Spoilboard Surface with T-Tracks

Hey all,

Im wondering what would be a good design for the spoilboard on a 48X48 CRP machine. I havent built it yet, but wondering what to make the surface of the spoilboard look like with T-track and guidelines.

2 Questions. Is the attached file overkill for a spoilboard surface?
Its 1 inch squares with T-track rails running through it and its 48X48. Its cut to .15 inches with an engraving bit for the squares and a .5" endmill for the T-Tracks down to 3/8"

Attachment 184506

Second..Can some people maybe post pictures of their spoilboards so I can get an idea for what is useful and what is overkill? Also any vacuum table pictures are appreciated as im thinking of building one also.

Thanks,

Chuck

What's the purpose of the 1" squares on your spoil board?

Here's a picture of my Vacuum table. The "squares within squares" are to mount needle plates to keep work from squirming.

That table looks great! What are needle plates?

I was thinking that the squares would be used for alignment and measuring, but I'm starting to think that they might be not needed for that purpose. The t tracks seem more useful than the squares.

Could you maybe post or send some video of that table in action? Did you build it or buy it? Thanks

Chuck

You can see some more info regarding needle plates here: CNC Components | Birkonium CNC Services They are these 20x20x3mm plates with very fine needles sticking out. They keep work from moving under cutting loads.

For your table, I don't think you'll find all those squares that useful. Scribing or drawing just a few with a pen would be plenty. I have a few lines scribed on my vac table every 1/4" for the first inch in the x and y directions for rough alignment. It's useful if the stock is cut close to final dimensions. If I need perfect alignment, I use other methods.

Made the table myself. Don't really have any action shots - apply work - turn on pump - it sucks.