Vacuum Sled Experiment

I think airflow would have to be high enough that loss due to holes would be less. I was thinking of an air hockey table. Does it really impact the puck much if you cover or uncover a few holes? But its a great point and i did think this too. Air leakage os ok as it only needs to reduce friction not float above the surface a set amount. The air would all leak out thats the aim. Its just providing a constant flow of air to lubricate the sled rather than fly the sled.

@Bryan_Pollock Now this was the issue that most worried me. As i also realised that what im suggesting also resembles the blender in my kitchen. Ultimately its prob this issue that will stop me from bodging together something to test the theory. That and the images of my brand new AEG router sourced from across Europe ripping its self apart and having to pick bits of it out of my leg. But I’m happy for others to test the idea out if they wish. The blower might still be worth a test though.

Darn this Thread! Now I want to make an Airhocky table. The bad part is I have a blower off of one laying around.

Thank you

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You’re halfway there :grinning:

We settle for Michigan Tech Husky Hockey up here, too cold to be blowing air around

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And the cool thing is (with a powered Z anyway) you can have Maslow drill all the friggin’ holes.
I love my Ryobi, but them would be an arseload of holes to drill!

Und that… is why I firmly believe CNC has a place in the individual area – yes, I could do that by hand… but… how about I figure out how to use a pegboard and skip the custom hole pattern?

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I know this is a very old topic, but did anybody actually experiment with the “hover-craft” sled idea?
I ask because I’m designing my own first prototype based on the same concept so I’m interested in hearing from anybody that has tried this before, thank you!

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Just starting to put my Maslow together and had the same thought that an air cushion could both reduce friction and, if it flows to center, serve to push sawdust away from the router bit (reverse of a vacuum). A near-zero friction cutting device might allow less ballast weight, lower strain on the motors, and faster movement.

Given the points raised above about introducing z-axis variability, loss of cushion when crossing over prior cuts (especially through cuts), and the potentially unsafe method of driving air from the router spindle, I think I’m just going to give it a pass and start out simple.

FWIW, my thought was to have an auxiliary blower mounted on the plate with tiny holes (like an air hockey table) through the plate. This would perhaps be somewhat complex, requiring a secondary plate to create an air distribution layer. That makes the plate both thicker and weaker. Also worth noting that air hockey pucks have a slight thinning in the middle, that results in a “skirt” around the puck edge. I imagine this works somewhat like the skirt of a hovercraft, allowing high pressure under it to exert a lifting force while preventing the escape of too much air. Starts becoming too complex for the potential benefits provided IMHO.

An air bearing is a great idea until your surface isn’t flat or isn’t continuous… both of which will occur after cutting. Let us know how it goes.