Question of the day.
What materials would everyone be most interested in for ready to use sleds?
Metal, HDPE, Wood, Wood or Metal with HDPE plate underneath?
We are still in proof of concept stages, but I want to get a prototype run completed and send some out to some users that frequently use their machines so I can get feedback.
1/8" steel with 1/8" HDPE or 1/2" ply with 1/8" HDPE for my vote, in that order…
in order of preference
wood or metal with plastic underneath
metal
wood
from our earlier experiments, I don’t think that HDPE by itself is going to be stable/strong enough by itself.
We also have sheets of delrin and oil impregnated nylon on the way. I’m thinking we will do a single sled and provide each tester with 3 base plates of each material hdpe, delrin, and the nylon.
Just ordered sheets of UHMW, HDPE, and Nylon. Once it arrives, I will get it on the CNC and machined to proper dimensions and ready for testing!
some plastics generate static electricity if they are rubbed over say a sheet of plywood. YOu might need to ground the sled?
I think a 1/4" steel sled would be nice.
not sure shipping a big heavy metal plate is going to be that economical though. Maybe you can have a big plate cut in half with a laser cut interlock so it is easier to combine back together.
I would Keep the inside “doughnut” hole piece so testers can use that to more easily center their router.
The triboelectric series has wood listed as the least negative surface and nylon to be a moderate positive surface. I think as long as the surface speed isn’t too fast, we shouldn’t have any issues. It will definitely be something to monitor and hopefully these testing cycles will identify any issues.
I plan to write proper test cases for each material with moderate increases in workload to slowly collect the data needed to decide which is the best option.
I was actually considering melamine laminated plywood sled for my z axis setup. If I was going to test now would be the time. Changing sleds is a pita.
We can add that to the list and collect data on it as well. Melamine isn’t expensive at all compared to these other materials.
We have 2 machines set up just for swapping parts around and trying new things.
Cool, if you do the swappable base plate thing and need another tester feel free to contact me. I have also been considering having a solid steel plate made or a solid steel donut to screw to the sled instead of weights that would fit outside the ring mount.
Absolutely. We are waiting on a new batch of materials to be delivered and then we will be putting the test kits together. I’m hoping to get 5-6 testers on board.
Great to hear, sounds like you guys are really getting with it on the Maslow stuff, I think it’s great!
Thanks! We want to do anything we can to further the progress of the platform and help get it into the hands of more users.
Metal with UHMW plate underneath 
I was thinking HDPE could be good. 3/4 HDPE is slick and machines really well.
My only concern with HDPE is that it’s relatively soft so it could scratch up
fairly easily.
UHMW is also very slick, but much more durable and reports are that it machines
very well
http://readingplastic.com/uhmw-vs-acetal/ indicates that UHMW is supposed to be
more resistant to abrasion than carbon steel
some other interesting discussions
https://www.cnczone.com/forums/jgro-router-table-design/56927-delrin-vs-uhmw.html
David Lang
We definitely have similar concerns.
Given that we are testing different solutions, it felt best to go ahead and try so we can have real data for or against it as a solution. Hopefully our test results can help other members avoid costly mistakes that come with poor material choice.
Would love to test if you still need more people.
Just got tracking update on HDPE and UHMW sheets. They will be arriving Monday. Hoping to get them all cut up by Thursday.
you dont’ really need the entire bottom of the sled covered in a slick surface, the circumference only would work fine.
and mabye cheaper then buying sheet goods.