Benefits of air assist?

[ed mirzay]

Hello (More experienced than myself) Laser Users!

What are the benefits of cutting with air assist? Specfically, vector cutting as I have only played with the raster cutting option a few times.

I have an Epilog Mini 18 25Watt. Most of the materials I have cut on this laser since I bought have been thin wood veneers. I have cut a few pieces of 1/4" mdf for homemade templates. The darker wooden veneers (woods with more oil in them) have darkened edges after cutting, the mdf is completely burnt as I would expect given it's raw material makeup.

Would this be any different if I used the air assist?

[Joe Pelonio]

I use air assist for all of my cutting. On the Epilogs it's blowing on the area where the beam hits the material, and the major benefit is blowing out any flames. Secondary to that is blowing debris out of the path of the beam, and is said to decrease charring. It does this by blowing combustible gasses off of the material surface. Others such as Universal blow debris off of the optics. If you have built in air assist it's worth getting a compressor for it. I cut mostly 1/4" acrylic these days and it does help
a lot with that.

[JB Lynn]

Hello Ed :)

Air assist provides all of the benefits mentioned PLUS the following:

1) When rastering acrylic you'll achieve a much cleaner engraving WITH air assist! Air assist seems to 'push' engraved acrylic away from the work area, thus preventing it from being 'burned' into the engraving - try it, the result it remarkable!
2) When rastering anodized aluminum we seem to receive a 'whiter' image - I suppose this is because, like with acrylic, the spent anodized is 'blown' away from the image area.
3) To underscore other's comments, air assist is wonderful in preventing flare-ups which not only reduces workpiece damage but also will save your $400 optical lens!

Regards, JB Lynn

[Dave Jones]

I got a cheap airbrush compressor from Harbor Freight to use on my Mini-24 / 45 watt laser. It was $50, which is a lot cheaper than the Epilog pump, but I'm not convinced it is really supplying enough pressure to do a good job. I'm thinking now of spending the bucks and getting the Epilog pump instead.

[Joe Pelonio]

Dave,

The only way to tell for sure is to put a gauge on it. Mine's not from there but was just under $100 and puts out 40 lbs steadily while cutting, though I keep it at 25 most of the time. As I recall the Epilog one was $300. You
could try something in between, and keep the one you have for backup and/or airbrushing, or sell it on E-Bay.

[Brent Vander Weil]

Well Joe... airbrushcity.com was good to me :-) well I was a little better to myself I guess.. I bought the air commander compressor and air brush kit... they say it's the quietest and have always wanted to do air brush work... I think it might be nice to have to do some fills or other paint work... Any one else use air brushes in the shop?

FYI Dave.. they are worth a look... and considerably more economical than the Epilog...

[Dave Jones]

Joe, My compressor has a guage on it, which when the hose is disconnected it reads zero (makes sense since all the air is going straight out the hole). When I plug the hole so no air flows out, the guage reads 30psi. So the pump, which is rated at 30psi can compress the air to 30psi with no air flow (not exactly useful).

When I hook it up to the Epilog the guage is reading 20psi. Since it's reading 30psi with no air flow, and zero psi with maximum air flow I have to assume that with it reading 20psi there is pressure but not much actual air flow. I can feel a gentle blow of air coming out the nozzle on the laser, but it doesn't feel like very much. There doesn't seem to be much difference in the look of the flame when cutting certain materials whether the pump is on or off.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Dave,

I traced the hose through my laser and found that one of the zip ties had been pulled so tight that it restricted the flow. I replaced it and left it a bit looser. Much better flow.

Mitch

[Dave Jones]

Hmmm... I'll check that. I don't remember any ties. But maybe there's a kink in one of the hoses. Or maybe the compressor is just too cheap and cheesy. :rolleyes:

[Joe Pelonio]

Joe, My compressor has a guage on it, which when the hose is disconnected it reads zero (makes sense since all the air is going straight out the hole). When I plug the hole so no air flows out, the guage reads 30psi. So the pump, which is rated at 30psi can compress the air to 30psi with no air flow (not exactly useful).

When I hook it up to the Epilog the guage is reading 20psi. Since it's reading 30psi with no air flow, and zero psi with maximum air flow I have to assume that with it reading 20psi there is pressure but not much actual air flow. I can feel a gentle blow of air coming out the nozzle on the laser, but it doesn't feel like very much. There doesn't seem to be much difference in the look of the flame when cutting certain materials whether the pump is on or off.
Not having a tank it will read 0 with no hose, what's important is what it reads while you are cutting. From what you said you definitely need more air power. On mine the gauge reads 25 as I have set it while it's cutting, and drops to about 10 when the laser stops and the air is blowing freely inside the machine.

[Dave Jones]

Mine reads the same whether cutting or not. As far as I can see there are no valves or anything in the Mini-24. It's just hose and connectors from the back panel through to the tube next to the lens.