Intro, Epilog Summit and fume removal

[Jeff Saltzman]

I've been lurking for a few months, figuring I wouldn't get a laser for quite a while. I'm a hobbyist (electronics mostly) and could imagine using a laser for making small cases, front panels, solder masks stencils, maybe removing a coating for circuit board etching, some sculptural items, signs, and etching tech products for friends and maybe for money.

But it sounded so expensive to go for a first class machine just for hobby stuff, and these forums got me nervous about the less expensive commodity imports, so I set up Google alerts and RSS feeds for different sites, hoping for a lucky break.

Then last Tuesday I got a Google alert about an old Epilog for sale on Craigslist, and by Saturday night I had the 1994 Epilog Summit 25 in my house, test cutting paper and tongue depressors like there was no tomorrow! The machine was previously used in a trophy company but got mothballed years ago when it was replaced. It came with its own PC with Windows 98 and CorelDraw 10-- turnkey system! They even threw in a rotary attachment and walked me through every detail they could remember. VERY reasonable price for the whole system :)

I called Epilog and Ian was nice enough to mail me a manual, though I haven't gotten it yet. I've been happy to see Epolog folks posting in forums and only hear good things about their support-- so happy I ended up with one of their machines, albeit a very early model.

The big issue now is a fume removal system, curious if anybody has a good recommendation. I've been talking to an Electrocorp rep and have inquiries in at Purex and Sentry. Are there other companies worth a look?

Anyway, nice group of folks here; I look forward to learning and sharing as I get used to working with my laser!

[Gary Hair]

Welcome to the creek and congrats on your laser!

Can you vent outside or do you need to recirculate the exhaust back into the house/shop? If you can vent outside then you may not need to spend the money on an expensive system, you could just use a dust extractor. You should also search for a home-made fume extractor that was posted recently - very effective and a fraction of the price of a commercial unit.

Gary

edit: here is a link to the thread I mentioned
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=143725

[TONG LI]

In memorial industry, people need to cut rubber stencils then sandblast letters on granite. We were experimenting to use our APLazer to cut rubber stencils last year. We purchased several fume extractors, the best one we found is SAS. (All fume extractors for laser machine are a little high for hobbies).

http://www.sentryair.com/PortableFloorSentry_SS400_PFS.html

We took the SAS extractor to conventions, cutting rubber on the show. It worked very well.

Tong Li

[Dan Hintz]

I have found the all-in-one, pre-built units to be way over the top in price when you look at what they do, akin to comparing a Ferrari and a Toyota when all you want is reliable transportation. Typical fume extractors start in the $3k range and go up... and you can't forget about replacement filter cost either (usually a few hundred $s per filter,and if you're lasering a lot, you'll be replacing them every 2-3 months).

The thread Gary pointed you to will show you how I did it for under $200 ($300 if you include the Harbor Freight dust collector).

[Mike Christen]

hi Jeff

I would hope your using some kind of exhaust connected. If your lasering. the smoke will screw up your lens real fast, not to mention your lungs.

[Richard Rumancik]

Jeff, what is the purpose of the fume removal system? Is it so you can pump the air back into the room, or for the benefit of the neighbors? If you can vent outside without filtering that is probably the cheapest way to go, even if it means some lost heat in the winter. If you are filtering so the neighbors don't complain about odor, maybe you can go the home build route. But it could be risky to do this if you are breathing the fumes, as there is no real feedback loop to tell you whether the filtration is working or not. Unless of course you get ill. I'm not sure how the commercial systems indicate an expired filter - is it based on operating time, pressure drop, weight change, canary-in-a-cage, or what? I will bet that some unhealthy contaminants don't have a strong smell, so smell alone could be an unreliable measure.

[Jeff Saltzman]

Thanks for the replies! Yeah it looks like the commercial units are pricey. Richard, I do want to both clean the fumes and vent the filtered output. If I just vented everything to outside with a blower, I would expect neighbors and downstairs tenants to complain

Dan, your homemade filter looks great, the trick seems to be finding an appropriate (read: "non-deafening") blower and a good source for the carbon. There are a lot of, ah, farmers [cough!] in the San Francisco Bay area, must be a source somewhere nearby ;)

Taking advantage of being on a hill, the wind blasts through fast if I open windows and doors, but I'm only doing small tests. I have a shopvac hooked up to the port too but don't think it has much effect. Hey, I'm doing what (little) I can!

I think a trip to Harbor Fright and Lowe's is in my future...

[Robert Walters]

There are a lot of, ah, farmers [cough!] in the San Francisco Bay area, must be a source somewhere nearby ;)

Hey Jeff,

If you can find activated charcoal for under $2/lb in the SF Bay Area,
please let me know ASAP. I'm looking for 100 lbs bulk, 3 or 4mm pellets.

If I don't find any locally very soon, I'll be ordering from East Coast.

So far, I've gotten local pricing starting at $5/lb up to $10/lb with a 100 lb quantity.


Congrats on your new toy, er 'Fine piece of precision engineering' :D

[Dan Hintz]

Robert,

In my air filter thread I listed a shop that sells for <$2/lb... got a 55 pound bag shipped for around $110.

[Robert Walters]

Robert,

In my air filter thread I listed a shop that sells for <$2/lb... got a 55 pound bag shipped for around $110.

Dan,

Yeah, that was the East Coast place I was talking about buying from if I can't find here on the West Coast. They estimated the shipping to be $60.

I HATE having just a single source for materials like that. Logistics is my nemesis.

I made so phone calls, and two places might have some, won't find out till tomorrow.


Oh, in your air scrubber... could you guestimate how many cubic feet of carbon you are using at one time?
I'm building an air scrubber, but I need to account for the quantity (capacity) needed and I'm running into size constraints.

[Dan Hintz]

<1ft^3, I imagine... the footprint is a big larger than a square foot, maybe 1.5 square feet, but the layer is only 2-3 inches thick.

[Robert Walters]

<1ft^3, I imagine... the footprint is a big larger than a square foot, maybe 1.5 square feet, but the layer is only 2-3 inches thick.

18*18*3 = 972 cubic inches or 0.563 cubic foot

Hawt Damn! That works for me =)

Thanks Dan!


I found a place in the San Francisco Bay Area to get 27lb (1 cubic foot) bags of 4mm pellets @ $54/bag

Since I made 40+ calls looking for activated carbon, I made a thread of what I found in case anyone cares:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=148313