need some good advise

[Kevin Z. Johnson]

to my new brain trust.

I have a universal engraver that I have been using for about 2 years. I has been working fine but we are having some issues with cleaning we use to have the time to do it, but are running out of it, do to our production levels.
here is my question, I have been told that I need an air assist to eliminate some of the smoke that is collecting on the plastic (we cut one material limited plastic) to reduce the time that is spent on cleaning the product. what I need is to conform that is what is need or if there is something else that is needed. (there is a exhaust system in place)
I have not been a very good student of the engrave just working on building the business and let the engraver do it's thing.

thanks for your comments,

[Mike Null]

There are several things you should consider: 1. Be sure your exhaust system is adequate and functioning properly. 2. Check your settings. Too many people tend to overpower the cutting process which will result in burning. You should set it to just barely cut through the material. Try cutting on two or even three passes at higher speeds and lower power. 3. Try a paper mask especially on acrylics. That will require a higher power setting but it wil reduce clean-up. 4. Be sure your work is elevated off the table with some device which will allow smoke and residue to be exhausted from beneath the material. This will aid in keeping the bottom of your work clean as well.

[Mike Mackenzie]

Z,

What exactly are you cutting maybe we can suggest some settings and or suggestions to help.

[Joe Pelonio]

Z,

Air assist varies by manufacturer, on some it keeps the mirrors clean, on others like my Epilog it clears the path of the beam and helps blow out any flaming, which reduces scorching and therefore cleaning time. I would not cut 1/4" acrylic without it. On may plastics such as Rowmark/IPI laminates
especially white or other light colors it helps to engrave first, then apply transfer tape before cutting. The time spent applying and removing the transfer tape is less (and easier) than cleaning.

Your question puzzles me though, as I've never had "smoke" accumulate on anything, in fact there is very little smoke and the exhaust does a good job on it. As Mike suggests check that, it may be underpowered, clogged, or broken. If it's good you should be able to place a piece of paper on the intake vents and have it stay there from the suction.

[Kevin Z. Johnson]

thank you for the input,
(smoke) poor choice of word, debris would be a better choice of words, see more time building this business, and attention to the quality then the production of the product.
I see that I needs to be my next task!

What we are cutting is romark Lacquers, and white is what is taking us the most time we cut only sheet of plastic we have had as many as 200 tags a sheet, our cnc mills is what was used prior to this but it became to slow so we are trying to solve this problem with the laser. I will try the transfer tape, but seems like that would create another problem with positioning on the table.
thanks for the ongoing help, I will tackle the engraver soon it would be nice to have some fun with it!

[Mike Mackenzie]

Z,

are you just cutting rectangle blanks? or are you engraving first and then cutting specific shapes?

If you are just cutting blanks then I would suggest to just score the lines about 70% thought the material.

This makes handling and cleaning them easier then just snap them apart you can do this with engraved first and then cut as well. You would not have to engrave then mask then cut.

Also use common cut lines rather than complete rectangles this saves a lot of time and has less debris.

You can also treat the white material with a lite coat of something like lemon pledge before cutting this will help to keep the debris off as well.

I know others have mentioned other products as well but not sure what they are.

[Mike Null]

To Mike's point, I find mineral spirits brushed on the surface to be engraved to help quite a bit.

[Joe Pelonio]

thank you for the input,
(smoke) poor choice of word, debris would be a better choice of words, see more time building this business, and attention to the quality then the production of the product.
I see that I needs to be my next task!

What we are cutting is romark Lacquers, and white is what is taking us the most time we cut only sheet of plastic we have had as many as 200 tags a sheet, our cnc mills is what was used prior to this but it became to slow so we are trying to solve this problem with the laser. I will try the transfer tape, but seems like that would create another problem with positioning on the table.
thanks for the ongoing help, I will tackle the engraver soon it would be nice to have some fun with it!
I have a similar regular job doing 147 tags per 12"x24" sheet. I put a couple of small pieces of masking tape to hold the sheet onto the vector grid, engrave, then apply transfer tape (12") easily without it moving. Then cut the tags and holes. I don't have to clean them.

[Harry Radaza]

guys I have a very similar problem and got beaten to the post so I might as well post in this topic.

I too have an order for 5000 pieces cutting rectangular blanks the size of 1.5" x 3 inches. 3mm thick. after only 2 rows my lens on the versalaser vl300 gets dirty. i do have air assist. on my mercury I can't even cut through the material since it flares up and burns. and suggestions on what to do for this ?my merc is 25 watts.

[Dave Jones]

Are you sure your air assist is really putting out a good flow? If the tube is clogged it might not be doing it's job.

[Mike Null]

I always make cuts like that in two or even three passes. Mike McK's suggestion of using common cut lines is especially applicable to your job if you're not already doing it. That will save so much time you'll think you won the lottery.

Also check your exhaust.

[Joe Pelonio]

guys I have a very similar problem and got beaten to the post so I might as well post in this topic.

I too have an order for 5000 pieces cutting rectangular blanks the size of 1.5" x 3 inches. 3mm thick. after only 2 rows my lens on the versalaser vl300 gets dirty. i do have air assist. on my mercury I can't even cut through the material since it flares up and burns. and suggestions on what to do for this ?my merc is 25 watts.

What material are you trying to cut?

[Kevin Z. Johnson]

thank you some much for all the comments,
it looks like I need to purchase an air assit but I will try the suggestions to see if I can cut down on our clean up time.
thank you again!

[Mike Mackenzie]

Harry,

Be sure that the air pressure is on and send a file over to the laser leave the top door open set your file to run at 0 power and ten speed air high. set the focus so you have about two inches between the table and the air cone. Run the file and place your hand or finger under the air cone while it is running you should feel air coming through the cone if you don't then there is where the problem is. You may have one of the supply hoses has popped off or there is a pinch in the air line. this is what I would look for. If the air is coming through the cone then make sure that there are no leaks at any of the other air connections.

[Mike Hood]

What psi do these normally operate at?

[Joe Pelonio]

What psi do these normally operate at?
I normally use 25 lbs on an airbrush pump, but when doing something real nasty I'll switch to a compressor and go 35.

Pressure should be measured while laser is running with air assist on.

[Harry Radaza]

I'm trying to cut wood. I don't know what type of wood though since we have different types of wood here in the philippines.

I've long suspected my air assist is leaking or damaged. I dont have the cone. turning on the compressor and feeling with the tip of my finger I get very faint air coming out. I'ts always been that way. So I dont know if its broken or if its supposed to be that way. And yes, the valve is fully open.

what do you mean by SIMILAR CUT LINES? running the same job 2 or 3 times ?

[Harry Radaza]

ok I did try running the job in 2 passes. lowered the power. It seems in the first pass with the lower power there isn't as much debris and smoke which is good. as soon as I run the second pass and the laser makes its way through and passes the material on the other side for the cut,the material starts to flare up. I think it is this flaring up that causes all the smoke and debris into the lens. I did try lower the ppi to 200 which causes the same effect.

is there something I can apply to the under side to minimize the flaring up effect?

[Mike Shauer]

Harry, I also have the Versa 300. I don't have a cone either. What I have is a tube that comes off the top of the lens housing that point down to the bottom of the laser beam where it hits the wood. The tube goes on the air assist hoses at that point, I do not have a valve. This was not the best way so I added a metal connector to the bottom of the tube so that it does not burn. I run 35 -40 lbs of air and it works fine. You should feel quite a bit of air coming from this tube.
I hope that this is clear, its late and has been a long day.
Cheers, Mike