Didn't know that...???

[Peter Boyford]

Just got my laser today. Very cool machine and have played with it the whole day.

I do notice that cutting acrylic produces a foul smell, but I was contend to think that the smell would be isolated to my own working environment and what was pumped out the window.

Then my upstairs neighbour came down to me and told me that the smell was in his room as well. I wondered wether he had had the windows open, but he denied this.

The smell had actually migrated through the ceiling and up. Didn't know that was possible?

Anyway - how would you all recommend that I remove the smell from the output of the laser? Carbon filter? Other stuff?

Best regards
Peter

[Brian Robison]

How are you evacuating the smoke and smell?

[Peter Boyford]

It's a GCC Mercury machine and I have attached a tube with a fan in the bottom, leading outside the building.

Best regards
Peter

[Joe Pelonio]

A very small leak will allow a lot of smell to escape. Make sure all connections are tight, maybe wrap them with duct tape too. Now whether his windows are open or not, there could be air infiltration from near your outlet to inside his place. Things like soffit vents, window frame drain holes, even his bathroom exhaust vent can allow your fumes in. Your options are to run your pipe all the way up above the roof, buy an expensive filtration system ($1,500+) or build one yourself. There are threads on filtering here from before.

[Peter Boyford]

Thanks for the replies :)

Does anyone know if it's possible to filter the smell from acrylic? Can't seem to find it in the forums...

Best regards
Peter

[Joe Pelonio]

Thanks for the replies :)

Does anyone know if it's possible to filter the smell from acrylic? Can't seem to find it in the forums...

Best regards
Peter

Here's one. Use advanced search on the laser forum.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=64164&highlight=filter

Most use HEPA, Activated Carbon, and a particle filter. Recently someone brought up the idea of running it through a tank of water, don't know if that's been tried yet. BTW Acrylic is one of the nicer smells, some people even like it. There are other materials that smell far worse.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Peter,
The link that Joe posted has many good ideas. You should also check with whom you bought the laser from and see what they have to offer.

Since you are in a multi family/high density residential area, this can create an issue for you if your neighbors are allergic to or affected by the vapors you will be exposing them to.

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT NOT TO CUT WITH YOUR LASER!!!!!!

There is a whole list here on the forum of what creates toxic fumes like PVC when lasered. Please make sure you get a more than adequate filter system.

[Ed Maloney]

Peter - What type of fan are you using? Is it a dust collector blower? I suspect you may not be evacuating the fumes fast enough.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Place the blower (not fan, blower) as close to the outdoors end of the pipe as possible so the pipe isn't pressurized. Any leaks will suck air in rather than blow fumes out that way.

Your ventilation should be strong enough to move a piece of paper on the table with all of the doors closed. A fan won't do it. 300 - 600 cubic feet/min is about right and a 4" duct is required. Keep the run as short as possible.

The more air you move the more diluted and diffuse the smell at the exit.

Can you route the pipe outside to where that are no windows/people?

[Dan Hintz]

If this is anywhere near a bathroom fan, you're sunk. They all pretty much share the same runs to the common vent stack, so your only choice is to filtrate before it ever leaves the machine. If you can smell it in the room, neighbors are going to smell it.

[Doug Bergstrom]

We vent our universal outside with a very strong exhaust system but we still acrylic odor when cutting. We tend to cut up to 8 hours a day so we put in a ICA duster 2000 which works great and no longer have any type of smell. This unit will also let us use the machine at shows etc. Also it eliminates the odors and VOC's from our solvent printer, spray paint and rids the shop of most dust. Well worth the investment!

[Peter Boyford]

Wow, thanks a lot guys! Good information in here :)

I just bought a new blower. The same type used to blow air into an inflatable bouncing castle. Compared to the power of pressure prodyced by this unit, it's actually quite silent. Doesn't say much more than the laser itself :) Blowing smoke from a cigarette directly into the chassis of the machine results in the smoke immedietly disperses outside.

I found out, that filtering (so far) is not necessary (and I know that PVC is a no-no!).

Thanks again!

Best regards
Peter