Has anyone used the TAIG fixture plate from saunders machine on a Sp5 pro table ?
Are there issues between the table tslot and the fixture plate mounting ? The drawing for the 14" plate says 12.25 across three slots. Tslots are 4.04 apart.
Edit: I could mount it vertically and use one screw on each end.
I learned that Saunders charges $400 for a custom plate. Ouch.
They have a Universal plate for $199 that was made for all the C3D machines that have 100mm spacing between the Hybrid table slats.
The Pro 5 series uses 4.04" spacing.
I am sure there was a design consideration, but the effect is not so good.
So I am stewing on getting this piece and making a few more holes.
Saving $200 to make a few holes sounds pretty compelling, especially since you have the machine and software to do it already 
That said, is the $400 inclusive of the plate? If so you’re paying an extra $200 for the custom work which doesn’t seem terrible. In that case you might also think about any additional custom features. Maybe additional hole locations for things like that manual 4th axis you’ve been thinking about or a custom cutout for a bit setter, things like that 
I called a friend who does one offs.
He has a piece of cast aluminum that I can use.
9 x 12
We trade efforts.
I will come up with a sketch .
I just got the 27xZ bits from C3D.
I trust him more than myself at this point.
I found out that the $400 includes the plate and the custom work.
I think I am going that way.
We have local agreement that we don’t ask each other for machining if you can buy it.
In my mind I will get exactly what I want (TBD) and I don’t abuse valuable resources.
Here is the TDB
Plate = 5.9 x 14 " x .6 thick
4.04 slot spacing by 2.75 long
1/4-20 holes @ .75 spacing with .375 offset for second set
Tossed in a few on the end of plates.
Comments ?
Maybe ask them to make sure it’s compatible with their fixture pins? Also might be worth having precision counterbores on some/all of the holes so you can use cheap precision dowels for repeatable alignment. (Pretty sure you can look at their larger plates for inspiration on that)
I also know my SMW plate uses countersinks. It’s nice to be able to plug the holes just below flush while still being able to remove the plugs reasonably easily.
But yeah, locating would be what I think about most. Followed by any references you might want on hand if they do engraving as part of the deal 
(Who needs calipers when you’ve got a ruler on your fixture plate 
)
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EDIT:
With a .6” plate you could probably counter bore every hole and still have plenty of thread.
The 1/4 fixture pins should work. I will ask.
I am not sure about the Counterbores and Countersink points, it is not clear to me.
Do you have a picture ?
I appreciate the comments ! Thanks
You can take a look at their HDM plates and see the counterbore: Shapeoko HDM 1/2" Fixture Tooling Plates – Saunders Machine Works
Basically the holes all have a bit of precision bore at the top. The threads do not start until the bore ends.
This lets you pop precision pins into any hole to use as a very accurate and repeatable locating feature (among other useful pin shenanigans, flip operations come to mind)
Here is my laser plate with dedicated bores and threaded holes. I’d prefer all holes threaded with bores integrated like the hdm plate but that’s a lesson learned
And here is my smw nomad plate with countersinks
You can see the angle on the fixture pins that engage with the countersinks (old model fixture pin left, new one right, both work the same way)
Plugging those holes is something I’ve been meaning to get around to, they’re a pain to clear chips from.
Saunders makes plugs for their larger plates that sit below the plate but they only provide a 3d printable file for their “hobby” sized plates (1/4-20 and 6mm)
Ah, got the counter sink thought. Honestly thought that would be a default.
I think you can use wax plugs for the unused holes.
I really appreciate reality checks !
New TDB
Planning to use the 6mm shcs with washers and the 16mm square nuts in the T-slots.
The slot depth is so the shcs and washer will be under the top surface.
Added the countersink dia ( guessed )
Do you see anything particularly stupid ?
Nothing particularly stupid, though definitely ask the Saunders folks for their opinions as well. Doing it all day, every day, I’m sure they’ve got good ideas for what works and what doesn’t.
You getting the mod vises too? I’d recommend them if you can spare the pocket change. The Gen 3 have been pretty nice to work with.
(I’ve got cargo pants and lots of gold dollars. That’s a whole lotta pocket change )
The Gen3 vise is the reason for the plate.
I already warned the house CFO …
Buy it once and a few extra dollars works in the long run
Just to finish this thread off, I decided to go with a $400 custom plate from Saunders.
The options for an “off the shelf” stock sizes were 6x20 12?x12 and 10x14.
I found universal plate almost worked, but would need enough hacking to be not worth it.
My friend has a cast aluminum plate that he offered, but the time involved to create ( non-CNC) was prohibitive and I did not want to waste his time.
I went with the 10x14 and provided a drawing. They came back with a better design, so I went with their layout.
I was dealing with Alex in the support email. He was very helpful.
I would recommend SMW based on my dealings so far.
Yes I got a Gen 3 hobby vise, soft jaws, 4 index pins and mounting hardware.
The house CFO said do it, yes ma’am !
Are you able to share the details of the better design? I’d be interested to know what kind of improvements they came up with
And I don’t know if you’ve ever bought from SMW before but I can pretty confidently say, you’re gonna like what you get 
They removed the “universal” slots that I continued to have in my design ( for no good reason ).
I will ask if I can post the design.
The plate is .6 think which is what their “hobby” plate are.
I will be temporarily mounting the plate on top of the MDF ( after surfacing).
I know, not recommended but I wanted the flexibility to get the complete 4x2 surface back.
This plate was not designed to butt up against another plate, because I didn’t want to.
Almost all their plates accommodate that concept.
They have a 1" thick ShapeOko 5 Pro plate that does allow for butting pieces together.
That was too much for me, it also made you use the bigger vise.
I contacted Saunders and confirmed I could post the drawing of the plate.
S5 Custom Drawing.pdf (350.1 KB)
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