I second the FA-400. This is how I typically have things set up when I’m soldering. Note the dryer vent, which is where the Glowforge will exhaust to. I originally tried to duct that down to the work area and use an inline fan to remove the solder fumes, but it was unwieldy and ineffective compared to just getting the smoke absorber.
It’s the small things that make me really happy when I do the research and find the right one. I struggled for a long time with mediocre tools. Nowadays I will gladly spend $30 on a pair of side cutters that are literally a joy to use. I love when some basic thing like solder has a product with a near cult following and hundreds of 5 star reviews. I don’t know how I survived without a big spool of Kester 44 and a reel to keep it on. My current obsession is tweezers. Having a couple of really good ones on the shelf there is nearly life changing, but I haven’t yet found any to wax poetic about.
Holy buckets! I was going to purchase these side cutters…much cheaper (and I thought Klein was a good brand), but I’m in general agreement that the right tools make a difference!
I already have a huge one, this is perfect for little jobs with detail, and I can bring this to class or lectures to demonstrate CNC machining, etc. and it’s relatively inexpensive
So assembly is complete… Looks nice (modified the E-Stop button to be a red mushroom button (well a miniature red mushroom button ). I decided (based on my X-Carve build) that all exposed wires would be in sleeving (no idea why I chose red with white end-caps, other that it was on the top of my sleeving box…?). Now if I had a GlowForge (ahem) I could cut a small plug plate for the fan hole at the back (for use with the laser head I assume), although I guess I could get real fancy and 3D print a fitting for the X-Carve’s cyclonic dust collector?
There was a discussion of that on the KS page, and people have been using silicone caulk I guess? In reality there are only a few connections you have to worry about chips hitting (I mean sure they technically could fly around and short out things on the spindle board, but I guess they don’t in reality) so it’s the Z-home button on the table and the connections for that on the base, and a couple of others from what I understand.
I find it amazing where chips end up when I am milling. Where they go seems to be like a normal distribution, so most go where you expect but very occasionally I get outliers, so eventually they end up everywhere if I mill for long enough, and this is with vacuum extraction that gets most of them.
A few aluminium chips come off with enough energy to escape the bristles and after 3 years of almost daily use the bristles are nearly worn away, so a few more get past now!
I bought just the mechanical only kit with motors for about £2K and added my own limit switches, wiring and electronics. I run it with LinuxCNC and used it mainly to mill DiBond frames for Mendel90 kits.
Now I am starting to use it for things I was planning to do with Glowforge.
). I decided (based on my X-Carve build) that all exposed wires would be in sleeving (no idea why I chose red with white end-caps, other that it was on the top of my sleeving box…?). Now if I had a GlowForge (ahem) I could cut a small plug plate for the fan hole at the back (for use with the laser head I assume), although I guess I could get real fancy and 3D print a fitting for the X-Carve’s cyclonic dust collector?
