Setting up dust collection

[William]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and for posting pictures; it's very helpful to see others setups. I'm still uncertain how to handle the hose hanging down when the spindle is directly beneath the overhead duct but I've decide I won't be able to figure it out until I've got duct and hose in hand, so time to move forward.

I've been looking at two designs, one with the duct centered above the table and one offset to the side of the table. The offset version probably has advantages with hose management but the hose will be a couple of feet longer and by flopping around off the side, more in the way. Because of that I think I'm going to go with the centered version and figure out the hose management as I go.

Also thanks to everyone for the reminders on proper grounding. I do have a question about that. The hose connector that come on the machine are metal (though they're painted) and connect directly to the machine. Is there a concern here with accidentally grounding to the machine either through the wire in the hose or through the additional wire I run inside?

Thanks,
William

[Jim Becker]

There's actually a new ceiling track hanging product that Rockler is carrying that's designed to handle this kind of overhead thing...I 'caught it on a video I recently watched where a woodworker was getting ready to use his CNC machine. (not Camaster, sadly...) It's nice for a situation where you can't drop the hard duct above the machine like you describe.

[james mcgrew]

[QUOTE=William;88282]Thanks everyone for the feedback and for posting pictures; it's very helpful to see others setups. I'm still uncertain how to handle the hose hanging down when the spindle is directly beneath the overhead duct but I've decide I won't be able to figure it out until I've got duct and hose in hand, so time to move forward.

I've been looking at two designs, one with the duct centered above the table and one offset to the side of the table. The offset version probably has advantages with hose management but the hose will be a couple of feet longer and by flopping around off the side, more in the way. Because of that I think I'm going to go with the centered version and figure out the hose management as I go.

Also thanks to everyone for the reminders on proper grounding. I do have a question about that. The hose connector that come on the machine are metal (though they're painted) and connect directly to the machine. Is there a concern here with accidentally grounding to the machine either through the wire in the hose or through the additional wire I run inside?

Thanks,
William[/QUOTE

The reason I wanted mine to swivel is it took less hose (sag) than a stationary hose center. I have had 6 machines so some trial and error was involved


If you have a low cieling a garage track and wheel kit will work

[Jim Becker]

Jim, your machine's location near the wall let the swiveling arm be a good option since it needs to move in the Y-axis direction for an 8' + long machine. The track/wheel combination you mention is an interesting idea...I may take a look at that as a possible enhancement to my own setup at some point.

[james mcgrew]

Jim what i was hoping he would note is the machine being along side a wall, i look to have my fouled side where it will utilize less real estate and allow for function.

My machine was originally built as an 10 tool atc 4 x 8 i had camaster build the rack alongside so i would have two ends and one side open for sheetgoods and long signs this paid off well and was a good decision.

Now the tooling is on a carosel and solved that problem !

[james mcgrew]

Here’s a pic of the stack showing the insulator. The height of the end of the metal duct is just over 6’ above the table.

mine is the same yet i want a dust boot like yours !

[Jim Becker]

Yes, that's the ideal setup in your shop as it is now for sure...material handling works and the machine is still out of the way for any kind of traffic that has to flow past.

[Charlie_L]

Whatever it takes, avoid letting the ground wire reach the machine. In this case sounds like that means some insulation between the wire and the chimney.

[William]

The reason I wanted mine to swivel is it took less hose (sag) than a stationary hose center. I have had 6 machines so some trial and error was involved

The utility of your setup was readily apparent. It's probably the best solution for my situation. I don't have a wall and instead have to hook something off the rafter. I've tucked the idea away for version 2. I think it will be easier for me to figure out and execute once I have some actual experience with the dust collector and duct work.

[William]

There's actually a new ceiling track hanging product that Rockler is carrying that's designed to handle this kind of overhead thing...I 'caught it on a video I recently watched where a woodworker was getting ready to use his CNC machine. (not Camaster, sadly...) It's nice for a situation where you can't drop the hard duct above the machine like you describe.

Thanks for the call out on the Rockler tracks. The things that's making it hard for me to figure it out is that I only have the single rafter which bisects the table to attach to. Plus the duct is attaching to the rafter and taking up the space. I suspect I'll either end up with a wire and pulley system, cantilevering a track off the rafter, or bite the bullet and find a way to pivot the whole duct like James does.

- William

[james mcgrew]

At one point early on (My guess is 2009/10 I had two machines No 1 and 2, I built a tower of ply with the DC between them

[Dwinegan]

In need of dust collection improvements, any ideas?