Air assist - shop air

[Ian Bell]

The ultimate air setup is good but a bit overly complex for my needs………I am ok with operating a 90deg ball valve to port air to the laser and turning a regulator a 1/4 turn up or down to adjust air…way simpler setup.

I use 10-12psi to cut and 4-5psi to scan. I do not adjust the throttle valve on the laser head….I only adjust the regulator.
The air header in my shop is pressurized all the time…..the compressor is on a timer , off at 2200, on at 0800.

Thanks Pete, your information is spot on. Looks like that's what i'll do then, find a handy spot to position the regulator at/on the machine so I can operate easily.

Timer also a good idea, my compressor has been left on overnight a few times now, or I might just hook it up to one of the wifi sockets to use with "Alexa"

[Pete Cyr]

Glad to be able to offer a useful thought now and then

[Ian Bell]

Hi Pete,

I'm thinking of opting for two separate regs, one for engraving one for cutting, i'd like to feed into a switch type valve, simply left or right supply to a single output, does a module exist, possibly to a 6mm plastic pipe.

[Pete Cyr]

https://www.amazon.com/Position-Pneumat ... ial&sr=1-2


If you have 2 different air sources - this valve will shift to port one or the other - pwr on port a, pwr off port b

[Chris Reed]

Hi Ian, whatever you do, DO NOT use lubricated air through the cutting head on your laser.
Tee off with a separate filter / regulator before your existing filter / lube / reg unit and put a simple on/ off inline tap to isolate the new supply from the receiver.
High velocity particulates from the compressed air supply will damage your laser head so a filtered supply is a must, but oiled air will destroy the head and cause no end of grief in the cut itself - You would in fact be putting oil into the laser beam and I’m sure you understand why that is not optimal.
Hope this helps.

[Ian Bell]

https://www.amazon.com/Position-Pneumat ... ial&sr=1-2


If you have 2 different air sources - this valve will shift to port one or the other - pwr on port a, pwr off port b

That looks just the ticket, cheers Pete

[Ian Bell]

Hi Ian, whatever you do, DO NOT use lubricated air through the cutting head on your laser.
Tee off with a separate filter / regulator before your existing filter / lube / reg unit and put a simple on/ off inline tap to isolate the new supply from the receiver.
High velocity particulates from the compressed air supply will damage your laser head so a filtered supply is a must, but oiled air will destroy the head and cause no end of grief in the cut itself - You would in fact be putting oil into the laser beam and I’m sure you understand why that is not optimal.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Chris, I plan to add a moisture filter close to the compressor, run the feed to a Tee, one to the laser, the other to the CNC, i'll then add a lubricator after the cnc section, for bench tools use.

It's great to have so much valuable advice on the forum - cheers

[Ian Bell]

I eventually got round to providing compressor air supply to the laser, 1st effort was a great difference, the cuts appeared cleaner and through with slightly less power. I simply adjust the pressure flow at the nozzle.

But after a short while I noticed cuts weren't breaking through, with a wee bit of investigation I worked out the problem was due to moisture in the air supply. I have a regulator and water trap, but the psi rate fluctutates and I guess subsequently the higher pressure lets the water through.

At this time the air flow from the compressor is teed off before the laser, and the regulator and water trap are inline from there. The unregulated line goes to an air blow for my CNC.

I'm thinking of a few changes:

Place a water trap closer to the compressor
get a better regulator for near the laser, possibly with another water trap
make a diy dessicator filter and place inline after the regulator/trap to the laser.

The dessicator filter contains colour changing media so I know when the beads need reconditioned.

I'd welcome any advice.

[Pete Cyr]

https://www.amazon.com/COMPRESSED-PARTI ... deae8f9840

This is what I use - it is mounted 2' from the unit via a 5' hose.

[Dave Vigness]

Mine came from a set I got for the shop a long time ago and never used. A receiver / dryer, a regulator, and an oiler. I just took the receiver / dryer off and used it by itself. It's rated for use with paint sprayers, it seems to work well with my laser.