| Introduction Workholding is the generic term for any device or method used to firmly hold your work piece while machining it. While CNC Routers are technically milling machines, and they share some similarities in work holding, they're basically a whole new ballgame. |
| Spoilboard A spoilboard is a disposable work surface mounted atop the router's permanent table. The spoilboard is typically MDF and protects the router table from damage as well as being an expendable surface that can participate in cnc workholding. |
| Screw into Spoilboard This is a very common method and involves screwing into the spoilboard to hold the work. It's cheap and cheerful, but it does leave holes in the workpiece and can be slow. For tasks like this, grab an electric impact driver, air ratchet or similar tool to help drive the screws faster (as well as removing them faster). Another disadvantage aside from it being slow to bolt things down is that hitting one of the screws with a cutter will often break the cutter. If it's travelling at feeds and speeds intended for wood or other soft materials, it's going way to fast when it unexpectedly hits hard metal. |
| Polymer Nails into Spoilboard The idea is to use polymer (plastic) nails to secure the workpiece to the spoilboard: The process is a little bit fussy and requires adjustment of air pressure and can be sensitive to overly hard wood. But, when once it is dialed in, it works great. Removing the workpiece just requires a little tap with a mallet to break the nails--they're strong at resisting pullout but shear off easily. With a nail gun, this technique can be a lot faster than screwing into the spoilboard. |
| Double Sided Tape and Glue Small parts that don't expect high cutting forces can do well with double sided tape and various kinds of glue. |
| Auto CNC Pressure Foot Clamping Fixture The CNC router spindle pressure foot holder is an assembly adjustable clamp. The CNC router pressure foot attaches to the Z axis spindle of your CNC router machine and provides clamping force directly around the cutter bit. This clamping approach is particularly effective for machining small parts and thin/flexible materials that cannot be held by traditional clamping methods. Foot fixture holder adjustable body comes complete with precision machined bearings, hardened and ground slides, and round rolling balls to prevent scratches or marks on delicate finishes. The pressure foot clamp is designed to compensate for some material warping and tables that are not perfectly flat, particularly effective for machining small parts and thin/flexible materials that cannot be held by traditional clamping methods without using tabs or adhesives. |
| Clamps and T-Slots On CNC Engravers, T-Slots are typically created using T-Track, which are metal T-Slots designed to be attached to your MDF spoilboards. |
| Vacuum Tables We've saved the best for last as Vacuum Tables are often the best solution for the flat sheet work often being done on CNC Routers. You can lay an MDF spoilboard right on top of a vacuum table and it's porous enough to still pull a vacuum. Granted, unless you have a lot of vacuum available, you may want to seal part of the spoil board so the area receiving the vacuum is limited. Vacuum tables can be set up with zones that can be turned on and off with valves as well. Also we can make the CNC router vacuum table insert with Aluminum T slots, so you can also user clamps to hold the workpiece. |
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