After an exchange of money for parts, and the inevitable wait while the parts crossed the pond and made it through UK customs, I have finally completed building my enclosure for my Sculpfun SF-A9 40W laser machine. The design of the V3 enclosure may be specific to a particular machine or it may be generic as in my case. The generic V3 enclosure was designed to fit a machine with a 400 x 400mm engraving area and the height permits the addition of a rotary unit that would allow engraving of a circular object with an 80mm diameter.
The additional extras I ordered were, 1) improved hardware for the hinges. 2) LED lighting. 3) A LightBurn compatible camera. 4) a 200cfm extraction fan. 5) amber coloured acrylic panels, which can potentially block some of the blue diode wavelengths. These are not certified as ANSI Z136.1 and were only tested with a spectroscope. The Clearview company clarified that you should always wear the appropriate certified safety goggles and not rely on their testing of the amber coloured acrylic panels.
Overall… my impression is that the enclosure is thoughtfully designed and should make using the laser a much more comfortable experience. The removal of smoke and particulates will benefit the health of the user. The adjustable air ports at the base of the enclosure will help to fine-tune the smoke and particulate removal. The well-designed bi-folding hinged lid offers very good access to the laser bed and aids workpiece insertion and removal. The LED lighting strips offer a useful improvement in lighting the workpiece. The LightBurn camera should simplify many tasks when engraving or cutting complex workpieces. Allowing sufficient height to insert and use a rotary module demonstrates that the enclosure is up-to-date and in tune with the most recent trends in laser engraving.
Would I recommend this enclosure? Yes, without question, this is a great improvement on the commonly available soft or semi-soft types of tent. The design does show that the people who manufacture the enclosure are laser users and wanted the most helpful enclosure they could produce. I had occasion to contact Clearview Plastics on occasion and their comments were always helpful. It was great to be able to discuss enclosure matters with the designer and CEO, Mr Neil Henderson. Over the next few days, I will post images of my enclosure in use.
Nice enclosure. I had to go with the DIY Fixed Income version.
The lift to open weight is about 5 pounds (geriatric exercise!). Box is 1"x2" furring strips and 1/8" plywood. Laser and honeycomb have position guides for the feet (Absolute Coords). 4" inline duct fan, 1" scavenger fans to push the smoke back. White switches are Power and Fan, toggle is USB switch for the SF-A9 40w/20w and an S30 10w on the left side.
Tested the viewing window by trying to cut it with 9.5w laser output. It cut, eventually. I called that my ANTSY Z1.0 Test.
LED light strip helps light up the Laser Room too.
Total cost less than $100 in materials if I had to buy everything…
When you are a retired old person with nothing else to spend your pension money on, you too can buy one.
I laughed at this use of ANSI. I was just too lazy to build my own enclosure and after trying out a tent from some far eastern nondescript company and finding it poorly conceived and constructed, I went with the Clearview Plastics option because it looked to be well-made and had a chance of doing the right thing.
My original laser was a JTech 4.2W and it never produced very much in the way of smoke so I used it successfully for years with just a P3 respirator and appropriate goggles. Testing my Sculpfun model and watching it power through four 3mm plywood cuts in under a minute, produced enough thick smoke to make me think an enclosure, goggles and a P3 mask was essential.
The rather fetching shade of red illumination is just the sort of colour one would expect to see in a Stanley Kubrick movie. Nicely done! I thought about where the lighting strips were showing with the open lid, that I would probably want to modify it. You could add a well lit dart board to keep you amused while the lid was open.
Nice! Velcro darts stop you from sticking them in people’s heads during a game of ‘arrers’ at the local, especially after a swift half or ten of something CAMERA approved.
