Perhaps. Blowers with low static pressure, and that includes most simple fans, don’t move a lot of air when air resistance is high. Closing off large openings increases air resistance. Depending on the specific operating conditions, restricting air flow can increases air flow through the remaining opening up only to a point.
The pattern of air flow is also important for fume removal. (Dust from milling is a different case.) The easiest way to modify the SM enclosure for halfway decent flow would be to put a filtered intake in the top, near the front, relatively narrow, say 50 mm and most of the width of the enclosure. This is diagonally opposite the existing exhaust fan, so that would be dominant direction of air flow, sweeping out laser fumes.
Proper fume removal is taken seriously by chemists who use fume hoods for personal safety on a regular basis. Look up the term “face velocity” if you’d like to dig into the engineering. The situation here isn’t exactly the same, but the principles transfer over fairly easily.
An air intake filter keeps off dust that’s floating around in the room that an enclosure is sitting in.
@eh9 didn’t occure to me that the fan may be the problem. if the suction is not enough to have air flow though all the gaps… i understand how air filters work - stopping dust getting into the enclosure - my point was that if you had tried CnC, you would have a lot of dust inside your enclosure regardless (which is why i suggested the “vacuum dust shoe” (will help keep smell and dust down)
EDIT - just checked hole, it is much smaller than what i thought (so have deleted comment)
In the best world, you want both filtration of incoming make-up air as well as collection at point of origin. Collecting wood dust, however, can’t be done well with the existing enclosure fan, but should be done with a proper vacuum blower.
I have an enclosure that I built myself (acrylic and 2020 extrusion) I found a 120mm high static pressure fan. I have it venting through a dryer hose to outside my garage.
There are enough natural gaps in my enclosure around the doors and panels to let air in.
It does a great job of keeping dust and smoke from leaving the enclosure.
I get no smoke smell until I actually open the doors and no dust on the stand it’s on.
On one project where I was using the laser I forgot to turn on the fan. When I came out to check it the enclosure was filled with enough smoke that I could barely see the SM (I was seeing how deep I could engrave/char). Turned on the fan and within a minute it was clear again. So I’m confident in the ability of my set-up to effectively vent.
-S
hey sdj544 - yes, with what i know now about “laser and eye safety” i wish i made the enclosure myself (as i am handy) - your setup is (enclosure) is inspiring
the fan that came with the enclosure is not meant to be used for wood chips - it was an assumption i thought everyone knew…
, i just checked the hole i thought i could use on the enclosure (it is too small) - i guess the only other option is to leave the door open, or take the touchpad off and go through there
itmaze -i know the question is directed at -S
(for the enclosure) the fine particles that are air-borne, doesn’t seem to worry the fan - i noticed there was some build-up that if ever touched the fan (the build up), it would cause a problem… putting a vacuum next to the fan when you see build up would be a good idea and occasionally emptying the tube (this would be very seldom).
but other than that, using a dust shoe should fix any problem from starting (with a vacuum)
I don’t worry about it. I just let it go through. Nothing sticks to the blades.
The way the fan is built it seems to shield the bearings. And I figure for $10 ($15?) if it dies I replace it. I get occasional build up on the grill I printed and just vacuum that off. There’s some residue on the inside of the hose, but not really a build up. It vents to my flower bed so some dust ends up there. It’s pretty windy where I live so it disappears pretty quickly.
i understand how air filters work - stopping dust getting into the enclosure - my point was that if you had tried CnC, you would have a lot of dust inside your enclosure regardless (which is why i suggested the “vacuum dust shoe” (will help keep smell and dust down)
