air hockey table as float table?

[jwaterdawg]

I was out for my after lunch stroll and passed by a dumpster with an air hockey table in it. When I got back to the office the thought occurred to me that this could possibly be used as a float table for the table saw. Would this work?

And just think, when you are not making sawdust you can relax with a cold one and a quick game of air hockey.

[Thom2]

Didn't that come as a free accessory with that BT3200 that you saw at HD????

:evilgrin:

<grinnin'duckin'bobbin'weavin'runnin'>

[Knottscott]

The floating concept should work well as a low friction surface.

[LCHIEN]

well, in theory it should work.
The force required to float a 50 lb sheet of MDF vs a 2 oz plastic puck is a little different.
You could make up for it by increasing air pressure but then the sides and top and bottom of the table may blow out.

[L. D. Jeffries]

What it might do is make the start of a downdraft sanding table. Would take a little fiddle to make it "suck" instead of "blow", but would be fun trying. All else failing u got the real start of a rig to hook up to your DC system. Wish I'd seen it, would be in my shop right now.

[gsmittle]

well, in theory it should work.
The force required to float a 50 lb sheet of MDF vs a 2 oz plastic puck is a little different.
You could make up for it by increasing air pressure but then the sides and top and bottom of the table may blow out.

MORE POWER!!!!!!

[Thom2]

well, in theory it should work.
The force required to float a 50 lb sheet of MDF vs a 2 oz plastic puck is a little different.
You could make up for it by increasing air pressure but then the sides and top and bottom of the table may blow out.

I don't often disagree with you Loring, but in this case, I have to

vacuum clamping or air flotation both operate on the same principle, PSI ... a 50lb sheet of MDF (assuming it's 3/4" thick) would be approximately 4'x4', which yields 2,304 square inches. 50lbs / 2,304 = .0217psi, so thereotically 1 PSI would be 5 times more than enough to float that sheet of MDF. Of course on something like an air hockey table, we're going to have to deal with air escaping from the uncovered holes, but the holes may very well be small enough to limit that loss and make it efficient enough.

My vote is that it'll most likely work, and I'd be real curious to know for sure or corrected if my thinking is off base.

[bigsteel15]

I don't often disagree with you Loring, but in this case, I have to

vacuum clamping or air flotation both operate on the same principle, PSI ... a 50lb sheet of MDF (assuming it's 3/4" thick) would be approximately 4'x4', which yields 2,304 square inches. 50lbs / 2,304 = .0217psi, so thereotically 1 PSI would be 5 times more than enough to float that sheet of MDF. Of course on something like an air hockey table, we're going to have to deal with air escaping from the uncovered holes, but the holes may very well be small enough to limit that loss and make it efficient enough.

My vote is that it'll most likely work, and I'd be real curious to know for sure or corrected if my thinking is off base.

Don't wish to start a debate here, but I'm going to do something I hardly ever do and state that I think the engineer knows what he's talking about

I think the principle of your calculation is right, Thom, but you're fogetting how very small those holes in the table are and how many of them it would take to equate to 1 square inch.
Now, if the "vessel" that is the table guts will take a 90 PSI air compressor, I think we have a favorite new accessory here at BT3 Central.

[ryan.s]

If you're thinking of making a quick rig for testing you might want to consider using a peg board on top of box and the exhaust from a shop vac to blow air. I'm not sure if all shop vacs have it but the ridgid i just picked up has a port for the exhaust to be used as a blower.

[LCHIEN]

I don't often disagree with you Loring, but in this case, I have to

vacuum clamping or air flotation both operate on the same principle, PSI ... a 50lb sheet of MDF (assuming it's 3/4" thick) would be approximately 4'x4', which yields 2,304 square inches. 50lbs / 2,304 = .0217psi, so thereotically 1 PSI would be 5 times more than enough to float that sheet of MDF. Of course on something like an air hockey table, we're going to have to deal with air escaping from the uncovered holes, but the holes may very well be small enough to limit that loss and make it efficient enough.

My vote is that it'll most likely work, and I'd be real curious to know for sure or corrected if my thinking is off base.

yeah, I thought about that. The difference is that a certain amount of airflowis required to float that sucker (either one). But the holes, if you've seen a soccer table are like very small and the holes ithe flotation table are actually fairly big (approaching 1/4" if I recall).
So in order to float a piece of MDF on the hockey table with the small holes, you'll have to increase the air pressure to get enough air flow.

There i go I was trying to keep a short answer.

[scorrpio]

It definitely won't work as downdraft sanding - those holes would clog instantly. But as a flotation table, it might work.

[TheRic]

Add more small holes in between the current holes, and/or make the current holes larger. This should help get more air under the MDF.

I'm not sure about this, but I would think the air reguired would not just need a certain amount of pressure, but a certain amount of volume of air.

Are the tops of an Air Hockey table strong enough? I seem to remember them being made out of pressed paper, thinner than peg board.

[bfrikken]

Hmm... I heard free air hockey table. I'd start with that, then work through any ideas. of course, then it ends up back in the garbage....What time are the Tigers on?

[RonT]

Don't wish to start a debate here, but I'm going to do something I hardly ever do and state that I think the engineer knows what he's talking about

I think the principle of your calculation is right, Thom, but you're fogetting how very small those holes in the table are and how many of them it would take to equate to 1 square inch.
Now, if the "vessel" that is the table guts will take a 90 PSI air compressor, I think we have a favorite new accessory here at BT3 Central.

Bigsteel

I'm a Mechanical Engineer, if you'll allow me to put in my 2 cents.

You have an understanding of what is happening in this system, however, the size of the hole is not the issue. The work is going to take place on the plate the holes are in; the pressure on the plate created by the air volume will push up and carry the weight. The more surface area on the plate the more weight it will carry for a given PSI of imparted air as long as the air volume is there.

The PSI feeding the system is far less important than the volume is. The size and number of holes, in some combination, will adversely affect how the air then does its work on the plate. A vacuum cleaner pushing a high volume of air at a low pressure may well be enough air volume to lift the load.

Now from the standpoint of practicality, keep in mind that while air is being pushed into this system, it is also escaping at the same rate through the thin space between the floor and the rim of the hockey table. Do you see where we're going, there is going to be one massive dust bowl in the shop/garage.