I needed a cyclone for my dust collector and thought this would be a great project to learn how to use Autodesk Inventor and get more time on the Shopbot. I made this at Techshop.

Step 1: Create a Drawing

I created this drawing in Inventor. The lower dimension of the cone is 4” and the upper dimension is 14” @24” above the lower. The lower flange is 6” OD with a 4” inner circle cutout. The upper lid is 15” OD with a 4” inner circle. and a 13.75"diameter .125 grove cut into it using a .25 " bit. The port for the side also takes a 4” OD pipe. I attached a .dxf for the cutouts. This is for 4 units if you wanted to buy a full sheet of material. If not cut it down to what you need.

Step 2: Materials

One piece of .06” X 32” X 48” polycarbonate sheet.

One Piece of .25” X 16” X 24” polycarbonate sheet.

3 each 3” ABS couplers

1 each 4” pipe snap in drain. Both purchased at home depot. (you can also use 3 of the 3” ABS couplers for instead of this piece.)

ABS glue

Locktite plastic appoxy

Polycarbonate glue.

Step 3: Cutout Pieces

Cut out the .06” sheet on the CNC using the .dxf file as a template. Using a 1/4” bit.

Cutout the top and bottom using the CNC using the .dxf file as a template. Using a 1/4” bit. Sorry I do not have pic of top and bottom.

Step 4: Sand Edge and Remove Protective Covering

Start by lightly sanding the edges with the puzzle pieces on them. These two sides will wrap around and snap together. You can clamp the one edge to a table and test this out. See pics. I left the protective covering on to show alignment

First step is to glue the 2” X ~ 24 “piece to the outer edge of the .06” sheet. The side to glue it to has the two puzzle piece protruding from the edge. Glue the piece centered along the length and ~ 1” in from the main edge. This allows complete support along the edge once glued. There should be ¼” gap on the bottom edge and top edge that are exposed once centered. Use the polycarbonate 1min set glue. Clamp in place while drying. Let set at least 5 to 10 min before the next step.

Step 5: Pre Fit and Glue

The next step will require two people. Clamp the piece down with the strip (you just glued) on the bottom. This should expose the puzzle piece tab to be facing up. Take a sharp edge tool and clean out any material or glue that may have oozed from the edge. Roll the opposite end over until the puzzle piece tabs are aligned with the opposite edge. Test fit so you know it snaps in the puzzle piece. If not lightly sand the edge to make fit. Once you have the two ends test fitted together you can glue this together. Make sure you have a second board to hold the new joint together once it is glued. See Pictures. Let set for at least 10 to 15 min clamped.

Step 6: Glue on Top Flange

On the 4 “ Pipe snap in drain I cut out the cross hatch pattern so it would not obstruct any air flow.

I then installed this into the top lid with the flange on the grove side of the top lid. I used plastic epoxy

The epoxy had a 30 min set time so wait the correct time.
Only Pic I have it the finished assy sorry.

Step 7: Glueing Top

Once dry put the top on a surface with the inner grove facing up. The drain should be protruding downwards. Take the cone with the large opening down and insert it into the grove. This should be a tight fit and may need a little sanding to make it fit into the grove. Once fitter glue the top in place with the polycarbonate glue. Let dry for at least 10 to 15 min.
Note: Pic is from a smaller top port attempt but you can get the idea.

Step 8: Glue Bottom

Once dry, place the bottom on the smaller side of the cone. Pre fit to ensure the pieces fit together. The bottom should hit the first piece glued. Once it fits correctly apply polycarbonate glue

Step 9: Glue ABS Pipe

Glue the three pieces of ABS couplers together as shown.

Step 10: Glue ABS Pipe Intoside Hole.

Once dried glue ABS pipe into the teardrop shaped hole in the side of the cone. This should fit so the pipe is intersecting the tangent of the inside of the cone. You may need to slightly sand it if it is too tight to get in. Leave about 4” protruding out of the plastic so you can attach a hose on to it. Using plastic epoxy, glue in place. Let set for manufactures recommended time. Once done mount to a lid of a barrel, trash can. I used an old Shop vac housing. Worked great.

Attach the dust collector to the center top port and connect the tool to the pipe coming out of the side. Hope you enjoy this project. We tested it out at techshop. It worked great. Almost nothing went into the dust collector.