for smaller shops. Looks like it might be perfect for CNC situations.
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