[dunginhawk]

Good afternoon folks.. First of all, great forum.. Im liking it a lot.
I just completed work on my Mostly Printed CNC machine and I have worked with the Router portion for a chess board. Which turned out great.

I just finished my first laser engraving last night and it too turned out great.
However, even that 2 minute burn caused a lot of smoke, and I need to find a way to get that out of the house.

1. Is there any in home (non venting) option for removing smoke and toxins ? i know the new glowforge is going to have that option available.
2. Assuming number 1 isnt an option, what is a good option for a unit that vents to the outside (knowing i have to go through concrete to get there).

This is a home use by the way, not industrial.

thank you

[Al_The_Man]

You might be looking at charcoal and Hepa filter system for non-ventilating.
Al.

[dunginhawk]

I have a shop vac here, im considering just using some charcoal filters inside that to help out with the smoke... Im also completely sealing off my CNC chamber, so i should get a concentration of dust and particulates in the vac. Now i just have to figure out how to do the enclosure.
its hard because my CNC router is on a winch system that I raise and loser when I need to use it

[Storen]

Good afternoon folks.. First of all, great forum.. Im liking it a lot.
I just completed work on my Mostly Printed CNC machine and I have worked with the Router portion for a chess board. Which turned out great.

I just finished my first laser engraving last night and it too turned out great.
However, even that 2 minute burn caused a lot of smoke, and I need to find a way to get that out of the house.

1. Is there any in home (non venting) option for removing smoke and toxins ? i know the new glowforge is going to have that option available.
2. Assuming number 1 isnt an option, what is a good option for a unit that vents to the outside (knowing i have to go through concrete to get there).

This is a home use by the way, not industrial.

thank you

There are some excellent fume extractors made especially for laser machines but they are all (including the Chinese) very expensive.

If you want to get something with a tighter budget buy standard “In-line” blower and filter components. They are very affordable and there is a huge selections of brands and options.

It is recommended to get a blower with at least 400CFM and the longest carbon filter you could fit or afford.

To extend the life of the carbon filter you may consider adding an in-line pre-filter box to catch the larger particles from the smoke.

With this method you should be able to filter roughly 90% of the smoke coming from MDF, Wood and Paper and 30% from acrylic.

If you work mostly with acrylic, simply venting out is the best option.

[dunginhawk]

thank you for the responses.

so. i noticed last night, that if i use my central vac it completely eliminates smell and everything... i know this isnt a long term solution, or is it?

can i add a filter somewhere in the mix there? i have access to the PVC for central vac that runs through my lab, it would be nice to tie in to that.

[Storen]

// i know this isnt a long term solution, or is it?

Why not, if it does the job. It looks like you have a very good central vac. I won't be surprised if it is better than the one in Glowforge.

[dunginhawk]

i just dont want to destroy a $2000 central vac system either but my thought was this.

the pvc runs through my space. if i cut in to that and put an elbow, and ran that over to my work area. but in between the elbow and my area, put in a clear PVC with a hatch to put in a charcoal filter that would be easily removeable, cleanable, maybe that would be the ticket.

[Storen]

It sounds as a very good plan. “Phresh” make excellent, affordable in-line filters:
Phresh Inline Filters - Phresh Filters

I would also add a filter box before the carbon filter to protect it. See this:
FB6_enus - Fantech

[jfong]

thank you for the responses.

so. i noticed last night, that if i use my central vac it completely eliminates smell and everything... i know this isnt a long term solution, or is it?

can i add a filter somewhere in the mix there? i have access to the PVC for central vac that runs through my lab, it would be nice to tie in to that.

Be aware that cutting wood, especially ply will give off sticky soot that will get all over your vent hose/fan. I wouldn't want that stuff covering the inside if my central vac PVC pipes or the vac motor unit.

My laser is in the basement and I vent outside. There was a unused bathroom exhaust vent through the side of the house. The exhaust gases need to only flow through about 6 feet of pipe.

[dunginhawk]

So I just received a quote from an HVAC company for $1250 to purchase the fan, install the fan, run the duct work around 30 feet to the back of my house and grab power from the wall or panel and get it all up and running.
Does that seem reasonable?
Just want to make sure before I either pull the trigger, or decide to do something else.
thanks

[kb0nly]

Dryer vent out the wall near the laser and blower fan sucking out of the laser. Easy and cheap. Only takes minutes with a big hole saw. And it could be easily patched in the future.

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