Dust Collector Overkill

CNC Machines Shapeoko 5 Pro
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I recently purchased the Shapeoko 5.1 Pro. I’m looking at dust collectors. I’ve seen a few posts where the DeWalt Stealthsonic was recommended, and I’ve seen a few posts where one of the Festool CT collectors was recommended. If the dust collector is only dedicated to the CNC, is a unit like the Oneida-Air Dust Cobra overkill?

Thanks!

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Maybe not overkill, but way more expensive than you really need.
I found that the stealthsonic did a better job than my very large cyclone which I use for the rest of the shop and is much quieter.

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I have the Festool CT and that seperator you linked is over kill to me. The Festool CT can be equipped with a dust separator for the same price or less.

Just my 2c.

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That would need to be reduced down to 2.5" to work w/ a Sweepy.

I’m one of the folks w/ a Festool CT Midi and it has worked fine (the only reason I didn’t get a CT Mini is that the Oneida Ultimate Dust Deputy Cyclone isn’t compatible with the smaller unit (not enough weight at the bottom I believe)).

That said, the DeWalt Stealthsonic and a Mullet Cyclone:

is probably the most cost-effective/best-value.

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Thank you, all, for the great feedback! Much appreciated!

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I happen to have the Dust Cobra with the 17 gallon pail. It was just over 1000 usd when I bought it several years ago. I have two hoses hooked to it, one to the CNC, the other to a 30’ hose that I can move around my shop to support all my small power tools, sweepers, and dusters. The vacuum is a beast and works really well - it’s also quieter than my old shop vacs. Because it does double-duty in my shop, I feel it’s worth the money I spent on it. If it were dedicated to the CNC, I probably wouldn’t have spent the money on it.

  • Gary
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This is great feedback, Gary! Thank you!

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Here is how i installed my system with a festool ct15 and a separator

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Good point.
I wouldn’t spend the money for one of those for the CNC because I already have a beast of a dust collector. But if you don’t have another solution for your shop then having something like this would be good.

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I have an industrial 3hp cyclone from Oneida directly plumbed to each of my stationary tools. I was originally running some small (and loud) shop vacs for my hand power tools, but when I got the CNC, I made the choice to upgrade that solution as well. I like the Oneida products, even though they’re a bit costly, so I chose the Dust Cobra at that time.

I’m glad I did…it’s a nice product…but yes, it’s overkill. In fact, if you look up “overkill” in the dictionary, there’s a picture of the Cobra.

  • Gary
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I have the 6 Gallon Dewalt StealthSonic, with a 5 gallon bucket and a Harbor Freight cyclone on top and have been extremely happy with it. No problems at all as far as suction (and inexpensive).

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Thanks, Gary! I really appreciate your help!

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Thanks, Martin! This was very useful!

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I run an old fein turbo II (20+ yr old ) but have added a dust deputy, which separates things before the vacuum and you can see when it gets filled up. (CNCs tend to make a lot of chips)

John

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Thanks, John! Much appreciated!

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I went a quite cheap route:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D6728YJD
this mounted on a bucket, and my regular shop vac works a treat.

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Interesting. Does the extra cyclone work well? I’ve not seen that (but maybe I live a sheltered life). Do you find you get much dust in the clear container?

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I’ve actually manually rigged up a similar double cyclone system when cutting metals so as to capture the metal chips — it seems to work well and doesn’t seem to reduce the effectiveness of the Sweepy.

EDIT: However, on reading the description, I see that the smaller cyclone is the second in-line and intended as a post-filter — my arrangement was the other direction (small filter first to capture metal chips to keep them out of the sawdust and to allow capture for recycling/re-use)

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19

12g 5.5hp dewalt coupled with a 5g bucket and a $50 dust collector topper from HD. On the Shapeoko 5.1 we have about 1ft of clear 2.5” tube cut from a 3ft section from woodcraft plugged directly into the sweepy, with a swivel connector attached to the top then a 2.5” hose running from it up to the overhead swivel arm and down to the dust separator/bucket.

Super low noise - I’d say just slightly louder than a Festool. Super high strength though, moves the bucket when it turns on - much higher strength than the Festools I’ve used. It separates well, never have to empty the Dewalt, just the bucket. Much quieter and stronger setup than what many Makerspaces use.

Cost was low - around $200 for the whole setup, not including the swivel arm overhead PVC setup that holds the hose above the machine.

We were on the fence originally, looking at Festool and the $275 cyclone that Carbide sells. Glad we went the way we did - couldn’t be happier with our setup.

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Thanks, Rob! Would you mind posting a picture of your setup, please? Sounds intriguing!