I recently setup a new VLS 3.60 with the air assist option. I purchased a GAST DOA-P707 (http://www.drillspot.com/products/35...or_Vacuum_Pump) from the ULS distributor I purchased the system from that also came with an oil catch and desiccant dryer.
The manual specified that the air source should provide 50-60 psi at 2.5 CFM. Surprisingly I was only getting 10-12 psi with the regulator opened all the way. I spoke with their technician who told me that is not good and proper, but then when they got back to me after speaking with the other tech, they told me that it is normal and that's how their systems run. I am re-reading that portion of the manual on manual air assist, it specifically says 50-60 psi at 2.5 cfm, and yet that spec list I linked to above says that at 50 psi it is only rated for 0.25 cfm. In fact, it doesn't look like it's possible to get 2.5 cfm at any pressure.
So, will I find 10 psi adequate for most jobs (currently I'm using it on corrugated cardboard, thin wood and G10—the only material that I'm really concerned about having enough air from an equipment safety perspective). Can someone confirm for me that this is just an underspec'd compressor? If that's the case I'll have to see if they will take it on return, and purchase an adequate unit from somewhere else. If that ends up being the case I'm sure I can find some posts on recommended units for this system. I'm not too thrilled about the idea of having an underpowered system that while maybe adequate most of the time, may jeopardize my optics or lead to poor cut quality. I noticed I have a slight amount of char on corrugated cardboard that rubs off, as opposed to samples I got from the vendor which were absolutely clean. This could just be coincidence or non-optimal cutting settings.
One last thing, the desiccant filter takes a small amount of desiccant (a cup or two) but it would be nice to have a second set so I have no downtime when I need to reactivate it in the oven. Grainger sells a replacement set for this Wilkerson filter but it's $60. Seems steep for a little desiccant but maybe I have a poor concept of the cost of silica gel. If someone has another source of equivalent silica gel that'd be great.
BTW, this is my first post but I've been reading these forums over the years in envy. I'm pretty excited to finally have a laser cutter to play around with myself!