The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

The New Hotness

  • Laser Air Assist Pump Filter: Ewww!

    Nine months ago I packed cheesecloth around the laser’s air assist pump inlet to filter the smog:

    OMTech 60 W Laser Air Assist - cheesecloth filter installed
    OMTech 60 W Laser Air Assist – cheesecloth filter installed

    Which worked better than I expected.

    I think the track on the right side of the lower / outer filter faced the interior of the cabinet and collected some incoming smog:

    Laser cutter assist air filter - 9 months - outer
    Laser cutter assist air filter – 9 months – outer

    The wad packed around the inlet fitting accumulated even more, due to the concentrated air flow through the round opening:

    Laser cutter assist air filter - 9 months - inner
    Laser cutter assist air filter – 9 months – inner

    Thus we can confirm putting the air pump inside the cutting chamber is not a particularly good idea:

    OMTech 60W laser - Z motor - air pump
    OMTech 60W laser – Z motor – air pump

    My initial notion of drilling a hole through the bottom of the cabinet so the pump can breathe relatively clean basement air takes on new urgency …