PLEASE Show me your fume extractor setup

Cutting produces more smoke than engraving. I am telling you this so you don’t make the same mistake I did. I basically have the S6. I would spend a few more dollars for a stronger fan that’s built for static pressure. Honestly I would return mine but I already have everything built and used it.

You had great questions and digging into the research that I posted above and how it’s working made me change my mind. It’s better to have too much than not enough.

Cutting might make more smoke. But the process is way quicker. I also think the issue in your case is caused by the filters and maybe the lack of air intakes (not sure if you have them). Due to the filters you need a high static pressure or you’ll loose most of the airflow. My guess is that when the air flow isn’t restricted that much, it might be sufficient.

Also, It’s not about the budget. It’s about the size of the fan, the noise it produces and how it looks. So far I couldn’t find anything matching that criteria. Although I’m aware I’m asking for the impossible. :sweat_smile:

Ideally I want a radial fan. But those are so ridiculous ugly, loud, and bulky.

You’ve never cut before. I am telling you from extremely recent firsthand experience.

Of course I have them.

Hey, I’m just trying to help someone so they don’t waste money or find out the hard way. You asked for thoughts and I am telling you. I tried it without the filters as well.

I apologize for my wrong wording. The downside of being Dutch: Dutch directness isn’t conceived very well abroad. :sweat_smile: I wasn’t criticizing you. I’m venting my thoughts because I fail to understand why the mentioned fan isn’t sufficient.

Know that your feedback is really valuable. Without it I would already have ordered some sort of crappy fan. :joy:

The fan you linked to is apparently a really good fan. They do make centrifugal fans that look like inline fans.

My machine is larger than yours, and I have about as much CFM with both fans with filters as you’ll have with a single 6" no filter.

Cutting produces more smoke as it’s slower and you’re removing more material. Next time I run it I’ll show you the difference by video.

It’s always better to have more power than not enough.

I am running a 6" squirrel cage fan on my machine. It’s roughly as bis as @LaserWillie’s machine. I do not have any filters and I can watch the smoke draw off the project cutting or engraving. It is roughly 440 CFM. It’s still way better than the factory fan of 45CFM.

Hopefully I picked the correct conversion tool.
image

1 Like

I’ve read the factory fan was anywhere up to 400 CFM but the one on mine is a serious ??. For the most part I can see “normal” burning or cutting smoke come off but for heavy cutting it still gets a bit overwhelmed.

But 45 CFM? Man, that’s… really underpowered.

The centrifugal fan with good static pressure so they say! I would love to be able to route one of these outside in an 8" version.

I’d need to look at it again but it was a 6" computer case fan.

1 Like

We most likely have the same fan, but who knows with these machines. I figured a push/pull configuration would help, but the 4" was completely overwhelmed. I still have a lot of testing to do. Might not have it until a couple months in the New Year.

I am going to have a really big box of parts in the next few months. Hopefully I can find someone around here who needs parts cheap!

Inline fans can have a high free CFM rating for their size- but they can’t draw much static pressure before the CFM plummets. Performance depends on how much flow resistance you have in the way. The fan blades are airfoils, and have an angle of attack that changes with the incoming air velocity. When the flow is slower (due to restriction), the angle of attack increases until the blades stall and the airflow drops way off.

One thing of note, this is not clean air. Laser exhaust can build up quite a lot of crust over time. The blades can pick up encrustation that spoils their performance. More concerning, the transition between fixed and spinning part can become contaminated, or even the motor itself. But, they are cleanable and replaceable.

Also looking into this :eyes:

Willy, it looks very interesting. But I’m a little afraid that a laser machine will quickly clog this filter. Even more, the end price scares me. :scream:

1 Like

Yeah I am looking at ready made options, including one like this. You don’t have this inside a living space so you can go without filtration. I think you have a great fan already don’t you? Just try looking for “air scrubber” and see what you find.

Of course, it is a completely different issue when you have the machine and extraction indoors. But even though I have my exhaust outside, I have built a prefilter and an active carbon filter, it will be used with the new machine. It will be exciting to hear your results with your indoor solution, you have to pay further attention to the noise, it is not easy …

1 Like

Yes, It’s one of the major issues that need to be tackled for me.

My prefilters on BOTH filters, the 6" and the 4" (inlet size, not overall diameter) were clogged in just a few hours. Total burn/engrave time is about 3 hours.

So I would recommend a very large and easily washable pre filter. Next design will have a VERY large pre filter.

:dizzy_face: … I was scared to hear that. But I have a plan B, not so environmentally friendly but it works for outdoor use…

1 Like

I am thinking about putting one of these before the pre filter so that I get more use in between washing filters.

I have that cyclone from your other picture but use it as a cyclone for my woodworking machines and pre-filter for the vacuum cleaner, here it works very well. For use in connection with laser processing, I unfortunately think that it is not suitable, the gases that come from the laser are so sticky that I can not see how it can retain its function. Other than that, I do not think it is a problem with physical particles / small items from the laser that are sucked out, or I have not noticed it.
But that’s just my opinion and it’s not tested either

1 Like

Sounds like it’s tested to me! I appreciate the feedback. Yes, the fumes are sticky as heck from the atomized resin. Most of what collects is dust so my next prefilter will be quite large due to that. And easy to swap out oo.

I hate to be pedantic but that’s not always the case. Case fans are low pressure, the ones inside are high pressure. I linked to it above.

Fan Static Pressure – All Sensors | Put the Pressure on Us.