I am enclosing my Shapeoko XXL Pro and asking for advice on how to hook up the vacuum. I used 3/4” acrylic sheets. All sides are secured by wing nuts (for now) for easy removal. Eventually will put hinges. Should I run the vacuum hose through the rear or center it from the top? Also what hose is best to use?
Here is how I handled it on my enclosure. I made a magnetic bulkhead flange for both inside and outside of the cabinet. The inner side uses a short hose from the Sweepy to the inner port, the outer port then has a matching coupler to the hose for the collector. I needed the quick disconnects so I could easily remove the hoses when necessary
What I would do is temp secure the hose at various locations, top, back,… to see what works. You don’t want too much hose inside to get jammed or too short to pull. Might be that you make or use a bulkhead fitting at the spot you choose.
There are lots of enclosure examples on this site. Maybe you can find what works for you here.
I hope this doesn’t sound stupid. I was reading some threads on other enclosures and several said they installed fans to bring in cool air. Are fans necessary?
Most enclosures aren’t exactly air tight, and have some level of infiltration which air gets pulled through from the dust collection inside. I don’t think it’s necessary. If you are completely enclosing a shop vac then I would, at the very least, have ventilation - that’s something that could use a fan (still optional though). These our my opinions so take them with a grain of salt.
seconded. I added a fan to mine in the (closed) lower section where my shopvac and air compressor live, to keep the temperature down during long cuts in the summer.