Knife table verses honeycomb table

[Frank barry]

Good morning all

As I move closer to placing my order I am trying to decide what I need on one side I want to get everything I need yet don’t want to spend money on parts I won’t use
So any help would be much appreciated

Do I really need both tables ?

Thanks in advance
Frank

[Mike Null]

Not in my opinion. I'd go with a honey comb or one of the lower priced versions from here: www.en-gravs.com

I've been using these for many years and find them easy to use and cheap.

[George M. Perzel]

Frank;
I'm with Mike-go with the honeycomb but try to get one with steel honeycomb-easy to use magnets for holding down thin material.
Also, if you have a big table, make sure you use some type of standoff at key spots on the bottom to raise the grid above the table and also put leveling pads at 1/3 and 2/3 the length/width (4) to keep table level as putting weight on the table over time will distort the grid.
The knife edge table is heavy, cumbersome, and the edges are never where you need them.
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Mike Lysov]

If you are going to do a lot of cutting from rigid materials(mdf, wood, acrylic or plastic) I would go with a knife table. A honeycomb one is the worst for this type of jobs. It reflects a laser beam and it leaves a lot of residue at the back side of the material. There are a couple of threads on this forum about it.

It's only better for cutting of something thin(paper, fabric) because it is easy to hold something like this on smaller honeycomb cells than on wide spaces a knife table. I would go actually for both versions of tables if I were you. Usually a knife table is just a set of blades fixed in a frame build into a laser bed. The blades can be installed/removed anytime so it should not be expensive to ask your supplier to include them.

The other reason to get them both together is that is not hard to get a custom made honey table from China for $100-150 for a big one but I personally cannot find anybody who can supply blades. More over if your laser was not designed to use them from the beginning it will be hard to make a frame to hold them.

[Rodne Gold]

Get both if you concerned or don't know your application , they cheap.
We have never used the knife tables on ours , first thing I did was remove em. I use the honeycomb and often laser directly on the sub table itself. If I knew what I know now , I would have deleted the knife table from my order and ordered 2 honeycombs instead of 1 knife and 1 honey.
I mainly cut and engrave acrylic from 3-8mm on my machines , do a lot of the engraving laminates too.

[Frank barry]

ethanks for all of your replys

I just got a price for the honeycomb table $70 much cheaper than I taught so it might be as well for me to get both as I am just starting out

regards
Frank

thanks again it is fantastic to have so many experienced

[john banks]

Too many reflections from honeycomb for us, no trouble at all with the knife table.

[Larry Robinson]

The problem I had with a knife table is that one of the parts got lodged in an upward direction after being cut and ended up catching the laser cone and started a fire.

[Albert Nix]

Mike I just check the web site you posted and couldn't find the honeycomb. What do you look under?

[Frank barry]

Hi Albert

I had the same problem but found it after a lot of trying stores.ebay.com/engravslaserengraving

i hope its of to post a link to ebay

Frank

[Keith Outten]

Here is a good place to start looking for this company:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?191040-FreeStuff-Winner-Laser-Vector-Grid

[Mike Null]

Here's another to the same place. http://www.cuttinggrid.com/lazergrids.shtml

[Mike Lysov]

Mike I just check the web site you posted and couldn't find the honeycomb. What do you look under?

send email to these guys cncenran@hotmail.com They make custom ones. I have given this contact to a couple of members and I know at least one has ordered from them.
They were selling them on www.aliexpress.com (http://www.aliexpress.com) and they provided their email on another discussion board.

I have sent a few emails to them myself and their quote for a 91x61cm table was below $50. With shipping via Fedex to AU it came to $160
It is very cheap considering that the same table sold by GSS laser distributors will cost you at least 10 times more. I am going to order from them soon.

Update: Here is a link to the custom one listed on Aliexpress
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Honey-work-table-square-meter-for-laser-engraving-and-cutting-machine-the-quanlity-is-high/591104566.html

Please be careful when you buy on that website. I cannot confirm that this seller is the same as with the email I have provided above. It may be somebody else and they can get you money and ship nothing. If you decide to buy from aliexpress make sure you contact them and get as much details as possible before you pay to them.

[Nathan Shaffer]

One thing that I noticed on an video, they used CPU heat sinks to support work that was being cut out. You could make a table out of that.

[Roy Nielsen]

Would it make sense to put a honeycomb table on top of a knife edge table? Would that help with air flow? Any other benefits?

[Mike Lysov]

It will be easier way to use a honeycomb because every time you need it you wont have to remove blades of the knife table. However I do not think there will be any benefits in terms of air flow. I even think it will be less air flow this way because there may be some gaps between the blades and the honeycomb table and air will be sucked in through this gaps instead of going through the bottom of the honeycomb table

[Rodne Gold]

I doubt that you will get a level surface if you use the knife and the honeycomb..