Input on Dust Collector Silencer

[mike wallis]

Hey everyone,
I wanted to start a thread that I think many residential laser engravers could benefit from.
For many of us the factor between running your business out of you home and leasing a space can be the breaking point in turning a profit especially when starting up. Although I haven't gotten any complaints as of yet my dust collector which vents to the top of the roof makes sort of a howling noise. Depending on your neighbors you may or may not get a complaint. In a attempt to avoid this I've assembled a muffler out of tubing and insulation that comes right off the output of the collector that has lowered the decimal level a little but could still go down more. I have a idea that may or may not work but think its worth a try. Most automobiles has a silencer that attaches directly to or near the air filter box. If the silencer is removed from the air box there is a very noticeable difference that is comparable to a DC howl. I think that if a silencer like the automobile silencer on a slightly larger scale were applied to the DC it may do the trick.
In the next few weeks I'll be doing some R&D on this but if anyone else has any ideas or already proved designs I love to hear them.
Mike

[Pete Simmons]

Take a look at a 6" or 8" inline fan from elicent

http://www.elicent.it/inglese/axcmet.html


They move a lot of air and are Very Quiet.

[Jeff DeVore]

Hi,
I took a 28" piece of 4" plastic pipe and drilled as many 3/4" holes in as I could fit. I then took a 24 " piece of 6" plastic pipe and put the 4" drilled pipe down the center of it. I lasered a couple of end cap doughnuts out of 3/16" acylic that fit into the end of the 6" pipe and has a hole in the center to hold the 4" pipe. Before glueing the endcaps in with silicone I wraped the 4" pipe with insulation and then sliped it into the 6" pipe. making a glass pack of sorts. This cut my noise level by at least 50%. I used to have a loud howl coming out of my exhaust now I have a low hum as if you were listening to a vacumn cleaner two rooms away that had the doors closed. It's much louder in my laser room than outside where the exhaust comes out. My bathroom window is only about 20' from the exhaust and I have to strain to here it with the bathroom window open - of course my ears aren't as good as they used to be. I don't know what would happen if you made the pipes longer. Got my idea from this page: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/muffler5.htm Hope this helps, Jeff.

[Michael McDuffie]

At $80, it might be a bit more than you want to spend. I'll check another forum to see if anyone has any experience with it.

Penn State DC Suppressor (http://www.pennstateind.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PSI&Product_Code=SUP1000&Category_Code=DCA)



Michael

[Nick Adams]

Smooth surfaces reflect sound better then soft or textured finishes. i assume you are a person with some woodworking ability. I would most likely build a 2 -3 cu ft chamber with off centered inlet outlets and use acoustic ceiling tile (fairly cheap) to line the inside of it. This will serve two purposes. It will lower initial noise bursts, second it will deaden the sound by disrupting the airflow but not hindering it.


Also while we are talking about exhaust motors and the plumbing of them. I would recomend to everyone, to install a fine screen at the outlet of your laser, Not only will it serve as a blocker for things..and keep the ehaust happy. But it will also help break up any warm coals that could possibly be sucked out. Although the possibility of a fire with the amount of air movement most of these fans produce is slim to non....it is a very cheap and effective precaution.

btw, coals from a laser cutting something are rare. But it is completely possible to have them, even more so when you wouldnt likely expect it to happen.

[mike wallis]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Nick, thats a interesting idea and makes sense. Where could one locate acoustic ceiling tile? Home Depot?
Right now I have a home made glass pack that which sounds alot like what Jeff described. Althoght it did lower the decimal level I can't say it dis
Pete, that looks like a very nice unit and probably more efficent and quieter than my $99 Harbor freight DC. It may be a little pricey once imported into the US from Italy.
Thanks again!

[Nick Adams]

Not sure where you can pick it up cheaply, Have a friend that installs it and I buy it from him.. Will ask where you can get it cheaply.