I have a mini Dewalt leaf blower I use sometimes, just a couple clicks to just blow off the rails real quick every half hour or so, mine is in an enclosure though. A very powerful shop vac with lots of static pressure, and a Sweepy V2 really changes the game with almost no dust or chips escaping.
1 Like
First off, Nice work on the 100x bowls, thats a good gig!
In my opinon, dust collection is not really optional, especially if you’re cutting for production.
There may be a chance that the sweepy is getting warm, but keep in mind they designed and tested it and its very well proven. My advice is to put the sweepy on and run it through a dust deputy or similar.
There are other options - I use the PwnCNC V2 dustboot - its a Z-independant boot and didn’t cost much. I have cut jobs that created 5-6x more chips than your bowl would have, and I didn’t need to clean the rails or wheels once.
On a side note, do you plan on cutting multiple bowls at once to really take advantage of the work area? I have been slowly working up my efficiency, using a lof of principles from the video below. He uses a different machine but the principle of his layout is very useful
with deep cuts i use the PWNCNC v4 since it does not move with the z axis and i have little issues with chips escaping the dust shoe
I’m kind of a fanatic when it comes to dust collection! I agree with others when it comes to your problem. Spend a little time and study the requirements to have good dust collection for your application.
Some might say I went overboard on my S3 but I can tell you without reservation that it works like a champ! Does it look bulky… Yup! is it kind of ugly… maybe, did it take a while to build… Yup!
Pictures are worth a thousand words so… This is what my machine looks like after I use it.
7 Likes
@hkyswim This would make sense, because although I am getting good chips and evacuation there is still a great deal of dust being created. I will turn it down to 3 or 4 and see if that helps with the dust at least.
@Able I saw these, and the user reviews are not bad. I’m planning on ordering some when/if they become available again. I guess right now they’re out of stock. (kicking myself for selling my 3D printer… lol)
@krtwood Honestly, I wish I could go the hardwood route but the customer wants pine. And on top of that, I’m in Ontario and we’ve just been handed a stay-at-home order again (hard eye roll) so now the lumber stores are either closed or they’re only doing online orders. Our local stores are already back ordered a week.
@Gonefishing I had two vacuums going! haha
@CNCInspiration An enclosure is next on the list for sure! It must be done.
@stutaylo Thanks! She wants more than 100 too, this is just her first order! But regarding the PwnCNC V2, unfortunately, right now I’m severely limited on funds. I’ve been on their website too, their purchase options confuse the heck outta me. But I have been keeping it in mind. Would I be crazy to think that for $110 (plus shipping) I could probably make my own? Like are there no plans out there for dust boots? And if so, where would I find these plans? I would wager I could make the boot before it ever shipped had I bought it online. And yes, I do plan on setting up 4-6 of them at once. Right now I’m just proofing everything.
@moakley8 Yeah, see I think for what I’m doing, the cavity that I’m cutting, is too big for the sweepy, and my vaccuum isn’t the best. Lots to improve upon!
@sixstring Honestly, I’ve seen worse! Yours is a bit bulky, but it’s not exactly ugly. I could deal withthat. And more research is in order, you got that right.
I can’t say it enough, you guys are all GEMS. Through and through. Thanks again for the replies! I’m going to see what I can put to use and what works best for me!
7 Likes
I sent an email to DIY Engineering to see when/if the covers would be back in stock, I’ll let the thread know what I find out. I may alternatively just make my own set, The covers look like they would be a welcome improvement to keeping the the wheels/ extrusion free of chips.
I was looking for the same thing, I sent them a message on YT never got a response.
1 Like
FWIW: I went down that road, spent a few hours re-creating my own covers in Fusion, only to later realize that :
- they limit my Y travel (the cover extends past the front Y v-wheels, so they collide with the front plate. And I need to squeeze every last fraction of an inch of travel on my S03)
- they don’t provide 100% protection. Large debris don’t get in the wheels, but small gunky ones that adhere to the rail find they way in the wheels, and it quickly becomes a hassle to remove the covers, clean-up everything, reinstall the covers. It’s like the original situation with extra steps.
I then experimented with a simpler, flat design:
which worked OK-ish (at least it minimized my Y travel issue), but it fell off at some point and I never bothered to reinstall it, which I took as a sign that it was not really useful (to me)
2 Likes
You might take a look at the covers available from PWN CNC.
https://pwncnc.com/purchase/ols/products/stepper-covers-shapeoko
I just found them so haven’t ordered yet. Can’t offer you first hand opinion.
1 Like
I know that the Shapeoko is an entry level type of CNC machine but the wheel design is the most problematic part of this type of design. The only way to deal with it aside from running to a machine that uses lead screws is to keep them as clean as possible!
That said the wheel guards look like a cool solution but without a way to keep the rails completely clean while the machine is running it’s an exercise in frustration. With the inclosure I built I thought cutting slots in the Plexi near the Y axis rails would help keep them clean and it does to a certain point. It’s the really fine particles that are still plaguing me.
The X rail I can’t really do anything about. There needs to be some kind of wiper system to keep them clean that doesn’t get in the way of travel of either axis. I also thought of trying to incorporate air nozzles using a small compressor but seemed way to convoulted given the size of the machine.
1 Like
For the X axis, I happened to over-engineer a frame around my HDZ that ended-up covering the lower v-wheels and had wipers too, while not reducing the X travel.
In the end, I focused on good dust collection, which does 95% of the job, and then wipe the rails manually from time to time (which does not yet feel like too much of a chore), and I never had an issue where enough fine dust/debris accumulated in the vwheels that it caused a problem. But then again I don’t do production volumes with my machine, so that may be why this is enough for me.
4 Likes
To be completely honest with everyone, I’m really not sure what to do at this point. If I knew that a dust collection system was going to run me close to $1000 I would have never bought this machine. Not to mention they come out with the PRO model two months after I purchased this model. Story of my life. Let’s just say I’m not too happy right now. And there are no guided rail upgrade kits? Whhhyyyy?
1 Like
I’ve done dust collection on the cheap:
- ~$20 Buckethead shop vac — the pitch of the noise on this caused me to invest in a more quiet one though — a Rigid or a Fein won’t cost that much more
- ~$20 a DIY cyclone in a bucket, but you’d arguably be better served by: ~$51 Dustopper https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dustopper-HD12-High-Efficiency-Dust-Separator-HD12A/315749552
- worked up my own dust shoe, probably $5, but didn’t you get a Sweepy w/ your machine?
Simple side plates like Vince has with door sweep brushes riding the upper V-wheels and rails would work well with the basic sweepy hooked up to a vacuum. I’m still looking for the door sweep picture where someone cut a 1 inch piece and has it mounted to the side plate with the brush running in the V wheel grove.
1 Like
I’m with Will, there is definely no requirement to spend $1000 on dust collection. Throughout my first year with the Shapeoko I used a cyclone separator knockoff ($25) attached to a low-end home vaccuum, and it worked more than good enough. I only upgraded much later to a decent (Festool) shopvac to reduce the noise but mainly be confident that I could operate the system for hours on end, and it’s useful in the shop anyway beyond the Shapeoko.
Also, I still don’t have linear rails, and I was still able to do lots of projects. I’m drooling on the PRO as much as the next guy and it’s a great machine, but you may not NEED it (wanting it is a different matter).
Honestly, setup a half-decent dust collection and you will likely soon enjoy using your machine and milling things, rails or not.
@VetiTheYeti I don’t think that the SO3 is an inherently bad or poorly designed machine, but I do share your sentiments on the fact that the Pro came out shortly after I purchased mine as well. Like most anyone there are things that I would probably have done differently or change, but overall from my point of view the machine isn’t horrid. Would I buy a different machine if I had to do it again? Possibly, but I also would have to spend a lot more money to get something like a Tormach, so that is certainly something to consider.
I came from using VMC’ s so it has definitely been a bit of adjustment, but I do think that with some small modifications and workflow considerations the SO3 can be a useful machine. I wouldn’t give up on your machine yet.
Those are pretty nice! Might have to order up a set.
Based on the last pic in your OP any dust collection would be a huge improvement! Also I have 8 other machines that I hook up to DC so shop vac is not going to be the right tool for my application!
If it’s just the one machine any 2 stage setup you can cobble together would be smart. Or spend a little more and look into a Thain style from Rockler or Harbor Freight they will set you back $2-300 but be very effective at moving air and dust.
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.