Air Assist for ULS-25

[James W Harvey]

I need help finding an air assist cone for my ULS-25E. It was built in 1998, SN:3059.

I have contacted ULS and they don't have one for this model of laser.

Does anyone know where I can get one?

Thanks,
James

[Dan Hammerstron]

stuff 020.jpghomemade air assist . uls50e

[Dan Hintz]

James,

I would suggest having a metal lathe hobbyist make one for you... they're dirt easy to make, and will likely cost you less (by half or more) to have one made than to buy it from ULS.

[Joe Hillmann]

Dan,

Do you have any more pictures of that set up?

[James W Harvey]

James,

I would suggest having a metal lathe hobbyist make one for you... they're dirt easy to make, and will likely cost you less (by half or more) to have one made than to buy it from ULS.

That is not a bad idea. Do you have the dimensions of the cone? At least the size of the smaller opening? I get the general idea, but I have questions about the exact configuration.

I need something to help me cut acrylic, so I need something good.

Thanks,
James

[Dan Hammerstron]

I modified a Chinese to fit on there and it created other problems so went back to the home made one. The problem was it makes the snout to long and the direct air when lasering lamacoids isn't as effective as blowing at a angle, cutting acrylics it mite help. more pics ? what would you like to see?

[Dave Sheldrake]

http://www.boconline.co.uk/internet....g410_39553.pdf

Page 10 for some back info on air assist cones. BOC supply Oxygen for cutting steels etc but the Physics is similar enough to use their calculations for air assist cones.

Phil Davies of TMB Electronics came up with a good method a while ago that quite a few of us played around with and got excellent results.


Between a few of us we tried all sorts of nozzles and overall it was well worth the efforts.

best wishes

Dave

[James W Harvey]

I modified a Chinese to fit on there and it created other problems so went back to the home made one. The problem was it makes the snout to long and the direct air when lasering lamacoids isn't as effective as blowing at a angle, cutting acrylics it mite help. more pics ? what would you like to see?

I just need some information about the size of the cone and opening for the air. I understand the theory, but would like some input on the cone to keep the time I spend experimenting to a minimum.

From what I've read, when cutting acrylic a coaxial air source is used to blow the vapors and melted acrylic out of the kerf. It seems like all I really need is a cone with an opening slightly larger than the beam diameter to simply direct the air into the kerf.

[James W Harvey]

http://www.boconline.co.uk/internet....g410_39553.pdf

Page 10 for some back info on air assist cones. BOC supply Oxygen for cutting steels etc but the Physics is similar enough to use their calculations for air assist cones.

Phil Davies of TMB Electronics came up with a good method a while ago that quite a few of us played around with and got excellent results.


Between a few of us we tried all sorts of nozzles and overall it was well worth the efforts.

best wishes

Dave

Thanks Dave, there is some good information there. Is there a thread with more info on the experiments that you did with Phil Davies?

[Dave Sheldrake]

Thanks Dave, there is some good information there. Is there a thread with more info on the experiments that you did with Phil Davies?

Quite a few James but so I've just noticed linking to other forums isn't permitted.

Overall the cones can be a little bit dependant on the materials being cut (as they are required to do different jobs) but in general a sensible size exit hole of 2 - 2.5mm at a height above the job of 1-1.5mm works very well. Hole size / head height makes a big difference.

In general using higher pressure air works well on materials that vaporise but some that just melt (like extruded acrylic) tend to work better when the air is at a lower pressure and further away. Vacuum works well on engraving or non cutting processes with localised extraction provided by an air mover / air ring (keeping in mind that air assist also keeps the lens's clean).
Try to stay below 40psi of air assist as at that point the len's can be subject to cracking (if it's the normal 2mm edge thickness versions) and to go above would require lens's of 3mm+ in ZnSe.

Myself, Phil Davies, Peter Herne and Dave Neale all did quite a bit with nozzles and got some unusual results

best wishes

Dave