Mounting Air Pump on the Gantry

[daviddonofrio]

Hello,

Has anyone tried this?

It would sure make a cleaner build without the vacuum hose routing all the way around both cable guides.

There is a good spot for it behind the main vertical beam. However from reading I have learned the hose acts as a vacuum reservoir
that sucks immediately when the solenoid is activated.

Would a short vacuum hose affect the performance of the pickup head?

maybe it would vibrate too much.

Thanks

[JuKu]

The tube does indeed serve as a vacuum reservoir. However, I’m not sure how important it really is. One of the benefits of an open source, build-it-yourself machine is, that it is possible to experiment with it. If you try it, first experiment how short vacuum pick up time you can get to work with some test component and see, if there are any bad effects. Also, if a vacuum reservoir is indeed needed, maybe a loop or two of the tube is enough? I don’t think vibrations would be a problem.

If you decide to try it, I’ll be happy to send you extra tube, in case you want to go back to the original configuration but don’t have enough tube left after the experiments. The information is worth more than the shipping and a coil of tube.

[daviddonofrio]

I'll keep everyone posted.

[daviddonofrio]

15/16" P-Clamp fits the pump perfectly.
Here are some photos...