I haven't fired it up yet - but that's coming soon. I'll definitely let you know.

I made it mainly for dust. My attempts at keeping things clean in such a tight space were shady at best!

 

I have a vac that I need to rig up. There will be a hole in the top that will allow a flexi-hose to travel with the spindle. Just need to make the mount that will hold the nozzle - and attach it to the spindle mount using the 4 tapped holes on the side..

 

As an ex-audio engineer, any dampening will be much appreciated!

 

Audio engineer?

 

Same here! After 18 years of owning 2 commercial studios I walked away....mostly. I still tour manage and do sound for one band - but only on CD release year, so not more than every couple years or so. We were 2" tape for years, but of course had to move toward Pro Tools as the industry shifted. Always still mixed to 1/2" though.

I still do not take my hearing lightly (as you'd imagine), which can be a challenge with my time being spent around either motorcycles or machines.

I find it interesting that while not completely ignored, hearing protection is down the list (if at all) of the things often mentioned when talking safety.

@stargeezer so sorry to hear about the tinnitus. I'm sure Joe can relate that I spent my entire career in music terrified of that possibility.

 

Finally got a chance to use the CNC since putting it into the enclosure. There's no question it dampens the sound a bit. I also bolted the machine to the table with a couple spare cast corner brackets. I think it helps keep it solid and less vibrations to the floor.

Messing around with iMovie on my phone (more annoying than it's worth!) - came up with a quickie that shows the machine in action.

Definitely need to get the vac system set up quick. Joe has me paranoid about fire, and the dust builds up quick. But the enclosure kept it all inside - and that was the point, so I can live with it for a couple more days.

 

@David the swarfer,

Thanks for the recommendation. I will give that a shot as well. Just my brief look at UGS left me feeling like there must be better out there - I would really miss the 3D graphic depiction included in Chillipeppr, but the occasional buggy behavior has me needing to try new software to find the right fit.

I'm getting more and more comfortable with the HSMxpress, and finally feel that I can competently produce safe and workable tool paths. I know there is so much more that it can do - but baby steps!

The best news is that despite the learning curve, buggy software and my complete inexperience, I'm getting cuts that are accurate and producing parts that I'm using. So no complaints here....

 

Thanks Joe. I definitely understand the concept of fire and the components that create it, and I'm doing my best to avoid that little fun scenario. I work with vintage motorcycles, and gasoline+anything can = bad day, so I'm always operating cautiously optimistic that I won't burn the place down

I checked out GRBL Panel, and for some reason it didn't want to jog - despite apparently taking to the machine. I'm most comfortable with Mac - but do CAD on the Windows machine. To double check that I was getting communication - I quickly downloaded what I needed to run Chilipeppr on the Windows machine for the first time - and it worked instantly.

I'll mess with the GRBL Panel some more when I have the time - but I'm afraid to get into a windows round-n-round that never seems to end well for me!

 

I have definitely been worried about that. I have been keeping an eye on it - as well as making sure that I keep the inside clean between cuts. I have thought about adding some computer filter material to the router intake - but I wasn't sure if that would choke it off.

I have a feeling that the G10 that I've been cutting is not flying around quite as much as the wood tests I did. So hopefully that plays into my favor.

 

I grabbed the cutter from Amazon. Made by Magnate.

I already have the plans for the shop vac system - just need to get this thing out of my apartment and down to the new shop. Should be this week in fact. I've been stalled for too long.

 

They look to be about the same. Just get a fairly large one to cut down on the time it takes to resurface.

 

I'm working with mostly aluminum. I also have the anti -static style hose. Would I need this ground wire? Seems to me between the aluminum and the lubricant the static would be minimized/non-existent.

 

Thanks for the link. That's a value at twice the price!