Anybody using the Micro Jig Matchfit dovetail clamping system? I have a kit on order but could not find any details on using it on my CNC. Yes I can improvise but I would prefer not to have to guess.
@Jens I bought it when it first came out a few years ago. I wanted something to replace the t-track that I had, which used the “toilet bolts”. I used it for a short while and replaced it with the Sienci t-tracks, which use standard 1/4 x 20 bolts.
The biggest issue that I had at the outset was that surfacing the spoil board kept making the chance of pulling the fixture through the slot. I remedied this by making hardwood runners with a dovetail slot in them. So, in effect, I made a t-slot system using the matchfit dovetail bolts. Then, I made hardwood bolts to add to the plastic ones from Micro Jig. They worked OK, but were not worth the cost or the hassle as compared to the Sienci t-tracks.
In short, it’s not a bad system, but IMHO not really ideal when used in an MFT spoilboard of every decreasing thickness.
Agreed, it doesn’t work for a spoil board. My immediate use will be for the vertical work holding plate for my Altmill but I am hoping to use it all over the place for fixturing.
Do you recall your RPM and feed speed that you used (assuming you didn’t hand route your slots)? I assume you did a clearing pass with a 1/4" bit first before using the dovetail bit.
@Jens I made the maple runners on my router table. I had a 1/4" shank dovetail bit for my dovetail jig.
Yes, I did a clearing pass first.
For what it’s worth, I settled on 2000 mm/min for feed rate and 1000 mm/min for plunge/ramp feed rate. This is for MDF/particle board but I would think that this would be ok for plywood as well…
I started out with data from Freud for carbide tipped profile cutters (0.006 chip load at 18000 rpm with 2 flutes) which called for 216 in/min which would be 5486 mm/min and I decided to bring it down a bit for safety.
I do a clearance cut of 0.25 in.
Morgan Hopp previously from Microjug and now with Onefinity has the plans and VCarve file available at EP3 Onefinity CNC - 3 Must Haves in a CNC Wasteboard: Includes MATCHFIT Dovetail Wasteboard System Files FREE. Includes files for Vectric and Carveco. Sizes support Foreman, Journeyman, and Woodworker! - Onefinity Projects - Onefinity CNC Forum. The VCarve file is in the Dovetail Tracks folder. The parameters he recommended were 150 ipm feedrate, 50 ipm plunge and 10,000 rpm. These worked fine in MDF on my AltMill.
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