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Thread: Solvents/Chemicals to clean inside of Laser Cabinet

  1. #1

    Solvents/Chemicals to clean inside of Laser Cabinet

    Just wanted to check on any advice on what solvents, if any, that you guys would use inside of your laser cabinets to clean residue. Didn't see any threads on the topic, understand certain chemicals may cause lens issues. Thanks for your help.
    Trotec Speedy 300 80 Watt w/ Rotary
    Trotec Job Control Software
    Graphtec CE500-60 24 inch Vinyl cutter
    3 - Tajima TFMX-C1501 Single Head Embroidery Machines
    Tajima Pulse software Version 14 Illustrator Extreme
    Corel X4 & X7 Suite
    Howard Model 45Hot Stamping Machine
    Assorted Heat presses/Cap presses

  2. #2
    Have tried a lot of things and have found that Krud Kutter is highly effective at breaking down soot on cabinet and cutting table. Mix ~1:8 with water, then hit a second time with water only to rinse. Soak cutting grid with stronger concentration and it does a better job of cleaning than any other product I have tried.
    krud-kutter-paint-thinner-solvents-cleaners-kk012-64_1000.jpg
    Kevin Groenke
    @personmakeobject on instagram
    Fabrication Director,UMN College of Design (retired!)


  3. #3
    Krud Kutter, DNA and Magic Erasers all work wonders inside the cabinet.
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Georgia, USA
    Posts
    394
    Common recommendations all available at Home Depot:

    Krud Kutter
    Zep 505
    Zep Purple Commercial Grade Cleaner

    For the bed, take it outdoors and do multiple repetitions of spray with cleaner, then let soak, then wash off. Repeat. FYI, some people have tried using a power washer on low stream power after a few cleaning cycles for the final wash. It kind of depends how sturdy your bed grill/honeycomb strips are made (you don't want to bend them and you don't want to inject water into cavities (e.g. surrounding metal frame).
    700mm x 500mm Ke Hui KH-7050 Laser
    80W EFR F2
    S&A CW5000 chiller
    Chuck style of rotary attachment

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Suwanee, GA
    Posts
    3,686
    I use denatured alcohol on my Speedy 400, works great on the powder coat. Don't let it get too dirty and you won't have to resort to most of what others have recommended! I'm pretty picky about my laser, it gets cleaned every day and I do 99% of my work on anodized aluminum...

  6. #6
    There's basically 4 things that get stuck to my engraving tables (full aluminum, not honeycomb):
    Guck from cutting plastics
    Guck from cutting wood
    Guck from cutting thru tape
    Coffee

    Kleen Strip "painters solvent" (which is a new 1-size-fits-all replacement for xylene, MEK, toluene, etc) is good to great for removing plastic, wood and tape residue. But won't touch coffee

    Denatured alky okay for plastics wood and tape, and certain grime that p-solvent doesn't do well on. Also not so good for coffee

    Fantastic 'scrubbing bubbles', use for finish cleanup, it gets everything the other two doesn't, and is GREAT for removing coffee!

    I haven't cleaned my honeycomb table yet (Triumph) but when I do, I'm going to try dollar-store oven cleaner. It's essentially identical to Castrol SuperClean or the other 'purple' cleaners (lye being the main 'active ingredient'), but being foamy it will hang on to guck, giving it time to work.

    As for the cabinet proper-- MY life is too short to spend any of it cleaning a piece of equipment that works for a living, my machines don't care if they're pretty... I have 15 machines, if I kept them pristine-clean I'd have no time to do any actual work. I clean only what's absolutely necessary for the machine to function properly...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  7. #7
    Lots of good answers. Thanks to all!

  8. #8
    The Kurd cutter is pretty nice stuff. I have also found anothercheap solution.. I went to my local dollar store and found the “LA’s Totally Awesome” degreaser. I used it on my Yeti tumblers with excellent results. I have also used it in the soaking method for my honeycomb... to melt off the sap and crud buildup. I’d love to hear other people’s solutions.

  9. #9
    I have been using Simple Green with great success.

  10. #10
    I'm hooked on Zep Heavy-Duty Citrus Degreaser from HD. It's $10 for a gallon and works in the kitchen and garage as well as cleaning power coated tumblers, honeycomb bed and the inside of the laser. If you happen to wipe your rails with it be sure to re-grease them properly. If you have any residue left after cleaning a little 91% iso alcohol will take care of it.

  11. #11
    Be cautious. "Simple Green" has chemicals in it that will bubble fresh paint (less than 4 days old). I found this out when I used diluted "Simple Green" to wash my car... four days after the new paint job. Within 30 seconds, it made fish-eye marks and other bubbles on my freshly painted Fiero. Yes... I drove a Pontiac Fiero when I was younger.
    Ray Scott
    Owner/Engineer at Rabbit Laser USA


    Advice... Never use your tongue as a multimeter.

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