Ortur enclosure w/ smoke extraction idea

Special Interest Groups Laser SIG
#1

Got my laser a few weeks ago. I made a simple box enclosure with hinged lid for it and have been tinkering with ideas for smoke extraction. Then I had a spark of an idea and wanted to run it up the flag pole with you guys.

What if I made the lid of the enclosure an actual oven hood, with fan, filter and light? Attach it with a hinge somehow. Use charcoal filters which are readily available for oven hoods to filter the smoke. Put an orange plexi window on the front for viewing (still with safety glasses of course, i’m not THAT crazy).

I may try this if I can find a cheap used hood, but thought I’d put it out there to see if anyone has any thoughts, or if anyone has tried it before.

Thanks for your attention!

#2

just realize the smoke extraction can often have many uses. One if which is to get the smoke quickly away from the laser’s lens. This is why real laser cutters have an extraction fan below the bed and at the rear of the machine with inlet vents in the front of the machine. That and the “air assist” are tried and true working solutions to smoke extraction.

#3

You generally want to route smoke away for odor reasons. However, up close, you want it out of the laser light path so it doesn’t reduce effective power and you want it away from the lens surface because it can reduce effective power. That’s true in high power lasers so all the more relevant in the case of our Ortur which only have a few watts of output to begin with.

#4

Agreed. This is more for getting the fumes and smell away and out. I’m planning on adding air assist as soon as I can. This was NOT meant as an alternative to air assist. But more a solution for smoke/odor buildup in the shop itself. On decent days I can always open the garage door, but want something to cut down on the amount in general.

Anyway, it was just an idea. Thanks for the reply/advice.

#5

whatever you do @dagills22191 just plan the airflow according to what’s needed to keep a good working machine. Cross ventilation over/under the work area is ideal.