Made By Miller Fixture Table Plugs

[MadeByMiller]

I just launched a brand new product that I wanted to share with you all here - I think many of you will find it useful.

They are Fixture Table Plugs! Currently I am offering them in 5/8" Strong Hand and 16mm Siegmund, but more sizes and brands will be coming soon. I actually conceived the idea almost 3 years ago, it's been a long journey to get them to market. Hopefully their utility is self explanatory, but if you are unfamiliar with fixture tables allow me to explain. The plethora of holes in fixture tables are fantastic in their use of layout, hold down, and well, fixturing, but in all other instances they can be a real nuisance. Small items constantly fall through the holes, everything underneath your table gets covered in dust and spills, and what could be a great work surface ends up frustrating you with it's swiss cheese-like nature. You may also experience spatter and/or gunk buildup in your fixture holes that can require cleaning or even reaming in order to use your tooling.

Fixture table plugs pop in very easily - you could fill an entire table in minutes. They sit just below the surface of the table so as not to interfere with the work, but not so deep that they will collect dust and debris. The plugs fit snugly in the holes so they won't bounce out if you pound on the table and they won't go flying if your blow the table off with compressed air. Being plastic, they also will not be affected by magnets nor become magnetized and attract grinding dust. You would be surprised how durable and resilient the PETG plastic is to sparks, spatter, and heat from welding. If somehow they are damaged/destroyed/lost, they are inexpensive to replace. When you are ready to use the holes for tooling, a simple pick inserted in one of the two small perimeter notches quickly and easily pops the plug out.

I'm extremely excited to share these with you all and I hope that they find their way into your shop. Fixture table plugs are currently available HERE ON MY WEBSITE in 5/8" Strong Hand and 16mm Siegmund in quantities of 100 for $25 shipped. The next size I'm planning to release is 28mm Kovosu, but there are more sizes already in prototyping. I have been working with many testers behind the scenes for months so I can be confident that the plugs will function reliably in a variety of tables.

Thank you!







www.fixturetableplugs.com

 

[no704]

For what purpose?

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

For what purpose?

to make money, obviously.

 

[loganb]

Congrats Austin! Saw the post on IG yesterday and the logo change made a bunch of sense then! Love the full packaging, great logo and well thought out concept! Look forward to watching these succeed and me getting a table at some point so I can buy some

 

[sh944]

Yeah, what Logan said. I don’t have a fixture table yet so I don’t have a dog in the hunt as far as “need”, but I like the concept, execution and packaging.

 

[LXCam]

Most excellent Austin. I’ve brought several niche market products to market so I’m wishing you the best of luck here. The one and only piece of advice I’ll offer is make sure you’re able to cover your buy in costs before some POS can come to market with a total ripoff of it. That was always my struggle on deciding quantities and timelines of X before it happened. And it happened with everyone of them.

 

[Farmall450]

Most excellent Austin. I’ve brought several niche market products to market so I’m wishing you the best of luck here. The one and only piece of advice I’ll offer is make sure you’re able to cover your buy in costs before some POS can come to market with a total ripoff of it. That was always my struggle on deciding quantities and timelines of X before it happened. And it happened with everyone of them.

You could mitigate this by selling the files to people who 3D print like the farm sip fellas do. Sort of builds a relationship between your customer and the company/brand.

These are already all over the internet from other brands, so it's not exactly a novel concept.

2-280238.1.10: Pack of 10 Steel Cover Caps for the System 28 Welding T

Pack of 10 Steel Covers (Item No. 2-280238.1.10, also known as S2-280238.1.10), precisely aligned to protect drill holes, thereby avoiding the accumulation of dirt within unused bore holes. Specs and Features: Height: 10mm (0.39") Ø: 29.8mm (1.17") Weight: 0.110 lbs.

weldingtablesandfixtures.com

 

[MadeByMiller]

For what purpose?

I just launched a brand new product that I wanted to share with you all here - I think many of you will find it useful.

They are Fixture Table Plugs! Currently I am offering them in 5/8" Strong Hand and 16mm Siegmund, but more sizes and brands will be coming soon. I actually conceived the idea almost 3 years ago, it's been a long journey to get them to market. Hopefully their utility is self explanatory, but if you are unfamiliar with fixture tables allow me to explain. The plethora of holes in fixture tables are fantastic in their use of layout, hold down, and well, fixturing, but in all other instances they can be a real nuisance. Small items constantly fall through the holes, everything underneath your table gets covered in dust and spills, and what could be a great work surface ends up frustrating you with it's swiss cheese-like nature. You may also experience spatter and/or gunk buildup in your fixture holes that can require cleaning or even reaming in order to use your tooling.

Thank you for asking!

 

[Beerhippie]

Great. Now I need to get me a fixture table....

 

[MadeByMiller]

Congrats Austin! Saw the post on IG yesterday and the logo change made a bunch of sense then! Love the full packaging, great logo and well thought out concept! Look forward to watching these succeed and me getting a table at some point so I can buy some

Thank you very much Logan! Your well wishes and compliments are very kind. I put a ton of thought and effort into the things you highlighted, so it's nice to see you recognize that.

Yeah, what Logan said. I don’t have a fixture table yet so I don’t have a dog in the hunt as far as “need”, but I like the concept, execution and packaging.

Thank you! The plugs will be ready for you when you get your fixture table.

Most excellent Austin. I’ve brought several niche market products to market so I’m wishing you the best of luck here. The one and only piece of advice I’ll offer is make sure you’re able to cover your buy in costs before some POS can come to market with a total ripoff of it. That was always my struggle on deciding quantities and timelines of X before it happened. And it happened with everyone of them.

That's very nice of you to say Cam, thank you. I realize this is something that would be quite simple to rip off and scale, especially if you have the means to invest in injection molding. The best way I can figure to protect myself is to cover as much of the market as quickly as possible, and to never run out of stock. I built up a pretty large inventory prior to launch, and I will invest in more printers if needed to keep up with demand. I certainly hope I have to invest in more printers!

You could mitigate this by selling the files to people who 3D print like the farm sip fellas do. Sort of builds a relationship between your customer and the company/brand.

These are already all over the internet from other brands, so it's not exactly a novel concept.

2-280238.1.10: Pack of 10 Steel Cover Caps for the System 28 Welding T

Pack of 10 Steel Covers (Item No. 2-280238.1.10, also known as S2-280238.1.10), precisely aligned to protect drill holes, thereby avoiding the accumulation of dirt within unused bore holes. Specs and Features: Height: 10mm (0.39") Ø: 29.8mm (1.17") Weight: 0.110 lbs.

weldingtablesandfixtures.com

Thank you for your comment. I have put a bit of thought into selling print files, but at this time I don't plan to do so.

I would push back against your claim that they are all over the internet from other brands, but of course I acknowledge the example you linked from Siegmund. Not that it matters, but when I originally started prototyping my plugs back in 2021, I had not seen the Siegmund plugs and I'm not sure they existed at the time. I would argue that their choice to make them out of steel and charge $4/ea for them (and that's discounted) puts them in a different classification. I'm planning for people to fill large sections and even their entire tables with plugs. To do this in say the 5'x10' Siegmund 16mm table would require 1,800 plugs for the top surface. That would cost $7,200 from Siegmund vs. $450 from me - that's 16 times the cost... There are also advantages to using plastic instead of steel, as I highlighted in my original post.

 

[sqznby]

Great job man, I like them.
I also like the fact that they are not metal, granted they don't sit flush with the top, but for arcing purposes they are a great idea.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Great job man, I like them.
I also like the fact that they are not metal, granted they don't sit flush with the top, but for arcing purposes they are a great idea.

Thank you very much! There is a kneejerk reaction against plastic in any scenario involving welding, and I can understand why, but in practice it is not the issue that people expect and in fact has many benefits as you pointed out.

 

[jblnut]

First off great product idea !! I hope you sell millions of them !!

There is a kneejerk reaction against plastic in any scenario involving welding, …

Plastic on a welding surface doesn’t scare me at all. It has a lot of benefits which you’ve called out nicely.

My first “welding table” was two pieces of 3/4” Baltic birch plywood glued together. I’d put a 12”x12” piece of copper sheet down under where I was welding and it worked very very well until I procured the 1” thick monster I have now.

 

[MadeByMiller]

First off great product idea !! I hope you sell millions of them !!

Plastic on a welding surface doesn’t scare me at all. It has a lot of benefits which you’ve called out nicely.

My first “welding table” was two pieces of 3/4” Baltic birch plywood glued together. I’d put a 12”x12” piece of copper sheet down under where I was welding and it worked very very well until I procured the 1” thick monster I have now.

Thank you! I will remember you if some day I reach the million plugs sold mark haha

 

[Farmall450]

Thank you for your comment. I have put a bit of thought into selling print files, but at this time I don't plan to do so.

I would push back against your claim that they are all over the internet from other brands, but of course I acknowledge the example you linked from Siegmund. Not that it matters, but when I originally started prototyping my plugs back in 2021, I had not seen the Siegmund plugs and I'm not sure they existed at the time. I would argue that their choice to make them out of steel and charge $4/ea for them (and that's discounted) puts them in a different classification. I'm planning for people to fill large sections and even their entire tables with plugs. To do this in say the 5'x10' Siegmund 16mm table would require 1,800 plugs for the top surface. That would cost $7,200 from Siegmund vs. $450 from me - that's 16 times the cost... There are also advantages to using plastic instead of steel, as I highlighted in my original post.

Yeah, their cost is outrageous.

Sorry, I was moreso replying to LXCam's post. Not trying to knock your new product launch, I just remembered seeing something similar before. This will be/is a commodity item - as long as people find and like your price, they'll buy 'em. Also, nice branding on the labels. They look great!

The great thing with 3D printers is (almost) anyone can manufacture complicated parts. 20 years ago the tooling to injection form these would be something not many could swing. I love to see the ingenuity GJers (and others) use to solve products in their everyday life w/ a 3D printer - I can't believe I didn't get one sooner!

 

[MadeByMiller]

Yeah, their cost is outrageous.

Sorry, I was moreso replying to LXCam's post. Not trying to knock your new product launch, I just remembered seeing something similar before. This will be/is a commodity item - as long as people find and like your price, they'll buy 'em. Also, nice branding on the labels. They look great!

The great thing with 3D printers is (almost) anyone can manufacture complicated parts. 20 years ago the tooling to injection form these would be something not many could swing. I love to see the ingenuity GJers (and others) use to solve products in their everyday life w/ a 3D printer - I can't believe I didn't get one sooner!

Thank you for the compliments and I agree with your sentiments on 3D printers. The goal for sure is to injection mold these, but that is a pretty massive investment. I can build a good sized print farm for quite a bit cheaper than the dies required for injection molding, and performance wise there's not going to be a massive difference between the manufacturing processes.

 

[danielbuck]

I like the vintage looking graphics.

 

[jblnut]

I like the vintage looking graphics.

So do I !! They look amazing !!

 

[MadeByMiller]

I like the vintage looking graphics.

So do I !! They look amazing !!

Thanks guys! I had a ton of fun with the graphic design, and I utilized some great threads here on the forum for inspiration to hopefully nail that "vintage" look so thank you for noticing and for the compliments.

 

[jeepxj]

you got the branding down for sure.

i'm the farm sip guy they are talking about above. I'd really reconsider selling the files early. keep the cost below the effort for someone to design it and make it on their own. the 3d printer community at large currently has no problem buying you a beer or two in exchange for doing the thinking on it if that makes sense.

i priced molds out. its silly how many printers I can get for the price of a single mold.

have a printability suggestion for you:

cross section. on the right is how I believe your model file is. sharp corner. this makes the end really thin for durability purposes. I bet you get some units that curl and cause production loss.

on the right is what i'd do. i'd make it at least 2 layer heights tall, if not 3. vertical. this makes a much more durable product. have you considered adaptive layer heights as well?

 

[MadeByMiller]

you got the branding down for sure.

i'm the farm sip guy they are talking about above. I'd really reconsider selling the files early. keep the cost below the effort for someone to design it and make it on their own. the 3d printer community at large currently has no problem buying you a beer or two in exchange for doing the thinking on it if that makes sense.

i priced molds out. its silly how many printers I can get for the price of a single mold.

have a printability suggestion for you:

cross section. on the right is how I believe your model file is. sharp corner. this makes the end really thin for durability purposes. I bet you get some units that curl and cause production loss.

on the right is what i'd do. i'd make it at least 2 layer heights tall, if not 3. vertical. this makes a much more durable product. have you considered adaptive layer heights as well?

First of all, thank you for your message - I appreciate the time and effort you put into that. Your reputation proceeds you, of course I know who you are and who they were talking about!

Like I said, I've put thought into selling files but for the moment it's not for me. Over time I might change my mind.

Correct, the model has a sharp corner but I am printing the angled layers tall enough (including initial layer) that I've not had any issues with curling. There have no production losses in the over 30,000 parts printed so far due to any issues linked to that geometry. In fact, the only production losses have been due to one printer that had a belt tension issue after many thousands of parts and it started printing parts slightly out of round.

I'm not using adaptive layer heights, but I am using height range modifiers to increase print efficiency in terms of layer height. All printed with .6mm nozzle. The underside geometry is largely driven by print efficiency.

 

[jeepxj]

If you change your mind and are using Shopify it can do digital file delivery.

that model would want me trying the upside down p1s trick to just crank them out hands off.

PETG?

 

[Boostingaz]

@MadeByMiller

The new logo, , makes sense finally! You were initially right that I don't have a need for these...........now/yet .

BTW. I will email you when you the time comes but I'd love to work with you again on maybe coming up with a different branded product for a new business that is in the works. That's all I can say right now . Not a desk mat this time but if we can come up with something that has a little more utility per se as this is not a "desk" job.

 

[MadeByMiller]

If you change your mind and are using Shopify it can do digital file delivery.

that model would want me trying the upside down p1s trick to just crank them out hands off.

PETG?

Currently using Wix, but there are enough irritations on the back end that I'm strongly considering jumping to Shopify sooner than later.

PETG, indeed.

@MadeByMiller

The new logo, , makes sense finally! You were initially right that I don't have a need for these...........now/yet .

BTW. I will email you when you the time comes but I'd love to work with you again on maybe coming up with a different branded product for a new business that is in the works. That's all I can say right now . Not a desk mat this time but if we can come up with something that has a little more utility per se as this is not a "desk" job.

Haha yes! Looking forward to your email - thank you for thinking of me!

 

[isb cornbinder]

I am not interested in your product. I can print them if I think having them will improve my shop time. I have a daughter in the business.

 

[FourthQuarter]

Love your logo and retro styled graphics; very appealing to this salty old GJ dog. Best of luck.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Love your logo and retro styled graphics; very appealing to this salty old GJ dog. Best of luck.

Thank you very much! Really glad you guys are digging the graphic design. I appreciate the well wishes

 

[jeepxj]

Currently using Wix, but there are enough irritations on the back end that I'm strongly considering jumping to Shopify sooner than later.

PETG, indeed.

Haha yes! Looking forward to your email - thank you for thinking of me!

i started on squarespace then moved to shopify. much much better.

well if you wana buy in bulk you know who to message.

 

[MadeByMiller]

i started on squarespace then moved to shopify. much much better.

well if you wana buy in bulk you know who to message.

I'd love to hear more about the improvements you've found through Shopify, also how difficult was the transition? Feel free to send a PM if you don't want to discuss here.

Thanks man, I will remember that.

 

[slim_grim]

I just launched a brand new product that I wanted to share with you all here - I think many of you will find it useful.

They are Fixture Table Plugs! Currently I am offering them in 5/8" Strong Hand and 16mm Siegmund, but more sizes and brands will be coming soon. I actually conceived the idea almost 3 years ago, it's been a long journey to get them to market. Hopefully their utility is self explanatory, but if you are unfamiliar with fixture tables allow me to explain. The plethora of holes in fixture tables are fantastic in their use of layout, hold down, and well, fixturing, but in all other instances they can be a real nuisance. Small items constantly fall through the holes, everything underneath your table gets covered in dust and spills, and what could be a great work surface ends up frustrating you with it's swiss cheese-like nature. You may also experience spatter and/or gunk buildup in your fixture holes that can require cleaning or even reaming in order to use your tooling.

Fixture table plugs pop in very easily - you could fill an entire table in minutes. They sit just below the surface of the table so as not to interfere with the work, but not so deep that they will collect dust and debris. The plugs fit snugly in the holes so they won't bounce out if you pound on the table and they won't go flying if your blow the table off with compressed air. Being plastic, they also will not be affected by magnets nor become magnetized and attract grinding dust. You would be surprised how durable and resilient the PETG plastic is to sparks, spatter, and heat from welding. If somehow they are damaged/destroyed/lost, they are inexpensive to replace. When you are ready to use the holes for tooling, a simple pick inserted in one of the two small perimeter notches quickly and easily pops the plug out.

I'm extremely excited to share these with you all and I hope that they find their way into your shop. Fixture table plugs are currently available HERE ON MY WEBSITE in 5/8" Strong Hand and 16mm Siegmund in quantities of 100 for $25 shipped. The next size I'm planning to release is 28mm Kovosu, but there are more sizes already in prototyping. I have been working with many testers behind the scenes for months so I can be confident that the plugs will function reliably in a variety of tables.

www.fixturetableplugs.com

Killer branding! Is this something you did yourself?

 

[MadeByMiller]

Killer branding! Is this something you did yourself?

Thank you! Yes, 100%.

 

[purplezr2]

20mm for the wood working crowd?

I printed my own for my torsion box table, after loosing all kinds of stuff down the holes

 

[slim_grim]

Thank you! Yes, 100%.

Sweet. I've been looking for some software to do similar stuff. Can't quite get something I'm pleased with in MS Paint.

 

[LXCam]

You could mitigate this by selling the files to people who 3D print like the farm sip fellas do. Sort of builds a relationship between your customer and the company/brand.

These are already all over the internet from other brands, so it's not exactly a novel concept.

2-280238.1.10: Pack of 10 Steel Cover Caps for the System 28 Welding T

Pack of 10 Steel Covers (Item No. 2-280238.1.10, also known as S2-280238.1.10), precisely aligned to protect drill holes, thereby avoiding the accumulation of dirt within unused bore holes. Specs and Features: Height: 10mm (0.39") Ø: 29.8mm (1.17") Weight: 0.110 lbs.

weldingtablesandfixtures.com

That’s a good point and something I’ll consider for any applicable products in the future. All my previous stuff required machining and/or welding.

 

[jeepxj]

I'd love to hear more about the improvements you've found through Shopify, also how difficult was the transition? Feel free to send a PM if you don't want to discuss here.

Thanks man, I will remember that.

so many improvements. i just left everything behind and went to the new. no customer import or anything.

 

[sqznby]

@MadeByMiller a fellow fabricator I follow in IG posted one of your reels today with these plugs, Hamlin Welding is a good guy.
Very cool man I'm excited for yah

 

[MadeByMiller]

20mm for the wood working crowd?

I printed my own for my torsion box table, after loosing all kinds of stuff down the holes

Man, I didn't even know there was a wood working parallel in terms of fixturing tables. I'm very much not a woodworker ha, but maybe some day I could make plugs for you woodchucks.

Sweet. I've been looking for some software to do similar stuff. Can't quite get something I'm pleased with in MS Paint.

I'm a total cheapskate so I've done it all using free software (aside from Fusion for CAD). I used Inkscape, GIMP, and Blender for the product label design.

@MadeByMiller a fellow fabricator I follow in IG posted one of your reels today with these plugs, Hamlin Welding is a good guy.
Very cool man I'm excited for yah

Yes! Mitchell was one of my product testers for the 16mm Siegmund tables. He's been awesome since the very first message I sent him, great guy for sure.

 

[lilscorpion]

Thank you for the compliments and I agree with your sentiments on 3D printers. The goal for sure is to injection mold these, but that is a pretty massive investment. I can build a good sized print farm for quite a bit cheaper than the dies required for injection molding, and performance wise there's not going to be a massive difference between the manufacturing processes.

Saunders Machine Works injection molds theirs…not for welding tables per-se, but for fixture tables on CNC machines. It’s a neat idea but, IMO, but not really for the welder/fabricator. If weld splatter sticks to the table, it’ll melt/mess with 3D printed plugs and become yet another thing to have to maintain, replace, etc. For a CNC with coolant and chips I totally get it…yes hot chips could melt them plugs but there’s plant. To be honest, I don’t see myself as patient enough to put a plug in every hole in a fixture table and then need to remove select ones as I set up the various fixtures. So for me, a tray below is a much better idea (and the fact I have one helps in the decisions making process). Good luck with the business tho, there will be interest.

Now back to thread stuff...

 

[slim_grim]

I'm a total cheapskate so I've done it all using free software (aside from Fusion for CAD). I used Inkscape, GIMP, and Blender for the product label design.

You're speaking my language! I'll check those out.

 

[Retroman]

Will these work in any 16 mm hole ? I have a Langmuir Arcflat table. I assume the plug is tapered.