Vacuum Former

I was "thinking in CAD" and drew this.




Most perf board has .25" (1/4") holes. I think these are larger than optimal. This shows .125" holes. This could use hardboard sheets and the holes can be drilled with the cnc router.

The hardboard is also set in a .25" rabbit groove that would be cut on the router. The end hole for the vac hose, you guessed it, can be cut on the router before the main box is assembled.






Just to give you an idea of scale, this is drawn using 2X6 lumber for the base frame and 2X4 for the upper frame. The arms are .75" thick. The bottom could be 1/2" or 7/16" flake board. The upper frame is 24X24" inside.

This could be made any size.

The heater side could be lined with foil faced insulation board and may need to be deeper to allow for the sag of the hot plastic.




This same basic design could be used as a vacuum table to hold material on the router. Vacuum tables increase productivity by minimizing the time required for clamping.