Comgrow Large Honeycomb Bed and material hold down options

We look at the new Comgrow large honeycomb bed and how it can help you make cleaner cuts with your diode laser. This honeycomb bed is nearly 24" x 24", which allows much more area for your material to lay flat and allows the smoke and debris to pass underneath to not leave stains on your projects. I also show you how to easily make three different styles of hold-down clips using your laser or a 3d printer.
Follow me on Instagram to keep up on behind-the-scenes shop information: / vintauri
Download the hold-down clamp files here: drive.google.c...
Links to products used in the video. Some of these are affiliate links that support the channel.
Comgrow Direct Links
Comgrow Z1 10w Laser - www.comgrow.co...
Comgrow Large Honeycomb Bed - www.comgrow.co...
Amazon Links
Comgrow Z1 10w Laser - amzn.to/3fiwwOo
Comgrow Large Honeycomb panel - amzn.to/3fa635o
6mm Magnets - amzn.to/3dGzDin
1/16" plywood - amzn.to/3LEn9EH
1/8" Baltic Birch Plywood - amzn.to/3DNRsXG

[@Chaos_God_of_Fate]

I make mine in the shape of a T and I have a hollowed out sliver in the middle so that they can squeeze/flex a bit. Mine are also designed to just the right size so that you put them in at 45 degrees nice and easy (kuz of the honeycomb), then twist to tighten and do the opposite to loosen, twist and pull to take out. I also have a half dozen hard drive magnets and some old permanent magnets that are a bit larger than the ones in the Vid which I built an eletric motor out of long ago, those things can injure a Person and they're awesome- I never thought to make something like this for them, thanks for the idea! Nice Vid!

[@Jerry-Mesa]

Thanks for the review. I learned several things about cleaning and bottom ventilation but your design of the diy magnet hold downs was a great concept. Thx

[@Vintauri]

Glad it was helpful!

[@home-lab]

Thanks for the clear video. When cutting plywood, I normally use bigger magnets. They can be placed on the sides but also on the middle. More “crooked” wood (hope I used the right term) can be made flat again. So I can make sure the laser is cutting at his lowest power setting so the burn marks are as little as possible. (Yes using air assist and a honeycomb). The only disadvantage of those bigger, and strong, magnets is when removing them from the plywood and stack them together; I damage my skin in between to magnets way to often 😢😢😢 I have to get used to not stack them and store them separate. The CO2 laser I use has a nice metal housing where I can store them.

[@dz4691]

magnets only for Iron materisl laser bed,but for aluminums ,need some pins they will provide.

[@markpatterson3189]

Thanks for the great video. As a fairly new laser user I have been watching a lot of KZbin videos on lasers and the subject of hold downs is not covered much. Thanks for the ideas, I will be making some very soon.

[@Vintauri]

Glad it was helpful! Depending on the specific honeycomb tray you have, you may need to adjust the thickness of the bottom part of the clips, but that should be fairly easy in lightburn or inkscape.

[@markpatterson3189]

@@Vintauri I have a X Tool D1 with the honeycomb bed. On the non magnetic hold downs, do you taper them on the part that goes into the honeycomb? I’ll play around with it a bit, I’m sure I can figure it out.

[@djmoosecom]

Really cool video. Great job!

[@Vintauri]

Thanks!

[@guynotes777]

Great video. Thanks very much

[@Vintauri]

Glad you liked it!

[@kenjantzen8753]

Another cheap hold down option is hard drive magnets. Most have a magnet centered on a piece of metal and would work the same as your wood version.

[@Vintauri]

Those are becoming harder to gather as the drives move to SSD’s. Plus depending on the size they can be very large and almost too strong. But I have pulled some hard drive magnets that would work quite well.

[@idmnstr]

Noob here: Just found your channel and subscribed. I have the 400x400 bed. How do I determine where to place it inside the engraving area?

[@Vintauri]

You'll want to ensure that the honeycomb weave covers the engraving area as much as possible so that the laser beam will not end up on the outer frame pieces. If your panel has the measurements inks on to the rails, don't try to align those to your lasers coordinates. They will rarely be able to match.

[@idmnstr]

@@Vintauri Thank you for video and responding so quickly. How do I determine the "engraving area"? Is there a file I can "engrave"?

[@Vintauri]

@@idmnstr That should be in the specifications of your laser, such as 400x400mm working area. You would want to position the honeycomb panel so that when the laser is in it's 0,0 position that it's in the corner of the honeycomb weave but not on the frame.

[@vossdale]

Is there any sagging by lifting it up off the tray?

[@Vintauri]

I checked that with a steel ruler and there was no noticeable drop. However if you placed a heavy object on it then you would risk getting some sag. The Z1 laser sits on the rails so it did not sag the tray. You could add blocks around the edges to help support it more if needed or even a steel block in the middle as well.