Cyclone Separator (aka Cyclonic Vacuum) for Workshop / ShopVac

thingiverse

This is a cyclone separator to fit into a 5 gallon (or larger) bucket with lid (like the standard Home Depot or Lowes type buckets). It takes stanard 1-1/4" hoses used by cheaper shopvacs. You'll connect the hose to the shop-vac into the opening on the top, and connect another hose for dust collection to the side inlet. I have that inlet hose connected to the dust-shoe on my CNC (which will be added to thingiverse soon) You'll need to print these in the default orientation, but I suggest using support on the inlet only (make sure to NOT use supports on the rest of the top portion). I'll try to upload a file with pre-made supports in the right spot soon. You'll need to cut a large hole in the bucket lid, the diameter of the inside diameter of the main assembly, and also drill some smaller holes for the bolts. I'd suggest printing the bottom/inside piece first, then using it as a template mark the location of the screw holes, and drill those out. Then you can use bolts to temporarily secure the inside/bottom piece to the lid, and use a knife to cut out the large hole from the lid. You can then assemble to top and bottom pieces, either side of the lid, with the #10 bolts and nuts holding the assembly together. You will need 6x #10 x 1/2" bolts and nuts Since plastic buckets are not particularly rigid, if your shopvac has decent suction you may find that the bucket collapses in on itself under the pressure. To avoid this just purchase an extra bucket, and place one inside the other. This helps the bucket keep shape. In my experience, running this cyclone separate with a budget 6-gallon shopvac, it captures > 95% of the dust and woodchips, only allowing a small percentage through to get caught by the shopvac filter.