DIY Laser Cutter Air Filter

DYI air filter for the K40: In this video we create a DIY air filter for the K40 laser cutter.
It is build from easily accessible materials and much cheaper than the commercial versions.

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[bryanrocker]

A pretty good start to a laser filter. Here are some thoughts.
1. My 60 laser has a 6" outlet on the back of the machine. I would increase your duct to 6".
2. I would increase your filter area so as to allow the air to slow down and get the really dangerous particulates pulled out by the carbon.
3. Put a lower quality filter to catch any carbon particles that leave.
4. Put the filter in between the blower and the laser. If you don't the blower will get dirty and raise the potential for bad things to get into the air.
5. Reduce or eliminate the spacers around the filters, the waifer board is restricting your airflow.

[klave]

You can try passing the air through water, absorbs particles well, easy to replace too, this is commonly used in mining vehicles. My old VW Beetle (1962) air filter had an oil soaked metal mesh. Both of these should be simple to build (don’t use oil though, use water) but make sure the air is spread over a large area to make tiny bubbles, soap in the water will make a nice absorbing foam. I’ve seen filter “socks” used in exhaust gasses from some dirty processes. The sock was inflated by the exhausting gasses/ dirty air and was made of a special material. You could make your filter layers into tubes, each one larger diameter than the one before it. Exhaust into the smallest one and the material tubes will all inflate, especially if they hang down. Won’t stop the smelly gasses though but will be compact. Nice videos.

[b.schneider]

Great job. I have a few suggestions. Install an additional active carbon filter. From time to time you should substitute the older filling and alternate the filter. Put the fan on the clean side. You could also install a flow meter or a differential pressure gauge.

[carlosammarco]

Loved the commentary AND the fact you tested the system at the end. Gave me a lot to think about. Thanks!

[BrandegeePierce]

This is really interesting. I made almost the exact same box about 6 months ago and I'll give you my feedback just so you have it.


The biggest big of advice to start is buy an off the shelf filter cartridge from a big company. I am building my 2.0 and will be using the Bofa AD-350 Pre-Filter and Combined filter.(Fumex and Pace make similar filters, sure there are more too) Almost all of the technology that is important is in the filter. Why not leverage that for a cheap cost. (the cartridge is around $200)


This is almost a tie for the biggest. Ditch the axial fan. I used a similar fan and they are not designed for high pressure. They are great for high CFM and low pressure. Think circulating are. Instead, get a scroll or centrifugal fan. They are designed for ducting and high pressure. You might not get the same CFM, but remember that the advertised CFM on any fan is un-blocked/restricted. The second you throw a thick carbon filter in the way, you'll be lucky if you get 10% of the CFM on an axial where as the scroll will likely deliver 80-90%.


Lastly, (not really important) I am going to get an air sensor and hook it up to an arduino so I know when the flow drops. There are a few ways you can do this but this is just because I am a weirdo.


I'll post my build once I finish and share all of the CAD files incase anyone else wants to build it. I might get a sheet metal shop to build a few parts for mine but can easily do it with wood.


Hope this helps and good job with the video.

[dougw]

Thanks for video and the ideas. I haven't built a filter box yet, but I've been researching it.

Regarding the smell of Acrylic, I've used a 50W Epilog Laser cutter with a professional vent system, and there is always a lingering smell from the laser bed, and on the edges of the cut plastic. I don't think you can make it smell free, just vent the room more afterwards.

I've been researching using a duct fan, and the Tjernlund EF-10 10" duct fan, while having 475 CFM of air movement, only has about 0.14 inches WC (water) of static pressure (you can find a graph in there specifications PDF on their website). I've loosely calculated static pressure losses of the ducts, elbows, and filters I'm thinking of using based on some internet page numbers and would need about 3 inches WC of static pressure to work. I'm not surprised you need a better fan.

I saw on Youtube a fellow measured his shop vac's static pressure using a tube bent in a U shape, halfway filled with water, and he got 78 inches WC (the difference in height of the surfaces of the sucked water column). But the CFM won't be as high as the duct fan. I'm in Canada and would *love* to get my hands on a Dewalt DXV12P-QT quiet shop vac ("-QT" means 60db), but they are only available at the moment from Lowes US.

My other idea is to get a 1 hp dust collector, and just use the blower part of it as the fan for my filter box. Some of the comments on one particular brand indicate they think it is quiet, while other brands are not so quiet.

Regarding the filter size, I think bigger is better. If the fumes zoom through your activated carbon fast, there isn't enough dwell time for the carbon to do it's job. Larger size means the fumes will linger around the carbon longer. Maybe a larger size with thinner layer?

[giollaliddy]

Interesting video. These things are normally extremely expensive. I will be trying a version of this, for use in winter months when I don't want the air sucked from the room. Looking forward to version 2.0

[Taran-d.B.]

Verry sick Workshop and Tools, love that 😁🤙🏻

[larswegner]

For my opinion there is no need for a G Filter in a laser cutter but the H Filter is missing (H13 f.eg.). A flame stopper in front of the filter system may be useful. That’s the combi I’m using

[KunoGroHoldertreff-B]

Hello, I think version 2.0 will be an "endless story"!
Have you ever measured the pollutants with version 1.0?
The question is whether the air flow was sufficient and the filter surfaces are large 🙂?
LG Kuno

[rusticagenerica]

Awesome video & fabulous comments. 2 questions ::
- are there water air filters, where air is injected into water to bubble and get cleaner?
- do high voltage electric fields also clean the air by catching particles?

[RobertNoronha]

I saw one DIY filter using 3 Pet Wather in sequences and a FAN on front inserting smoke on first wather pet and exiting one to another 3 times... after 3rd wather bothe the air exits clean.

[manuabecassis]

I guess you should use E10 filter for metal particles. Love the video. Will do one for my fiber laser. Also if the flow goes from the filters to the motor (protection of the motor) why not put the activated carbon first ?
If the air flow is pushed through the filter how does it go with time? I am very curious on your project. May be a more detailed video would be great. thanks for sharing.

[DaniGirl]

Maybe re-think think this a bit. This isn't a laboratory with a reaction happening that produces large volumes of gasses. The cutter can be put in an air tight enclosure to hold onto the dirty air. Now there's more time to process it and can use a much lower power recirculating filter system. Wouldn't really have to be more than a roomba sized filter and like a GPU centrifugal fan depending on how long you can leave it alone for. The particles will settle down and can be vacuumed away later. The VOCs are more concerning to me, so I would keep the activated carbon fresh.

That medium filter system system more for a small but continuous operation of two or three machines, rather than a hobby level running one machine.

[B.A.Bassangler]

Thanks, just what I was looking for! I'm still venting outside, but don't want the stink to ruin my neighbor's cookout. Your refillable carbon box is just the ticket; $300 filters every 6 months to a year isn't for me.
My thoughts on improvement was to shorten the space between the 'hepa style' filters. I read that carbon needs dwell time, but regular particle filters can be stacked. Take care and happy Thanksgiving.

[acdii]

I am considering building one even though I have 6" ducted to the outside through the wall. Reason is that in order to vent properly one must have make up air. Well if the weather is nice outside, not too hot or too cold or too humid, I can just open a door, but since my workshop has no windows and is in the basement, opening a door is not that great an idea. I don't do much acrylic, but when I do, the smell lingers even though it is vented outside. If I can cut without make up air that would be ideal.

I have an idea though that instead I can drill an intake hole in the wall and duct it to the laser with a shutter on it that can be closed when not in use. It is a 60 watt that will soon be a 100 watt when the original tube gives it up. I can add an intake fan to draw air in and force it into the cabinet then the extractor can pull the smoke and fumes out and hopefully not smell anything.

[ulflanz]

A very interesting project. I did something similar with a Xiaomi Mi Air Anti-Formaldehyd HEPA-Filter in a box and a radial fan, but I didn't do a measure of the fine dust yet. Could you please post a linkt to your fine dust measurement device ? Thanks a lot.

[kchassa_]

Thanks for the greay explanation: please, normalize the volume of the audio, the table saw noise make me dizzy and my left year isn't working correctly since the audio becames

[nomanahamed]

How i can use this Acrylic Laser Cutting without bad smell? Please tell me step by step

[alexcavalcanticosta]

I liked your work. I could build one that is smaller but works on a 10 or 30w diode laser with a 40x40cm cutting area, a lot of people are buying this type of laser and don't find an efficient and cheap smoke collector to buy, at least not here in Brazil. There is only one for large equipment and high prices.


gostei do seu trabalho . poderia montar um que seja menor mais que funciona em uma laser de diodo de 10 ou 30w area de corte 40x40cm, muita gente esta comprando este tipo de laser e não acha um coletor de fumaça eficiente e barato para comprar, pelo menos aqui no brasil não existe so tem para equipamentos grandes e preço alto.