Today was my first day with my first laser machine.
I wanted to start my tests but I didn’t have a six inches pipe for the vapour evacuation. I took instead a 3 inches with a reducer and start cutting acrylic.
Well it look like my idea was not good. I knew that 3 inches was not enough but I was surprise to see how bad acrylic smell during cutting.
Question
Are you using your laser machine in your home and do you find that the six inches evacuation pipe is good enough ?
To install the six inches pipe I will have to modify a window and replace the glass by a plywood and cut a six inches circle in it for the pipe to go out.
I hope it’s going to be good enough.
If somebody find that’s it’s not enough and have a better setup, tell me.
I’ve used it in my house, and acrylic doesn’t have much of an odor. Plexiglass or polycarbonate, on the other hand produces harmful fumes, and smells horrible. Don’t breath that crap in if you wanna keep your lungs.
This is interesting. I am cutting acrylic in my garage and it does smell pretty bad - especially compared to cardboard and wood. I am using the sized vent supplied and vent it outside via a hole in the garage wall.
I know the main issue is that the fan that comes with most k40 machines is pretty weak. I bought a replacement on Amazon and just need to build a bracket to fit the back of the k40.
Are you sure it’s Arylic? If you goto a hardware store, and ask for Acrylic, most people think of Acrylic as the same thing as Polycarbonate (Plexiglass).
The fact is Acrylic and Polycarbonate all look the same, but in reality, you don’t wanna be cutting Polycarbonate without some serious ventilation.
I am sourcing my acrylic from multiple eBay sellers. I don’t have any info to dispute it being acrylic, nor can I prove it is. I don’t see black smoke or soot. I see fine wisps of white smoke. Maybe my version of a bad odor would pale in comparison to plexiglass burning. I have no reference.
Is there a way to verify the acrylic I have purchased is acrylic?
I was out for the day and spend the evening working on my new evacuation system so that,s why I took that long to get back to you multiple reply.
My original question was more about:
Do you use your laser in your house ?
Do you have a good evacuation system ?
My laser come with a 6 inches hole but I install a 3 inches hose like my 3D printer.
the result was really not good so today I went to the hardware store and bough everything I need to install a six inches hose evacuation system and it’s perfect.
Now if I cut acrylic or wood there is almost no smell at all.
Bottom line, if your laser is equipped with a six inches hole and fan, install a six inches hose
Acrylic
The acrylic was sold to me by the seller of the laser machine. I don’t know if it’s real acrylic.
My home hardware (Home Depot) sell acrylic. I bough some transparent (4.5 mm 24 X 36 inches) 20 $ I didn’t try to cut it yet but I will tell you soon if it smell as bad as the acrylic I received with the machine.
I will post some pictures of my installation very soon. For now I’m testing the engraving wood with different power settings and speed. I’m a rookie so I start from scratch.
