As of recent, I’ve been upgrading parts on my MPCNC to better serve my functions. Soon I’ll have a laser attachment on my CNC to do engraving and shallow cuts which I am super excited about but first I need to make some changes to existing models.
Last month I posted about my MPCNC Tornado, this month I would like to present a new addon for that project. An air assist mount.
MPCNC Tornado Air Assist
Thingiverse: MPCNC Primo Tornado – Z Independent Dust Collection
This is modeled for the following blower.
Mist Coolant Lubrication Spray System For 8mm Air Pipe
The mount could be attached to the top of the slider and directly into the core heated inserts (like how the photos below show) OR could be attached to a square nut to allow sliding up / down for positioning.
You can either permanently glue the mount to the manifold of the air assist or use a zip tie to temporarily secure it.
At the top of the mount, it includes a 18mm channel for velcro / zipties to secure the air hose.
Air assist can be useful for clearing chips ahead of the router when cutting materials such as aluminum. When using a laser, it helps keep the wood burning to a minimum. Air assist can be a great addition to your MPCNC if you have an air compressor handy. Just beware, it can make a mess.
Other things in the works
I am trying to make swapping the Z axis between the router and laser attachment simple…
My thoughts are to have both my laser and router Z axis wires have connectors which can be easily unplugged to swap to the other axis.
In order to do this however, I need a spot to zip tie wires to the Z motor mount so its all contained and neat.
This is still being prototyped, future blog posts will have photos / information regarding this upgrade if this pans out.