So I finally got around to machining the parts to allow me to bolt a small CO2 laser to my Shizuoka bedmill head.
Here is the unit:
Here is a closeup of the lens holder I machined on the mill:
Here is a little gear I whipped out in under 18 seconds at a 60IPM feedrate in
1/16" basswood:Oh, and the question. I need a way to hold down small wood and cardboard parts while cutting them without having much on the backside. The parts get really charred on the backside if they are just resting on a piece of annodized aluminum plate. The best thing would be a vacuum honeycomb table, but I am not sure how I could machine something like that. Any ideas on how to make an aluminum honeycomb table about 12" by 20" by 1/2" thick with as thin a webbing as possible and having vacuum holddown? The best I can come up with is drilling a bunch of closely space holes in the plate, or perhaps making a bed of nails (but then how to do the vacuum holddown?).
Thanks,
Rick