OK, running into problems because of the air assist. Is there any way to turn down the pressure (or totally off) for cuts?
I’m trying to do some very fine veneer work with very small parts, and the air assist just blows the cut out parts into the nether regions of the laser cutter, never to be found again…
Could you use a masking tape backing?
Really trying to not get any adhesive on the back side if at all possible. The mother of pearl veneer is especially brittle and breaks every single time when I try to use tape, of any level of stickiness.
Waaay back in the day at Ladybird when we were still using Alyssa’s loaned FSL system we could dial the pressure up and down quite easily. I t came in very handy when I was doing cuts on posterboard for Pepakura or for butcher paper stencils.
@lukeiamyourfather probably will have your answer, but I’m pretty sure disabling air assist is what caused the lenses breaking so I’d use it with caution.
The air assist protects the optics from soot that comes with laser cutting. When optics get dirty they get hot, when they get hot they melt or shatter. If you turn down the air assist pressure and do a few cuts with no damage then turn it back up after you’re done then it’s no problem. If you turn down the air assist pressure and damage occurs or you forget to turn it back up and damage occurs then it’s a problem and you’ll be held responsible for your actions. I recommend not turning it down but I won’t stop you from doing so, just be prepared to make things right if it goes sideways. For what it’s worth several lenses have failed from soot and air assist related issues.
Also please don’t completely disable the air assist for any reason. This is almost certain to cause lens failure.
@Hardsuit I know your pain with using tapes to hold down projects. I’ve found temporary spray adhesive to be my friend with projects like this. I spray the adhesive lightly on a piece of plywood and wait for it to dry to a tacky finish. if I think the tackiness is too much I pat the glue area with my hand this leaves some dust and oil on the glue and brings the tackiness down. I just keep doing this till I get the perfect amount of tack.
Also because the glue is applied to the wood it tends to be very forgiving when pulling my pieces off of it. I’ve cut fine detail in tracing paper with this method.
Worked just fine, turned down the air to about 5psi or so and everything (mostly) stayed put.
I fully understand the air assist does help with cooling, but I would also mention that when I’m turning the air
down like this I have the power setting at 2-3% max, and am usually at sub 1% settings.
The air was turned back up to 25psi after I was done.
Paul W.
Just to clarify for anyone who reads this later, the air assist is there mainly to prevent soot from collecting on the lens.