5 ways the Apex EZ Sander can improve your CNC finishing capabilities

Sanding is a critical aspect of shop work, used to put finishing touches on projects to achieve a more polished, high-quality result. It can, however, be a tenuous and time-consuming activity, especially when relying on hand-sanding methods or outdated technology.

The Apex EZ Sander is a wide belt sander that does away with much of this inconvenience, providing a user-friendly, high-performing solution to finishing in CNC work. Here are 5 key ways the EZ Sander can improve your CNC finishing capabilities in the shop.

1. Time-savings

The Apex EZ Sander includes several key features that dramatically boost the efficiency of finishing processes, saving significant amounts of time compared to hand-sanding.

The sanding head features a dial indicator that can be used to adjust the 6 cam adjustable contact drum when running either thicker or thinner abrasive belts, allowing you to quickly raise and lower the drum as needed. This also makes for quick contact drum positioning when changing belts, in addition to ensuring correct pinch roll pressure without needing to adjust each of the four pinch rolls individually.

The conveyor belt itself runs between 5 fpm and 25 fpm and is controlled via a dial located on the main control panel. The thickness opening is able to be opened or closed via a switch that then relays the setting to a display on the control panel down to .001 inches.

The quick adjustability and digital display of the EZ Sander make completing and moving between finishing tasks quick and easy.

2. Finishing precision

The EZ Sander is capable of finishing parts up to 36 inches in width and operates with an exceptionally minimal side-to-side tolerance (+/- .003). Longer parts may need to be supported at infeed and outfeed during processing, but the EZ Sander still provides a tremendously fine and precise level of performance especially compared to manual alternatives.

3. Safety

Safety is critical anytime you’re operating a CNC router or CNC plasma table, and the EZ Sander comes with several such built-in features.

First, the belt loading door features an interlocking mechanism that prevents machine operation anytime the door is open. If the door opens during operation, the EZ Sander automatically shuts down and the disc brake works to bring the belt to a complete stop in seconds.

The safety door above the infeed area helps prevent the feeding of overly thick or double-stacked parts into the machine, which could potentially lead to damage or injury. If an overly thick part is entered into the infeed, a switch is triggered that automatically shuts down the machine.

The Apex EZ Sander also has limit switches on both the inboard and outboard sides of the belt to keep it from tracking too far. The switches have ceramic sleeves on them to prevent sparks when engaged. When activated, the machine shuts down and the caliper brake works to stop the belt in seconds.

4. Versatility

Versatility is critical to every tool in the shop, as the more you’re able to do with it, the more return you’ll see on your investment. The EZ Sander is capable of sanding parts ranging from 0 to 5 inches in thickness, meaning it can provide high-quality finishing on everything from robust to extremely thin parts.

5. Portability

Despite its high level of capability, the EZ Sander is not an overly large, space-sucking machine. It comes standard with heavy-duty casters for easy mobility around the shop and can even be moved out of the way and stored neatly when not in use.

Plasma cuts shown above were not performed using ShopSabre technology.

Optimize your CNC work with help from ShopSabre

Our world-leading CNC machines provide precision, efficiency, and total versatility to help aspiring hobbyists and full-time commercial shop owners alike produce truly outstanding results with a fraction of the labor.

Here are a few of the primary reasons ShopSabre is able to develop and produce such revolutionary technology:

1. Experienced in-house engineering talent
2. The ability to totally fabricate and test designs onsite
3. The ability to place the designs into production in-house

These are just a few of the advantages of being an American machine tool manufacturer. Shop our unmatched collection of CNC routers and CNC plasmas in Minneapolis today to experience the way CNC was meant to be.