Whats the benefit of Air Assist?

[tim.brown002 (Tim Brown)]

HI please forgive if this is a totally ‘Newbie’ question. what is the benefit of using air assist, is there a set kit i can buy for the Ortur 2 20w? I would be very greatful if one of you chaps coud talk me though this a bit .

All the best !

Tim

[LightBurn (Oz)]

The power of air assist

I added air assist to my 3.5w diode laser with the hope that it would cut perhaps 2mm wood. I initially borrowed a fellow forum members 3d printer skills to obtain an adapter to fit the laser but this delivered the airflow a little too high and it was so noisy due to the diameter of the inlet. So I needed to change the noise issue and so I used a metal drinking straw which I feel directs the air better and increases the psi(?) as it’s a smaller outlet (5mm instead of 10mm). The noise is now g…

[tim.brown002 (Tim Brown)]

wow thank you so much, i am struggling to cut 3mm ply its like 100% at 100mm and 50 pass overs you can imaging its like a cinder, i was hoping air assist may help.

I love the idea of the straw, and thank you for including photos co I can see it.

may i ask which pump you are using, ( i have no idea at all about this)

Thanks for your help

[LightBurn (Oz)]

That’s not my own setup, just another user who posted theirs. For a smaller diode laser, even a simple aquarium pump will work. A needle valve, like you’d use to inflate a basketball or volleyball, makes a good air outlet too, as they direct the air in a narrow jet, which helps. You want the air to shoot into the hole being cut for maximum efficiency.

[Dave01 (Dave V)]

In a CO2 laser, the air would be introduced via a nozzle at the end of a lens tube. With a diode laser you have no lens tube. You want to et the air flow down in the cut as vertical as possible. The needle tube is a good idea to et a directional stream short of 3D printing a nozzle to go over / around your diode output.