I just wanted to know how to attach air to my laser module. Now I feel like an expert on air assist. Thank you for this excellent overview. I ordered the smaller pump. Happy lasering!
This may sound weird at first, but hear me out - - when cutting steel with an oxy/acetyline cutting torch, the flame only preheats the steel then when the lever is depressed, a stream of pure oxygen actually burns the steel to make the cut. Of course, if the stream of oxygen is too strong or moved too fast, then preheat is lost and the cutting stops. Now, understanding this concept, I think that part of what the air assist does is to supply extra oxygen to increase the cutting (burning) action of the laser. This would account for why too much does not work, it is blowing away the preheat (laser fire) and slows down the cutting (burning) - - would be interesting to attempt to prove this by using a cylinder of pure oxygen to assist - - caution would be that it might actually help to catch the wood on fire and cause a flame up. Just my random thoughts from being around steel working for 50 years - - - Great videos - - gives me a lot to think about - - and helps me to understand the machines -- THANK YOU
Perfectly logical and having used those torches in the past I can see where you are coming from. I'm not entirely sure the same applies here as there is no real combustion but would be an interesting experiment...
I suspect it has more to do with cooling than it does with oxygen supply, but now that you say that I'm not quite as sure as I was. Burning wood simply smolders and smokes when it doesn't have a supply of fresh air, and certainly burns clean and hot when it has a lot of fresh air, or pure oxygen. The edges are very clean on high pressure setup, and very dirty on the no air assist. Is it dirty because of collateral burning, or is it actually just stained from the smoldering oxygen-deprived flame front? Gosh dang it, now you've got my curiosity gland tingling.
I added air assist to mine, and used a refrigerator compressor for the supply. Because it is enclosed in a sealed unit, sits on 4 springs, and (basically) swims in its own oil supply, it is powerful yet very, very quiet. I'm also using a Flexible Water Oil Coolant Pipe (one of those segmented adjustable spray nozzle you see on lathes, etc) to direct the airflow right where I need it. Works a treat!
Well.. That confirms what I was thinking👍 I haven't got my laser yet, but have used refrigerator compressors/vacume pumps for various things in the past and was wondering if they do the trick. I also have, and was thinking of using a large compressor, but it would seem that's not the way to go.
What an awesome presentation. Instructive, precise and to the point. Wow, I wish all videos could be as excellent as yours. You have answered all my questions. Well done.
James, with the higher pressure compressor have you tried reducing the flow of the air. To me it will be the higher air flow that is cooling the laser contact point down which is preventing the laser from doing its job. It might be worth restricting the air flow and seeing if that makes a difference.
James, the laser is vaporizing the wood. High pressure counteracts the vaporization. I have found in all of my tests that a psi of 10-12 is the optimum setting for cutting, for a 6mm OD (5.85 ID) supply hose. At one time, before I did any testing, I was using a 4mm print nozzle on the end of the hose. I found that using just the open end of the hose worked best. I now use a 6mm copper tube. For engraving, I found 6-8 psi to be optimal. Great video by the way! I like how the workshop has progressed!
I purchased a air assist for the Atomstack A5pro. I am fairly new to lasers. I know that the "level" of air will make a difference and most of this will be trial & error but; What affect will the level do for say cutting or engraving? Example: Do I crank the air all the way up on the pump for cutting? Or is there a fine line where it will actually reduce the performance? And should I use air assist on low for engraving? Thinking it would help with smoke interference and clean some soot off as it goes?
When you use high pressure you are changing the dynamics of what Air Assist does. Air Assist operates under Air Dispersion. "An air dispersion model is a set of mathematical equations that relates the release of air pollutants from emission sources to the corresponding concentration of pollutants in the ambient air." The "set of mathematical equation" is the amount of air used to displace the dirty air with clean air. When you increase the air pressure the dynamics changes to a cooling effect. The added air flow starts to take not only the pollutant but the heat as well. It's more so a heat exchanger. With that you are now reducing the ambient temperature in the focal area. (I slept at Holiday Inn Express)
I 3D printed an air nozzle that works quite well. I have it hooked up to my air brush compressor. With no nozzle it would take 5 or 6 passes in 1.5mm hard maple to one pass with the air assist. It also goes from making a lot of smoke to almost none at all. I am running a Ortur LaserMaster 2Pro with the 5.4 watt output laser head. He mentioned the lens getting dirty on the laser. I have seen where guys have commented that their laser losses a lot of power after about 6 months. If you clean your lens it will probably double your power output. I know it did mine. I have run my laser about every day since I got it last June and it works as good as the first day I got it. I take that back, it works better because of the air assist nozzle I put on it.
James! This was an amazingly informative video! Thank you so much for the reference and shoutout! Air assist is absolutely critical for good success with laser cutting and engraving.
Świetny test, dziekuje. Przepływ powietrza pod głowicą ma za zadanie usunąć produkty spalania materiału, tak by laser nie musiał przebijać się przez mgłę dymu. Skutkiem ubocznym jest chłodzenie materiału, który przecież musi osiągnąć odpowiednią temperaturę by zacząć sublimować. Dlatego powinno nas interesować nie ciśnienie, a wydajność w litrach / minutę. Jeśli przepływ powietrza jest zbyt duży , chłodzi materiał szybciej niż laser go podgrzewa. Podłącz kompresor przemysłowy z dużą wydajnością, a na dyszy będziesz miał szron ;)
Hi James, Excellent video... I agree with John that moisture in the air flow is a likely cause. Another quick experiment would be to measure with a thermocouple the temperature at the laser spot position (with no laser running) for the 4 airflow modes. I suspect the expansion of the air as it leaves the nozzle will result in significant refrigeration effects
Thank you so much for this video and the great explanations. 😀 Sadly the pump from "Foxalien" seems not to be available anymore... So I did some research and found a stronger but adjustable aquarium pump with a maximum airflow of 16l/min. (While the pump from "Foxalien" claims to do 8 to 10 l/min...) I am still not sure why so many people in this comment section seem to talk about PSI or BAR instead of airflow / percolation, which made it very confusing for me and also much harder for me to find a pump with the required features. But I hope I found the right product now, since I can absolutely understand that too much airflow could cool down the laser...
My understanding is that wood will continue to burn for a short period after laser cut (burn) it. Air assist is meant to distinguish or minimise any secondary burn after the laser contact. However, too much air assist may reduce the perceived efficiency of the laser as the material do not continue to burn at all after initial energy absorption. So you get a cleaner but shallower cut/scorch. More passes or higher power will be needed to cut and if you engrave the image may appear fainter. I am not certain if too much air assist will reduce initial energy absorption (compare putting burnt skin under running tap water) but it will definitely dissipate any localised heat built up faster. The trick is to control the air flow of the air assist to stop too much secondary burn (reduce char) for an acceptable result without sacrificing too much efficiency if that is a concern.
A cheap "pump", and silent one, is a fridge compressor. It blows large amounts of air for "air-assist" and can go over 150 PSI...only down side is that it can spit some drops of oil. A small filter is a easy solution if you fear contamination of the lenses or on the product.
James, thanks so much for your excellent presentation. I'm using a pump similar to the AuquMiricle suggested in your notes. This type of pump puts out some pretty intense vibration. I suspect that it should be mounted in a way that the vibration does not transmit to the laser engraver to avoid engraving quality degradation. I'm interested in using my compressor to supply the air assist (my compressor is remote so I have no noise), and I suspect that the other commenters are right that the issue isn't just pressure, but also flow rate because of the cooling effect of high flow. I'd be really interested if you would continue your tests of compressor air assist at various pressures.
Thanks for this one, James! It came Just In Time as my new laser module came in yesterday, and I was just wondering what air assist option I would choose. I think the full power compressor blows too cold air (it expands from a tank, cooling it down, no matter at what pressure you set the outflow), thus effectively cooling down the laser contact point and reducing the laser's efficiency. I had not heard of the higher power air assist compresso r yet, so I thought of going the fish tank compressor route (nice and quiet). But now, I will investigate the slightly higher powered compressors as well. Thank you for your continuous efforts!
Yes, adiabatic expansion of the air. It looks like airflow is needed more than pressure. Think of letting air out of a bicycle tyre. It feels cool due to the adiabatic expansion. James mentioned his compressor regulator could not go lower than 40 psi. Perhaps if the regulator went to a lower pressure it may improve the performance by not cooling the material too much. Very informative and useful video. Dave.
Nice informative video. Trying to figure out air assist for my Atomstack and this helps me out a bunch. Was going to use my air compressor I have at home with about 10-20psi and see how it does. Thank you!
I'm using a refrigerator compressor with the pipe going through 2 x Coke bottles to remove moisture and a 1mm 3D printer nozzle screwed into the pipe at the laser end to give a finer flow. Not the most aesthetically nice setup but it seems to do the job. Or it did before I killed my laser 😂
Great series of videos, the compressor ,as I found, delivers chilled air typically 3 to 6 degrees, but it's damp as well, I tried running a two stage air dried without change in performance, I think if damp air being delivered , it would stand to reason that having to dry the material in order to cut or engrave is going to sap laser performance drastically ?
Pressure in and of itself doesn't tell you the whole story. It's important to also take into account the diameter of your nozzle and the distance of the nozzle to the cutting spot.
Not exactly what I was expecting. I'm using my koi pond pump. The Sea Otters discovered my pond and devoured over 140 of my Koi, thus freeing up my large air pump. I'm coming from the CO2 laser camp. Diodes are so much less fuss and fumble. I'm just getting started. Should be an interesting ride.
Yes, CO2 laser can require a lot more setup but even at this moment in time the strongest diode is only just reaching the your average CO2 so it's a bit of a trade off
Great video ! i have installed my air assist with my Atomstack laser machine : unfortunately the machine doesn't engrave anything now... maybe I have a too powerful tool :/
I need to do an updated video to this but I found the lack of moisture trap on the compressor wasn't helping. I bought a new compressor and had better results
I almost wonder if a part cooling fan from a 3d printer would work in place of using an external pump that requires running hoses. I may give this a shot because I have a few extra fans. Probably print it in abs to prevent warping due to heat from the laser.
thanks. really useful video for a noob like me. however - can I ask - why not simply have it suck not blow ? surely that would achieve the same thing AND you would easily be able to get rid of the fumes without blowing them around everywhere ?
Thanks. Sucking is better than nothing but the air assist helps by almost blasting some of the soot away from where it is cutting. Also you want the fume moving away from the laser beam and the lens so blowing makes sure it stays clean and clear. I great solutions would be the air blowing through the nozzle and then something separate off to the side sucking all the dirty air away
I think that an explanation for the higher pressure being less efficient would be cooling. At some point the air flow could be fast enough to cool the surface as the laser attempts to heat it, thus eliminating the advantage of removing the smoke. I think that even at a lower pressure a full size compressor will supply a higher air flow.
@@dr.digitalia Not really, as it would not only increase all over burn again, but as well still transport away heat (unless it's hot enough to burn the wood by its own :)) The air flow nozzle is all about removing dust. By focusing a high pressure 'beam' down the cut it removes dust from the area where the laser beam hits, reducing fading effects on the laser. On a side effect it adds cooling. At a certain point adding more pressure will not improve dust removal any further, as all is already removed as soon as it happens. Now it only adds to the secondary effect of cooling the material, making the laser _less_ efficient. If at all, a combination of two different air flow systems might be a solution. There are two effects at work. One is pressure (and comparably low air flow) for dust removal. The high pressure is a spot effect. It needs only to exist along the laser beam and down the cut. The other is heat transfer thru air flow (as in l/s). That is as more air flows per time over a given area, as higher the cooling in the affected area is. Air volume transports heat. This is BTW why the higher pressure of the big compressor gives lesser cutting: With a given nozzle, increasing pressure does not only increase dust removal, but as well increase air flow, thus cooling. Cooling exactly where we do not really want it: right where the laser hits (now, this could be countered by a stronger laser which then would enable almost burn free cutting - but these are _way_ outside our home budget :)) Bottom line: when using a nozzle, like shown, there is an optimal point where most dust gets removed fast enough to improve cutting, but at the same time pushes least amount of air over the surface to keep cooling at the lasers work spot to a minimum. An optimal combination might be a small (smaller than with the shown nozzle) focused, higher pressure air beam going just along the laser, going down the cut clearing the path, surrounded by a larger air flow but lower pressure mantle keeping the surface _outside_ the cutting zone cooled down, but not the work spot. Then again, nor sure if it's worth it, might be u to some trial.
Hi James! Very helpful video. I just recently attended to air assist on my cnc3018. I already have a compressor with a capacity of 70 l / min. I direct the air using a plastic tube tied to the module by zip. The result is already much better than without assist. Now I'm waiting for a new module for 20W (5.5W optical) and I plan to supply air through an air nozzle, such as in your video. I hope the result will please me and I will be able to cut 3 mm plywood in a couple of passes. By the way, I was surprised that the displacement along the Z axis with each pass does not bring the desired result. In practice, everything is not always as accurate as in theory.
I was thinking maybe it’s because every time you adjust the laser level, the woods has time to cool down, where when you just do 2 passes it does it all in sequence in which wood stays hotter and cuts better, so maybe that’s why it works better not to change the level of the laser.
40 psi = 2.7 Bar? Ducking hell! That's a lot of pressure for sure. Mine has a totally analogue regulator which i can use from zero to maximum, so i can set the outgoing pressure without limit. I found that the best is around 1,1-1.3 Bar = 15-19 PSI above than that its just waste of air and more chance to condense water. However there is one more thing against the compressor even i use that and i am impressed with the result: the problem is the compressor turns on too often. Mine is a 10 bar, 50liter oil free comp. And using it on 1.2 Bar, it turns on every 5 minutes and working for 2 minutes. (turns on at 8bar, stops at 10ish) That is way much for long term use. Even i don't care about the noise, (my laser is in the workshop) i don't have problem with space, but i still want to use this compressor after a few months as well. But in this way, i am worried because it might kills it. That's why i am about to go for a 70l/min pump.
I've been wanting to get one of these machines but your test proves my theory! I'm glad you did it. I believe lasers work best in a vacuum. Also believe that nozzle works as a vacuum. I would actually like to see a test done without the air nozzle attachment. What I mean is put the brass fitting on there but without the extra piece to fit the rubber hose. The ionized air from the laser will be pushed out thus creating a vacuum. Air is dirty and has particles in it that diffract from the light. That might be why that you see the result that you're getting is because when you push too much air in there you're not getting the best result. I really like that test in fact when I get mine when I get around to it I might order a second brass fitting without the nozzle attachment. You could always plug it up but they're still going to be air trapped in there because of the little nozzle tube. Additionally, when air is coming out it is fanning the flames so to speak. That might be why you need to turn off the air when stenciling the letters. But for a more powerful laser vacuum I believe so far is the way to go ( at least in cutting).
@@JamesDeanDesigns Ehh, a couple of science classes and a little movie called "Real genius"'. I thought it was real interesting when your results showed too much air can have a negative effect. Great test.
interesting and well done video , im about to join the laser cutting gang.. but i dont think air pressure has anything to do with it rather its CFM that will make a difference or more likely the quality and amount of air that being said if your using the same attachment and tube size then higher pressure should move more air but it would be more turbulent i would think coming out at a faster rate rather than using a larger tube feeding the air assist unit any fluid dynamic experts here ?
I agree that CFM (and keeping the air temperature high) is important and using pressure only high enough to overcome the system friction. I too am about to dive in! If pressure needs to be higher, the air needs to be heated somewhere along the path to maintain temperature. I think, therefore, that the nozzle that goes over the laser is the way to go. As an extreme example, consider my father in law's experience at the NASA AMES research center where they had a wind tunnel achieving Mach 20 by high pressure expansion through a divergent nozzle. The isentropic expansion dropped the air temperature to the point where the air liquefied, thus reducing the volume and velocity. They overcame this obstacle by heating the air in a furnace before the expansion!
Hi James, Thank you very much for all the Great and Useful Videos you have provided us all with. Fantastic Job. Could you please let me know where I could find a Usable and Downloadable, Power and Speed Test Grid for LaserGRBL. Plus a Grey Scale. Thank You James, Kind Regards.
Just wondering if the full size compressor is making the wood moist with the air condensation caused by compression. I wonder if it would work better if it had an air dryer.
Outstanding video. I am brand new to the hobby and found this very easy to understand. Quick question, I have seen many makers use those test files with the grids showing speed and power in a grid in their videos. Are they available publicly somewhere or are they homemade?
Here you go. You do need lightburn to do this but it is well worth the money. I could possibly try and export the gcode for you if you don't have lightburn ruclips.net/video/0T6BdIoynOE/видео.html
@@JamesDeanDesigns I purchased Lightburn when I saw how many folks in the hobby recommended it. Still learning it but this sort of test to run on different materials will help a lot
Hi James, thanks for this video. Very thorough. Your conclusions makes total sense. After seeing this video for a second time, I remembered a Physics of Fluids concept called Reynolds Number (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number). This number helps to determine if a fluid (in this case, air) is following a laminar or a turbulent flow. If the air pressure is high enough or the air volume is high enough (implies about the same, high pressure and high volume of air through the same pipe), the flow of air will be turbulent. Turbulence could act to distort the density of air, having pockets of dense air near pockets of rarified air that will get the laser out of focus in a chaotic way. By the contrary, if the flow is laminar, the density of air will be homogeneous, keeping the focus of the beam as close as possible, hence your conclusion about the pressure. Keep in mind that the laser is also heating the air around the laser, but it happens in any condition. The Reynolds Number considers the diameter of the pipe and its length; hence the most critical point will be the most restrictive diameter. This could be the exit nozzle.
Hi James, I am a newbie on all things CNC but making good progress thanks to your videos! Keep the great job, my friend. A question about laser air assist: From what I have seen on your video, it all goes down to having the smoke removed out of the laser's way, basically. In such respect, won't a vacuum pump (like the ones used for dust when milling) perform a similar function? Thanks!
Yes and no. Its the removal of smoke but also the cooling if the surface which stops the over burn. So yes a vacuum will certainly help but not as efficient as a pump (to my knowledge anyway)
To laser material, you are esentially burning off material, so it makes sense that too much air = too much cooling, not enough temperature to properly burn off the given material.
That is correct. I also didn't have a moisture trap in the compressor at the time. I have made some changes since and I generally now do use the compressor but on a low PSI setting
I was just about t to ask the same question. I was looking at them to paint stencils made with the laser cutter. So would make a lot of use from one. There are many to choose from, some just pumps and some have tanks. Could make for a good new video.
Hi James 👋 thanks for all the great video. I have the atom stak a5pro laser , can you buy an air assit kit for it? If so where from please. Keep up the good work
Hi there...GR8 video 👍 Do you know if 140 Litres per minute would be too much for a desktop compressor? (Hailea ACO 009E) I'm leaning towards getting it for my Ortur LM2 Pro LU2-4 LF air nozzle. I'm thinking better to have more than less 🤔
Great informative video. I've been trying to purchase the Foxalien Air Assist unit reviewed in the video but unable to find a supplier. Foxalien have no stock and apparently aren't able to supply european countries. Has anyone found a supplier of this item please?
Just curious, are you using a water separator/moisture trap on your compressor? Just wondering if maybe moisture is responsible for the poor performance when using the compressor 🤔
Hi James, love the videos and find them really useful as my son and I are beginners. I can’t find details on when and what to put under ply when laser cutting. In some videos there looks like a metal lattice but can’t tell in others. If cutting thin ply right through in several places (like a jigsaw) is it best to have a solid waste wood base? Thanks in advance. Robin
A really common and cheap option is a baking cooling rack. it just need to hold the material off the base and not have much in the way so anything wire frame based will help. Underneath that on the bed you can either just have wood, a piece of metal, essentially you just want something that is not going to burn too much
This may be a silly idea, however is it feasible to use a vaccum cleaner to suck the smoke and residue away? I've read some reports suggesting the ash and debris can get stuck in the honeycomb table work surfaces so this could avoid that, plus it would be fair low cost...
Has your conventional air compressor ever been drained? I wonder if it's accumulating moisture, and if it's enough to counteract the cutting ability of the laser. I know that the compressor I use for work will eventually condense so much ambient moisture from the air that it will actually start to spray water through the lines.
I just ordered a laser engraver with air assist. I was wondering if I could use my airbrush compressor for the air supply. It is a small desktop unit with a 3 liter tank. It's very quiet as I have had conversations on speaker phone while painting. It also has an air dryer on the output of the tank because moisture in the air will effect the paint. The regulator can go from 150psi max down to around 5psi.
Just received my Ortur Laser Master 2 Pro-2-LF. I ordered it with the air assist. The supplied air connector is the same as my Iwata Neo air brush uses. So yes it will work and I don't need to buy any new parts. It's win win for me. Just to let anyone know how it worked out for me
Great explainer. How do you activate the 12v plug on the laser board? I got a Genmitsu compressor with that little plug and it fits the 12v socket on my Atomstack P7 controller, but it doesn't turn on the compressor (I'm using LightBurn and turning on the air toggle). So I'm using it with a power block/wall wart manually... air definitely makes a huge difference! Would love if someone can shed light on using the small 12v output on my P7. Thanks.
Not all boards will handle it but make sure air assist is switched on in Lightburn and I believe it is the M8 command within the coding to turn it on and then M9 to turn it off
Thanks for the video, great information. I built an enclosure with an extract fan. I designed the case to suck air from the front door so the air flow goes over the piece where it is extracted at the rear of the case. I used a usb fan from the cheap shop and works great. I brought a ACO 208 pump from amazon for 30ish GBP which I will install for air asist. In regards to the nozzle, what size hole is recommended? is direct flow parallel to the laser beam better than one at an angle? I would suspect parallel is better but im am new to lasers. I dont want to machine a nozzle and waste time if both are just as good. Thanks
The design of my 3d printed one tends to blow the air out of one side so I need to try and improve that. If possible Im going to offset the inflow to one side to try and cause a cyclone flow through the nozzle.
This is very useful, it does seem that you like what you described as the "air assist pump" with the red on off switch, where did you buy that as I can not find it, unless it is something you made?
Hi, Mr. Dean! I hope you can help me about my cnc 3018 mini pro laser. My laser have a switch knob at the top of the fan. Basically, everytime I am going to use it. I manually switch the laser before printing. My problem was, I can't make it right the exact heat of my laser. Sometimes it's too hot and sometimes it's not printing properly. It has a constant heat. Is there something I missed? Please help me. Thank you...
Could you use this to cut thin metal? People use nitrogen and oxygen assist to cut metal with co2 lasers, so maybe normal compressed air should work too since air is ~78% nitrogen, ~21% oxygen.
Diode lasers hardly have an effect on metal unfortunately so I I don't think they would cut metal. Maybe something like tin foil but certainly not sheet metal
@@JamesDeanDesigns sorry, I've been watching so many co2 laser videos it didn't stick that you were using a diode laser. That's not going to work (unless maybe you had a 20kW diode laser :)).
I'm not familiar with that laser so I don't know what size it is. Contact Jakub at Lazer Wizard, tell I him referred you and he may be able to make you one as he makes them for lots of lasers ruclips.net/channel/UCRSmgp890HMHBBXewwKOrgg
James, What type or colored acrylic provides eye protection for a laser? I’m considering building a screen vs glasses. Thanks. Really enjoy your videos
Depends on the colour of your laser bean but general speaking clear amber orange acrylic is the best. What I would add is this will only offer so much protection so try not to stare at the laser
I just wanted to know how to attach air to my laser module. Now I feel like an expert on air assist. Thank you for this excellent overview. I ordered the smaller pump. Happy lasering!
This may sound weird at first, but hear me out - - when cutting steel with an oxy/acetyline cutting torch, the flame only preheats the steel then when the lever is depressed, a stream of pure oxygen actually burns the steel to make the cut. Of course, if the stream of oxygen is too strong or moved too fast, then preheat is lost and the cutting stops. Now, understanding this concept, I think that part of what the air assist does is to supply extra oxygen to increase the cutting (burning) action of the laser. This would account for why too much does not work, it is blowing away the preheat (laser fire) and slows down the cutting (burning) - - would be interesting to attempt to prove this by using a cylinder of pure oxygen to assist - - caution would be that it might actually help to catch the wood on fire and cause a flame up.
Just my random thoughts from being around steel working for 50 years - - -
Great videos - - gives me a lot to think about - - and helps me to understand the machines --
THANK YOU
Perfectly logical and having used those torches in the past I can see where you are coming from. I'm not entirely sure the same applies here as there is no real combustion but would be an interesting experiment...
I suspect it has more to do with cooling than it does with oxygen supply, but now that you say that I'm not quite as sure as I was. Burning wood simply smolders and smokes when it doesn't have a supply of fresh air, and certainly burns clean and hot when it has a lot of fresh air, or pure oxygen. The edges are very clean on high pressure setup, and very dirty on the no air assist. Is it dirty because of collateral burning, or is it actually just stained from the smoldering oxygen-deprived flame front? Gosh dang it, now you've got my curiosity gland tingling.
I added air assist to mine, and used a refrigerator compressor for the supply. Because it is enclosed in a sealed unit, sits on 4 springs, and (basically) swims in its own oil supply, it is powerful yet very, very quiet. I'm also using a Flexible Water Oil Coolant Pipe (one of those segmented adjustable spray nozzle you see on lathes, etc) to direct the airflow right where I need it. Works a treat!
sounds ideal. Nice one
Well.. That confirms what I was thinking👍
I haven't got my laser yet, but have used refrigerator compressors/vacume pumps for various things in the past and was wondering if they do the trick.
I also have, and was thinking of using a large compressor, but it would seem that's not the way to go.
What an awesome presentation. Instructive, precise and to the point. Wow, I wish all videos could be as excellent as yours. You have answered all my questions. Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
James, with the higher pressure compressor have you tried reducing the flow of the air. To me it will be the higher air flow that is cooling the laser contact point down which is preventing the laser from doing its job. It might be worth restricting the air flow and seeing if that makes a difference.
That is only a problem with metal
James, the laser is vaporizing the wood. High pressure counteracts the vaporization. I have found in all of my tests that a psi of 10-12 is the optimum setting for cutting, for a 6mm OD (5.85 ID) supply hose. At one time, before I did any testing, I was using a 4mm print nozzle on the end of the hose. I found that using just the open end of the hose worked best. I now use a 6mm copper tube. For engraving, I found 6-8 psi to be optimal. Great video by the way! I like how the workshop has progressed!
Thank you this is very precious information but could you tell me how I could transfer those PSI values into l/min?
I purchased a air assist for the Atomstack A5pro. I am fairly new to lasers. I know that the "level" of air will make a difference and most of this will be trial & error but; What affect will the level do for say cutting or engraving? Example: Do I crank the air all the way up on the pump for cutting? Or is there a fine line where it will actually reduce the performance?
And should I use air assist on low for engraving? Thinking it would help with smoke interference and clean some soot off as it goes?
When you use high pressure you are changing the dynamics of what Air Assist does. Air Assist operates under Air Dispersion. "An air dispersion model is a set of mathematical equations that relates the release of air pollutants from emission sources to the corresponding concentration of pollutants in the ambient air." The "set of mathematical equation" is the amount of air used to displace the dirty air with clean air. When you increase the air pressure the dynamics changes to a cooling effect. The added air flow starts to take not only the pollutant but the heat as well.
It's more so a heat exchanger. With that you are now reducing the ambient temperature in the focal area. (I slept at Holiday Inn Express)
I 3D printed an air nozzle that works quite well. I have it hooked up to my air brush compressor. With no nozzle it would take 5 or 6 passes in 1.5mm hard maple to one pass with the air assist. It also goes from making a lot of smoke to almost none at all. I am running a Ortur LaserMaster 2Pro with the 5.4 watt output laser head.
He mentioned the lens getting dirty on the laser. I have seen where guys have commented that their laser losses a lot of power after about 6 months. If you clean your lens it will probably double your power output. I know it did mine. I have run my laser about every day since I got it last June and it works as good as the first day I got it. I take that back, it works better because of the air assist nozzle I put on it.
People often forget that point, the smoke will stick to anything including the lens and it needs to be cleaned.
James! This was an amazingly informative video! Thank you so much for the reference and shoutout! Air assist is absolutely critical for good success with laser cutting and engraving.
No problem. I gave you a shout out as well when I did the video for the 20w laser. Hopefully it all helps 👍
@Adam Fillius, this is the guy who makes them.
Świetny test, dziekuje.
Przepływ powietrza pod głowicą ma za zadanie usunąć produkty spalania materiału, tak by laser nie musiał przebijać się przez mgłę dymu. Skutkiem ubocznym jest chłodzenie materiału, który przecież musi osiągnąć odpowiednią temperaturę by zacząć sublimować. Dlatego powinno nas interesować nie ciśnienie, a wydajność w litrach / minutę. Jeśli przepływ powietrza jest zbyt duży , chłodzi materiał szybciej niż laser go podgrzewa.
Podłącz kompresor przemysłowy z dużą wydajnością, a na dyszy będziesz miał szron ;)
Hi James, Excellent video... I agree with John that moisture in the air flow is a likely cause. Another quick experiment would be to measure with a thermocouple the temperature at the laser spot position (with no laser running) for the 4 airflow modes. I suspect the expansion of the air as it leaves the nozzle will result in significant refrigeration effects
That sounds really scientific like myth busters! I just need to find the time to test it :)
Thanks. Finally a gy who isn't trying to act for the camera. Just good information,
Thank you 👍
Thank you so much for this video and the great explanations. 😀
Sadly the pump from "Foxalien" seems not to be available anymore...
So I did some research and found a stronger but adjustable aquarium pump with a maximum airflow of 16l/min.
(While the pump from "Foxalien" claims to do 8 to 10 l/min...)
I am still not sure why so many people in this comment section seem to talk about PSI or BAR instead of airflow / percolation, which made it very confusing for me and also much harder for me to find a pump with the required features.
But I hope I found the right product now, since I can absolutely understand that too much airflow could cool down the laser...
hello mate would you be kind enough to link me to your pump ? Im sturggling to find what your talking about! 😂
Thanks Liam.
i have a fish tank pump kicking about the house so will give it a try later thanks for that very helpfull
My understanding is that wood will continue to burn for a short period after laser cut (burn) it. Air assist is meant to distinguish or minimise any secondary burn after the laser contact.
However, too much air assist may reduce the perceived efficiency of the laser as the material do not continue to burn at all after initial energy absorption. So you get a cleaner but shallower cut/scorch.
More passes or higher power will be needed to cut and if you engrave the image may appear fainter. I am not certain if too much air assist will reduce initial energy absorption (compare putting burnt skin under running tap water) but it will definitely dissipate any localised heat built up faster.
The trick is to control the air flow of the air assist to stop too much secondary burn (reduce char) for an acceptable result without sacrificing too much efficiency if that is a concern.
A cheap "pump", and silent one, is a fridge compressor. It blows large amounts of air for "air-assist" and can go over 150 PSI...only down side is that it can spit some drops of oil. A small filter is a easy solution if you fear contamination of the lenses or on the product.
Outstanding video 🙂 it would be very interesting if you gave a tutorial on how to mount the air assist on TwoTrees TS3.
When using air assist you are also adding oxygen to the burn, thereby increasing the burn rate.
Superb video!!! Perfect in any way! Systematic, methodological, explanatory, combined with a broad introduction, testing and conclusion... THANKS!!!
Great episode!! This has helped me greatly on deciding which air pump to start looking at!! Thank you!!
Love your video!!! Great video
Thank you 👍
James, thanks so much for your excellent presentation. I'm using a pump similar to the AuquMiricle suggested in your notes. This type of pump puts out some pretty intense vibration. I suspect that it should be mounted in a way that the vibration does not transmit to the laser engraver to avoid engraving quality degradation. I'm interested in using my compressor to supply the air assist (my compressor is remote so I have no noise), and I suspect that the other commenters are right that the issue isn't just pressure, but also flow rate because of the cooling effect of high flow. I'd be really interested if you would continue your tests of compressor air assist at various pressures.
Air assist is more beneficial if the stream of air is facing down into the kerf with the laser, not at the side like I have seen on many FB posts.
Thats exactly what I say in this video, although any air assist is better than none
Amazing test... Good job dude, you rules 😉😜👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks for your insight to the air assist.
glad it helped
Thanks for this one, James! It came Just In Time as my new laser module came in yesterday, and I was just wondering what air assist option I would choose.
I think the full power compressor blows too cold air (it expands from a tank, cooling it down, no matter at what pressure you set the outflow), thus effectively cooling down the laser contact point and reducing the laser's efficiency. I had not heard of the higher power air assist compresso r yet, so I thought of going the fish tank compressor route (nice and quiet). But now, I will investigate the slightly higher powered compressors as well.
Thank you for your continuous efforts!
I think that's sounds right regarding the pressure 👍
Yes, adiabatic expansion of the air. It looks like airflow is needed more than pressure. Think of letting air out of a bicycle tyre. It feels cool due to the adiabatic expansion.
James mentioned his compressor regulator could not go lower than 40 psi. Perhaps if the regulator went to a lower pressure it may improve the performance by not cooling the material too much.
Very informative and useful video.
Dave.
what modules did you buy and how much did it cost??
James, thanks for the excellent video!
Could it be that high pressure lowers the burn temperature enough to effect the cut ?
I think that might be the case. It's cooling it too much
bravo pour cette brillante démonstration merci
Laser engraving maestro
Nice informative video. Trying to figure out air assist for my Atomstack and this helps me out a bunch. Was going to use my air compressor I have at home with about 10-20psi and see how it does. Thank you!
Glad it helped!
Thank you this is very precious information but could you tell me how I could transfer those PSI values into l/min?
Excellent presentation, very informative!!
🙏 thank you
I'm using a refrigerator compressor with the pipe going through 2 x Coke bottles to remove moisture and a 1mm 3D printer nozzle screwed into the pipe at the laser end to give a finer flow. Not the most aesthetically nice setup but it seems to do the job. Or it did before I killed my laser 😂
Great series of videos, the compressor ,as I found, delivers chilled air typically 3 to 6 degrees, but it's damp as well, I tried running a two stage air dried without change in performance, I think if damp air being delivered , it would stand to reason that having to dry the material in order to cut or engrave is going to sap laser performance drastically ?
Thats very true. I didnt take moisture into consideration when doing my testing which would have a negative impact
Pressure in and of itself doesn't tell you the whole story. It's important to also take into account the diameter of your nozzle and the distance of the nozzle to the cutting spot.
Thank you, very informative!!
Not exactly what I was expecting. I'm using my koi pond pump. The Sea Otters discovered my pond and devoured over 140 of my Koi, thus freeing up my large air pump. I'm coming from the CO2 laser camp. Diodes are so much less fuss and fumble. I'm just getting started. Should be an interesting ride.
Yes, CO2 laser can require a lot more setup but even at this moment in time the strongest diode is only just reaching the your average CO2 so it's a bit of a trade off
Great research. thank you
Great video ! i have installed my air assist with my Atomstack laser machine : unfortunately the machine doesn't engrave anything now... maybe I have a too powerful tool :/
EXCELLENT VIDEO ; THANKS A LOT
Glad it helped
Thanks!
Welcome!
Thank you!!!
Seems the high pressure is extinguishing the burn before it has time to fully evaporate the material
I need to do an updated video to this but I found the lack of moisture trap on the compressor wasn't helping. I bought a new compressor and had better results
I almost wonder if a part cooling fan from a 3d printer would work in place of using an external pump that requires running hoses. I may give this a shot because I have a few extra fans. Probably print it in abs to prevent warping due to heat from the laser.
It will help, but may lack the pressure of a pump. But always worth a shot
What is the difference in pressure and air flow between the two pumps?
thanks. really useful video for a noob like me. however - can I ask - why not simply have it suck not blow ? surely that would achieve the same thing AND you would easily be able to get rid of the fumes without blowing them around everywhere ?
Thanks. Sucking is better than nothing but the air assist helps by almost blasting some of the soot away from where it is cutting. Also you want the fume moving away from the laser beam and the lens so blowing makes sure it stays clean and clear. I great solutions would be the air blowing through the nozzle and then something separate off to the side sucking all the dirty air away
I think that an explanation for the higher pressure being less efficient would be cooling. At some point the air flow could be fast enough to cool the surface as the laser attempts to heat it, thus eliminating the advantage of removing the smoke. I think that even at a lower pressure a full size compressor will supply a higher air flow.
That makes sense 👍
then, the best option is a really hot air assist on high pressures??
@@dr.digitalia didn't know there was such a thing but potentially that would help
@@dr.digitalia Not really, as it would not only increase all over burn again, but as well still transport away heat (unless it's hot enough to burn the wood by its own :))
The air flow nozzle is all about removing dust. By focusing a high pressure 'beam' down the cut it removes dust from the area where the laser beam hits, reducing fading effects on the laser. On a side effect it adds cooling. At a certain point adding more pressure will not improve dust removal any further, as all is already removed as soon as it happens. Now it only adds to the secondary effect of cooling the material, making the laser _less_ efficient.
If at all, a combination of two different air flow systems might be a solution. There are two effects at work. One is pressure (and comparably low air flow) for dust removal. The high pressure is a spot effect. It needs only to exist along the laser beam and down the cut. The other is heat transfer thru air flow (as in l/s). That is as more air flows per time over a given area, as higher the cooling in the affected area is. Air volume transports heat.
This is BTW why the higher pressure of the big compressor gives lesser cutting: With a given nozzle, increasing pressure does not only increase dust removal, but as well increase air flow, thus cooling. Cooling exactly where we do not really want it: right where the laser hits (now, this could be countered by a stronger laser which then would enable almost burn free cutting - but these are _way_ outside our home budget :))
Bottom line: when using a nozzle, like shown, there is an optimal point where most dust gets removed fast enough to improve cutting, but at the same time pushes least amount of air over the surface to keep cooling at the lasers work spot to a minimum.
An optimal combination might be a small (smaller than with the shown nozzle) focused, higher pressure air beam going just along the laser, going down the cut clearing the path, surrounded by a larger air flow but lower pressure mantle keeping the surface _outside_ the cutting zone cooled down, but not the work spot. Then again, nor sure if it's worth it, might be u to some trial.
Is it possible the big full size compressor blows the cooler and moisture air that lower the temperature too much?
Hi James! Very helpful video. I just recently attended to air assist on my cnc3018. I already have a compressor with a capacity of 70 l / min. I direct the air using a plastic tube tied to the module by zip. The result is already much better than without assist. Now I'm waiting for a new module for 20W (5.5W optical) and I plan to supply air through an air nozzle, such as in your video. I hope the result will please me and I will be able to cut 3 mm plywood in a couple of passes. By the way, I was surprised that the displacement along the Z axis with each pass does not bring the desired result. In practice, everything is not always as accurate as in theory.
It really confused me as well. I suppose this is why we do tests 😁
I was thinking maybe it’s because every time you adjust the laser level, the woods has time to cool down, where when you just do 2 passes it does it all in sequence in which wood stays hotter and cuts better, so maybe that’s why it works better not to change the level of the laser.
40 psi = 2.7 Bar? Ducking hell! That's a lot of pressure for sure. Mine has a totally analogue regulator which i can use from zero to maximum, so i can set the outgoing pressure without limit. I found that the best is around 1,1-1.3 Bar = 15-19 PSI above than that its just waste of air and more chance to condense water. However there is one more thing against the compressor even i use that and i am impressed with the result: the problem is the compressor turns on too often. Mine is a 10 bar, 50liter oil free comp. And using it on 1.2 Bar, it turns on every 5 minutes and working for 2 minutes. (turns on at 8bar, stops at 10ish) That is way much for long term use. Even i don't care about the noise, (my laser is in the workshop) i don't have problem with space, but i still want to use this compressor after a few months as well. But in this way, i am worried because it might kills it. That's why i am about to go for a 70l/min pump.
Thank you this is very precious information but could you tell me how I could transfer those PSI values into l/min?
I've been wanting to get one of these machines but your test proves my theory! I'm glad you did it. I believe lasers work best in a vacuum. Also believe that nozzle works as a vacuum. I would actually like to see a test done without the air nozzle attachment. What I mean is put the brass fitting on there but without the extra piece to fit the rubber hose. The ionized air from the laser will be pushed out thus creating a vacuum. Air is dirty and has particles in it that diffract from the light. That might be why that you see the result that you're getting is because when you push too much air in there you're not getting the best result. I really like that test in fact when I get mine when I get around to it I might order a second brass fitting without the nozzle attachment. You could always plug it up but they're still going to be air trapped in there because of the little nozzle tube.
Additionally, when air is coming out it is fanning the flames so to speak. That might be why you need to turn off the air when stenciling the letters.
But for a more powerful laser vacuum I believe so far is the way to go ( at least in cutting).
It sounds like you know much more about the physics than I do :) but I might try that test the next time I have the laser on.
@@JamesDeanDesigns
Ehh, a couple of science classes and a little movie called "Real genius"'.
I thought it was real interesting when your results showed too much air can have a negative effect. Great test.
VacAssist (Filtered), with Air Assist front end. One pump...
Air assist on my Falcon 2 stopped working midway thru a project, now I can't use the machine at all.
Le tue spiegazioni e consigli sono molto molto interessanti peccato che non sono sottotitolati in italiano ciao Ferdinando
I am completly new in lasercutting but I thing that too hight pressure will give you fibrations in the laserhead and by this causing focusing trouble.
Thats one thing I hadn't taken into account but makes perfect sense 👍
interesting and well done video , im about to join the laser cutting gang..
but i dont think air pressure has anything to do with it rather its CFM that will make a difference or more likely the quality and amount of air
that being said if your using the same attachment and tube size then higher pressure should move more air but it would be more turbulent i would think coming out at a faster rate rather than using a larger tube feeding the air assist unit
any fluid dynamic experts here ?
I agree that CFM (and keeping the air temperature high) is important and using pressure only high enough to overcome the system friction. I too am about to dive in! If pressure needs to be higher, the air needs to be heated somewhere along the path to maintain temperature. I think, therefore, that the nozzle that goes over the laser is the way to go. As an extreme example, consider my father in law's experience at the NASA AMES research center where they had a wind tunnel achieving Mach 20 by high pressure expansion through a divergent nozzle. The isentropic expansion dropped the air temperature to the point where the air liquefied, thus reducing the volume and velocity. They overcame this obstacle by heating the air in a furnace before the expansion!
Hi James, Thank you very much for all the Great and Useful Videos you have provided us all with. Fantastic Job. Could you please let me know where I could find a Usable and Downloadable, Power and Speed Test Grid for LaserGRBL. Plus a Grey Scale. Thank You James, Kind Regards.
Hi, I dont know any sources as usually people do them in lightburn. I could possibly try and convert one for you.
@@JamesDeanDesigns That would be Fantastic if you could James. Thank you very much.
Just my 2 cents; dont even have a laser unit. It could be the pressure isn't the problem where as the air volume flow is the solution
Definitely. I think there are a few factors I need to look at
Just wondering if the full size compressor is making the wood moist with the air condensation caused by compression. I wonder if it would work better if it had an air dryer.
Yes, I upgraded my compressor to one with a moisture trap and it works much better now
When I added a 50L air assist to my k40 laser It turns on and off by itself, what is the SOLUTION please 🥺
Outstanding video. I am brand new to the hobby and found this very easy to understand. Quick question, I have seen many makers use those test files with the grids showing speed and power in a grid in their videos. Are they available publicly somewhere or are they homemade?
Here you go. You do need lightburn to do this but it is well worth the money. I could possibly try and export the gcode for you if you don't have lightburn
ruclips.net/video/0T6BdIoynOE/видео.html
@@JamesDeanDesigns I purchased Lightburn when I saw how many folks in the hobby recommended it. Still learning it but this sort of test to run on different materials will help a lot
Looks like the home fan is blowing the heat around and burning. What about cooling the product before using it?
Hi James, thanks for this video. Very thorough. Your conclusions makes total sense.
After seeing this video for a second time, I remembered a Physics of Fluids concept called Reynolds Number (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number). This number helps to determine if a fluid (in this case, air) is following a laminar or a turbulent flow. If the air pressure is high enough or the air volume is high enough (implies about the same, high pressure and high volume of air through the same pipe), the flow of air will be turbulent. Turbulence could act to distort the density of air, having pockets of dense air near pockets of rarified air that will get the laser out of focus in a chaotic way. By the contrary, if the flow is laminar, the density of air will be homogeneous, keeping the focus of the beam as close as possible, hence your conclusion about the pressure. Keep in mind that the laser is also heating the air around the laser, but it happens in any condition. The Reynolds Number considers the diameter of the pipe and its length; hence the most critical point will be the most restrictive diameter. This could be the exit nozzle.
Hi can you recommend a reasonably priced laser around 150 to 200 pounds please
my guess is the excess pressure is adding extra cooling and not just clearing away
High pressure and no moisture trap was the culprit in the end. I got a new compressor with moisture trap, run it a lower pressure and it's really good
Don't use the auto compressors. After you valve it to your nozzle, the expansion cool down will condense water onto your lens.
Hi James, I am a newbie on all things CNC but making good progress thanks to your videos! Keep the great job, my friend. A question about laser air assist: From what I have seen on your video, it all goes down to having the smoke removed out of the laser's way, basically. In such respect, won't a vacuum pump (like the ones used for dust when milling) perform a similar function? Thanks!
Yes and no. Its the removal of smoke but also the cooling if the surface which stops the over burn. So yes a vacuum will certainly help but not as efficient as a pump (to my knowledge anyway)
@@JamesDeanDesigns thanks a lot, you are truly an inspiration to me. Cheers from Argentina!
Can the fox Alan air assist be attached to a Genmitsu?
To laser material, you are esentially burning off material, so it makes sense that too much air = too much cooling, not enough temperature to properly burn off the given material.
That is correct. I also didn't have a moisture trap in the compressor at the time. I have made some changes since and I generally now do use the compressor but on a low PSI setting
Very informative video. I am curious why blowers (like on a 3D printer head) are not considered?
Good question! Only thing I can think of is they are possibly not strong enough
Can I use an airbrush compressor with a tank for air assist?
I was just about t to ask the same question. I was looking at them to paint stencils made with the laser cutter. So would make a lot of use from one.
There are many to choose from, some just pumps and some have tanks. Could make for a good new video.
Yes, that will work 👍
Hi James 👋 thanks for all the great video. I have the atom stak a5pro laser , can you buy an air assit kit for it? If so where from please. Keep up the good work
Hey, great video, you think airpump to filling up air beds or pool toys would be any good ?
Hi there...GR8 video 👍 Do you know if 140 Litres per minute would be too much for a desktop compressor? (Hailea ACO 009E) I'm leaning towards getting it for my Ortur LM2 Pro LU2-4 LF air nozzle. I'm thinking better to have more than less 🤔
theory.. more pressure means more cooling.
Great informative video. I've been trying to purchase the Foxalien Air Assist unit reviewed in the video but unable to find a supplier. Foxalien have no stock and apparently aren't able to supply european countries. Has anyone found a supplier of this item please?
Just curious, are you using a water separator/moisture trap on your compressor? Just wondering if maybe moisture is responsible for the poor performance when using the compressor 🤔
No I don't use one so that is a possibility as well. I really do need to get one fitted
Hi James
For cuting where do you set the focus point . On the material, ? On the bottom of material or in the middle ?
Hi James, love the videos and find them really useful as my son and I are beginners. I can’t find details on when and what to put under ply when laser cutting. In some videos there looks like a metal lattice but can’t tell in others. If cutting thin ply right through in several places (like a jigsaw) is it best to have a solid waste wood base? Thanks in advance. Robin
A really common and cheap option is a baking cooling rack. it just need to hold the material off the base and not have much in the way so anything wire frame based will help. Underneath that on the bed you can either just have wood, a piece of metal, essentially you just want something that is not going to burn too much
This may be a silly idea, however is it feasible to use a vaccum cleaner to suck the smoke and residue away? I've read some reports suggesting the ash and debris can get stuck in the honeycomb table work surfaces so this could avoid that, plus it would be fair low cost...
Not a silly idea at all. I think it would certainly work to a degree. Not sure how effective it would be woth cutting but always worth a try
Hi James what would you suggest the minimum pressure be for air assist pump?
Has your conventional air compressor ever been drained? I wonder if it's accumulating moisture, and if it's enough to counteract the cutting ability of the laser. I know that the compressor I use for work will eventually condense so much ambient moisture from the air that it will actually start to spray water through the lines.
Not good, as enough moisture accumulating in the tank can eventually corrode things enough that the pressue will make the tank explode!
I just ordered a laser engraver with air assist. I was wondering if I could use my airbrush compressor for the air supply. It is a small desktop unit with a 3 liter tank. It's very quiet as I have had conversations on speaker phone while painting. It also has an air dryer on the output of the tank because moisture in the air will effect the paint. The regulator can go from 150psi max down to around 5psi.
Just received my Ortur Laser Master 2 Pro-2-LF. I ordered it with the air assist. The supplied air connector is the same as my Iwata Neo air brush uses. So yes it will work and I don't need to buy any new parts. It's win win for me. Just to let anyone know how it worked out for me
Fantastic Explanation! Did you 3d print your cable chain in the back and if so, is the design on Thingiverse? Which one did you use/
Great explainer. How do you activate the 12v plug on the laser board? I got a Genmitsu compressor with that little plug and it fits the 12v socket on my Atomstack P7 controller, but it doesn't turn on the compressor (I'm using LightBurn and turning on the air toggle). So I'm using it with a power block/wall wart manually... air definitely makes a huge difference! Would love if someone can shed light on using the small 12v output on my P7. Thanks.
Not all boards will handle it but make sure air assist is switched on in Lightburn and I believe it is the M8 command within the coding to turn it on and then M9 to turn it off
Plz would you tale me what is the standard pressure in PSI for my Neje 30w laser?
I don't think there is one, and if there is then it is not information I have unfortunately.
I need a air assist nozzle for my TwoTrees Totem S 20W, any idea where to get one?
Hi James.
Which wood did you use, and what thickness?
Hi
fox alien air pump, only suitable for their device? Or is it possible to connect the pump to a laser from other companies?
The pump can run independently so will work on any machine, you just need a DC adaptor plug that costs a couple of dollars
Thanks for the video, great information. I built an enclosure with an extract fan. I designed the case to suck air from the front door so the air flow goes over the piece where it is extracted at the rear of the case. I used a usb fan from the cheap shop and works great. I brought a ACO 208 pump from amazon for 30ish GBP which I will install for air asist. In regards to the nozzle, what size hole is recommended? is direct flow parallel to the laser beam better than one at an angle? I would suspect parallel is better but im am new to lasers. I dont want to machine a nozzle and waste time if both are just as good. Thanks
The design of my 3d printed one tends to blow the air out of one side so I need to try and improve that. If possible Im going to offset the inflow to one side to try and cause a cyclone flow through the nozzle.
Air compressor might create more humid air.
Great vedio! Thanks! Question, looking for a good quailty laser, a little on the higher end but trying to stay under $5K. What would you rocommend?
at that price range you are talking about CO2 lasers probably but unfortunately I do not know enough about them to make a recommendation
11:20 how much size it wood when you test cut? 3mm?
Air from a high pressure compressor creates moisture as it cools through the lines. This moisture could by impeding the efficiency of the laser.
This is very useful, it does seem that you like what you described as the "air assist pump" with the red on off switch, where did you buy that as I can not find it, unless it is something you made?
Hi, links are all the the description area below the video to the different products. This one was from FoxAlien
Can I use air assist on my 3018 laser it's adjustable laser thanks Robert
Yes, air assist will help on any machine
Hi, Mr. Dean! I hope you can help me about my cnc 3018 mini pro laser. My laser have a switch knob at the top of the fan. Basically, everytime I am going to use it. I manually switch the laser before printing. My problem was, I can't make it right the exact heat of my laser. Sometimes it's too hot and sometimes it's not printing properly. It has a constant heat. Is there something I missed? Please help me. Thank you...
Have you checked how my video for how to set your laser up. It covers the settings for controlling the power ruclips.net/video/YnFNFEdmPjU/видео.html
Could you use this to cut thin metal? People use nitrogen and oxygen assist to cut metal with co2 lasers, so maybe normal compressed air should work too since air is ~78% nitrogen, ~21% oxygen.
Diode lasers hardly have an effect on metal unfortunately so I I don't think they would cut metal. Maybe something like tin foil but certainly not sheet metal
@@JamesDeanDesigns sorry, I've been watching so many co2 laser videos it didn't stick that you were using a diode laser. That's not going to work (unless maybe you had a 20kW diode laser :)).
Greetings James, Can you suggest a good Metal or Plastic Nozzle for the S6 or S9 Sculpfun Laser Modules? Thanks
I'm not familiar with that laser so I don't know what size it is. Contact Jakub at Lazer Wizard, tell I him referred you and he may be able to make you one as he makes them for lots of lasers ruclips.net/channel/UCRSmgp890HMHBBXewwKOrgg
James, What type or colored acrylic provides eye protection for a laser? I’m considering building a screen vs glasses. Thanks. Really enjoy your videos
Depends on the colour of your laser bean but general speaking clear amber orange acrylic is the best. What I would add is this will only offer so much protection so try not to stare at the laser
@@JamesDeanDesigns Thanks James!