Vacuum Pumps and Systems in Woodworking
From the furniture in your kitchen to the doors in your home, the wooden products made by computer numerical control (CNC) are found everywhere — and they're impossible to craft without vacuum solutions. Used for both moving workpieces and clamping them down, vacuum solutions keep softer materials like wood stable and in place when physical clamps would damage the piece.
As essential as these systems are to the CNC woodworking industry, there are several variations and design factors to consider before choosing one that fits your application. Workplace environment and number of CNC tables can determine which type of system you choose. Here we'll look at which vacuum pumps and systems for woodworking are available, and the benefits that an Atlas Copco vacuum solutions bring to the table.
There are many different types of vacuum pumps, and they are used in a wide variety of applications. Atlas Copco offers a host of vacuum pump options that's as diverse as the industries we serve. A few of our solutions include:
While many different pumps exist, they can be grouped into two categories: point-of-use and centralized. While they operate similarly, there are several design parameters that should be considered before choosing one for your facility. Some of them are:
· Size. Point-of-use vacuum pumps are small, as they are only used to operate one or two CNC tables at a time. Centralized vacuum pumps are larger, and can operate many more at once.
· Location. Because of their size, point-of-use pumps are usually placed directly under or very near the CNC table, while the larger centralized pumps are located farther away.
· Heat and noise. The closer proximity of point-of-use pumps means that more heat and noise will be added to the environment, which can negatively impact the factory floor. Centralized pumps can be placed elsewhere.
The differences in size and location also mean that maintenance and repairs for point-of-use pumps can be more cumbersome, and can interfere with the tables as well. The result can be longer downtime, which translates into lost productivity and profit. Because of that, we find that while point-of-use pumps can be a better choice for smaller operations with only a few CNC machines, centralized pumps are often a better solution for larger manufacturing facilities.
