I only use my Shapeoko 4 XXL for cutting flat sheets of aluminum (only because I havent had any other projects come to mind). Im not totally happy with the wasteboard and hold down situation.
I have though about securing Delrin to the MDF, but that would be expensive. What are some other ideas? Yesterday I just decided to screw my aluminum panel to the MDF. It worked for the time being, but not a long term solution.
What sort of flat aluminum parts are you cutting?
You might think about a piece of MDF cut to the size of the cutting area. Secured by recessed screws into t-track nuts. Perfect for tape/ca workholding.
Or, think about making a vacuum table? There are several threads in the forum.
I have an SO3 XXL and made a supplemental MDF spoilboard with 1/4-20 Tee nuts and cam clamps. I use a 2" spacing on the mdf. I made a document for Spoilboard Considerations that may be useful for any machine. It was originally made for the SO3 but applies to any machine. The goal of my spoilboard was to be able to level the spoilboard all the way to the edges. The SO4 cannot go all the way to edges of the slats due to the design of the machine. Take a look and apply the principles to any material you want to make your supplemental spoilboard for. I will also include the long L bracket I designed with some cam clamps.
spoilboard_considerations.pdf (1.3 MB)
long_L_bracket.c2d (296 KB)
L-Bracket-Construction.pdf (770.3 KB)
If you use the long_L_bracket c2d file modify it for your material thickness and I usually use the bottom of material.
On my L bracket and the cam clamps I want to have .5" from the bottom of the material to the bottom of the recess for consistent lengths for my 1/4-20 bolts. If you bolts are too long they can cause your supplemental spoilboard to be uneven. So whatever your material thickness make the recess holes for the washers for the bolts in the same plane to use the same bolts in every cam clamp and L bracket.
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