I have Sweepy Pro installed on my Shapeoko5 pro and I like it for the most part mainly because of the vacuum connection in the back of the machine. But I have the following issues
when its lowered to the surface of ~1" or lower stock height, the plastic bottom piece hits the bit setter when it goes to do bit check after tool changes, if you dont raise the sweeper to the max height. I have forgotten to raise it a couple of times and it hit the bit setter which resulted in having to re configure bit setter. When raised, while running the project after the bit check on bit setter I have to pause the spindle and then lower the sweeper while the bit is spinning. A bit unsafe, I think.
The max work piece for the 5 pro is 4". However, with the sweepy pro installed, it drops by about 1.5", due to the clearance below sweepy pro plastic container. That is a bigger problem, especially if you want to do a 3D carving on thick work piece. I feel like there is something not right about this. Did I miss something in the installation?
Would much appreciate some guidance/pointers here.
Thanks,
Mani
Your description is pretty much spot on — like most things in life, dust collection is a series of tradeoffs.
We did not add the complexity of engineering a dock for automatically removing the Sweepy Pro before a tool change, nor require that a user give up sufficient working area to allow for that.
The thickness of the Sweepy was optimized for airflow and its typical usage was envisioned for sheet goods — when working with thick stock, I usually remove it and switch to a Sweepy 65 — if my wife isn’t home, I’ll forgo a dust boot, wear a mask and pause every, pause every so often to vacuum things off by hand.
Thanks Will. MOst of my work will fit under this. I guess i will need to live it and make sure I adjust the height before tool change.
I also have the sweepy 80. Not ideal to switch my dust extraction to the front, but if I have to carve something I will switch it.
Compromises but the benefit of the machine completely out weighs the inconvenience.
While I have your attention - does having a rubber mat under the machine helps reduce vibration? I did not put one when i installed. at times, especially when the machine initializes it shakes my table a bit. Wondering if its worth the effort to retrofit one under the machine.
I am probably the biggest advocate for foam or rubber mats beneath machines — dampens noise/vibration, and makes for a more pleasant assembly and looks better.