(Part 2) Top products from r/lasercutting

Having made them before I would say wood veneers work quite well. They likely need to be one sided and you will have to play with your settings because it's fairly easy to burn through. That said I've had the best results with these two:

Cedar Wood Veneer and Veneer Variety Pack

The cedar veneers are super consistent in quality. Thin enough to feel like a biz card but thick enough that they are sturdy like card stock paper. Prints well and gives a reasonable differentiation between shades of light and brown so that you can get some complex imagery going if you feel like it. The variety pack comes with a whole selection of woods of varying color and quality. Some are full of burls which don't lend themselves well to lasering over, and others have such a grain pattern that distracts to much from small imagery as used in a biz card. On the other hand some of them have beautiful sheen as well as very striking color.

Here's an example of some done with two veneers from the variety pack.

I dug into it and photo-resist looks like the way to go. There is a product called RapidMask which doesn't even require rinsing before use, and I think that is what is in my picture. You just zap it, stick it on, peel off the top sheet, and blast. The UV-exposed material disintegrates under the abrasive spray, and once you are done etching you wash off the mask with water.

I already have one of these guys, just a name brand version of the tool you posted:

http://www.amazon.com/Paasche-AEC-K-Air-Eraser-Kit/dp/B0001I2ASG

I have used it a couple of times and it's great, very easy to get a good effect.

So, I have a smaller compressor at home for tools and the such, this guy
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N5UHK0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and I have attached an airbrush regulator with filter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00171BFKK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Will these work good for air assist? I rarely use the compressor and would love to make it more useful ;)

I use my airbrush for applying anything that I can, be that paint/stain/finish etc. Aside from saving money on paint you get much better results with a bit of practice. Smoother transitions etc etc. This is especially true with laser cut projects as I will often mask whatever it is that I am making, which allows me to spray the engraved/cut parts with an airbrush, and then remove the masking for perfect results.here is an example Basically an airbrush is GREAT in combination with a laser cutter, that said, there is a cost. I'll provide you some links to my setup.

airbrush

compressor

fume hood

masking material

Also there will be a smattering of paints/cleaners/paint thinners and airbrush cleaning supplies you'll need. So you are probably looking at $300-500 investment to get a good set up. Now clearly you can spend less on the airbrush, and if you plan on working outside, you can skip the fume hood etc etc, but just know that you won't be saving money on this right off the bat. All that said I heartily recommend getting one

I use this air compressor with my H series: http://www.amazon.com/Airbrush-Depot-AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR-REGULATOR/dp/B0038D79DC

It is very loud, however I have it setup in my wood shop so it blends right in. I also have it plugged in to a power strip with my fan, water pump and laser so it reminds me if I haven't powered everything down. I have about 230 hours on it and run it for 5 - 6 hours at a time during busy season with no issues.

Please note that if you go with something like this it will not work out of the box. There is a quick disconnect that is on the back of the laser that you need a special connector for. I ended up getting a section of plastic tubing that fits over the whole thing since I didn't want to wait ordering it from somewhere. It has worked well so I never replaced it.

So I actually posted this as a thread about 20 minutes ago but it was removed without telling me why... Maybe it fits better here anyway...

So I'm about to set up the laser in the garage - after drilling the hole for the venting I'm hoping to have it up and tested this weekend. And then I thought of something....

I'm going to have a glass tube filled with water in an unheated garage... There's a server-rack in the corner, and it's not likely to get below freezing in there, but it's possible. I really don't want the water freezing in the tube.

I have a CW-5000 chiller sitting in the box waiting to be installed. There doesn't appear to be any protection against freezing built into it either, so I'm wondering what the options are:

• Antifreeze. This seems to be problematic. According to 'lasergods' (really?) the conductivity is an issue, and RV antifreeze - which has the lowest conductivity - is prone to "excessive" bacterial growth. I've seen tig welder coolant suggested as a low-conductivity alternative, but that seems to be corrosive to some things, and I'm not sure if it would be a problem for the cooling system loop components.
  
  
• Warming the water. The tank of water is contained within the CW5000, so I doubt that's an option. If I get an inline heater, I'd still have to pump it through the system, and I'm not sure if the CW5000 would allow that (depends on which type of pump it uses itself)
  
  
• Draining the tube/chiller at the end of every session. That doesn't seem like a great plan.
  
  
• Warming the garage up. I guess I could put a space heater in there, but I'm not overflowing with enthusiasm for this idea either. Those things have been known to go on fire, and we do go on vacation in the winter...
  
  All this assumes there's a temperature-monitoring system that can control an external pump/heater, but aquarium monitors have that down pat, and some temp. monitors can control relays like that too.
  
  So, in a plea to the wisdom of crowds... What do y'all do ? :)

I see blue light on the wall.

CO2 lasers emit long-wavelength infrared. It's pure heat. Getting that in your eye is like getting a blowtorch in your eye. There is a chance to restore some of your eyesight with an operation.

Diode lasers are in the visible spectrum. It fries the retina directly. There is no way to undo that.

Take this more seriously.

The fume extraction is about right. Ideally, the extractor fan is as close as possible to the exit in order to keep most of the ducting negatively pressurized.

Use a plank, cardboard, or whatever to cover the rest of the slit.

You can also buy that kind of thing on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R65112D/ (just the first one which popped up, not the cheapest one)

Interesting, I'll check out the thread. I have a lot of experience with ABS. It sure is stinky, but not toxic (unless you don't have any exhaust...). But I guess everything is toxic if there's enough of it ;-)

ABS can cut quite well, it does leave a tiny melted edge, but most of the time I just use a deburring tool to get rid of the edge.

I think it should be okay, it's more than double the CFM of the fan that is used for these filters, and 200 cfm over the laser recommendations:

https://www.amazon.com/IQAir-MultiGas-Purifier-Medical-Grade-HyperHEPA/dp/B00069EGA0/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536690079&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=IQAir+HyperHEPA&psc=1

I will have to run tests to be sure. At worst, I'll have to get a bigger fan!

From what I understand, yes... This one is often recomended

I used an airbrush compressor, but its probably overkill. The important aspect isnt the pressure, but the volume it can pump (GPH). Though I'm not sure how much you actually need.

The air compressor I use with my laser is similar to this one. It has been working quite well so far and isn't too noisy despite what the reviews on Amazon say. My exhaust blower is much noisier and drowns out the compressor noise. It puts out enough air to keep my cutting clean, but I will probably upgrade later so I can get more airflow.

I use a 6" duct inline blower with a vent to the roof.
On the laser itself I have a rectangular to 4" adapter that slots right into the back of the laser (sealed up with aluminum tape), a 4" flex hose, and a 6" to 4" reducer to connect to the blower.

Another option for ya:

https://www.amazon.com/POWTECH-Protector-Individual-Switched-Outlets/dp/B00279QRAE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517876818&sr=8-3&keywords=switched+ac+outlet

It would mount to the back, not inset into the box.

3 gang box: https://www.amazon.com/Carlon-B355R-5-72-Inch-2-79-Inch-3-69-Inch/dp/B000BQOXAG

switched outlet: https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-TR274W-Receptacle-Single-Pole-Resistant/dp/B005BTA0PA

If you don't have any design experience, I would suggest just buying a project box. There are all kinds of sizes, colors etc. example below

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002BSRIO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487735355&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=project+box

1/4 inch birch from home depot. Durablack labels, axle pegs, Gorilla glue and steel brackets. Because the laser leaves a char, glued joints are not that strong so I like the bracket / peg arrangement. To make, glue edge of each piece, knock together. When done, stick in the pegs, use a japanese flush cutting saw to whack off excess peg. DXF file is here.