Festool Sanding Interface Plate

I recently got my hands on some Festool tools. One of which was a sander. However, it needed a new Sanding Interface aka the part that goes between the sander and the sand paper. I looked for Sanding Interface plate but it cost around $40-50. I found a cheaper one for around $20ish.

• There is a 5in and 6in version

After looking at the prices, i was like its cheaper to make my own.  I was able to design one but its no where near even the cheaper version one. The issues with my version are;

1 - Its 3d printed aka does not have lots of strength. Even at 100% infill, I don't think its a good idea to actually put it on a sander that SPINS VERY VERY FAST. I am not engineer but i image it will break and parts will go flying everywhere.

2 - Clearance is another issue which is important for suction. My design “looks right” but there is a HUGE difference between mine and even the cheaper version one i found. The cheaper one is very close to the machine, mine has a huge gap. 

This is a problem because if you want attach your vacuum to your sander to take away the sander, you need as little of a gap as possible. Mine had a gap that would let most of the dust escape.

3 - Its expensive! I dont mean to 3d print the part but the Velcro sheet you need to be able to attach the sand paper to the plate. It would kill the bank but its nearly the same price as buying the cheaper version. Additionally, the Velcro you would buy, i don't think is designed to be used so often.

Anyway, I am happy that I did this and gained important experience from it. I don't expect it to work for anyone but if you can gain something from this, it was worth it.