So it looks like you're going from 4" to 5" then back down to 4"?

thanks for all your help - We're going to look into this company tomorrow. The decibal level is lower than our current setup which is up towards 80. These inline are in the 50 range. Think we're on to something!

Thanks again, Mark! Will let you know how we make out!

Holly,

The Epilog Mini and TT also uses the exhaust for cooling of the laser tube, it does not have built in fans. So be carefull of going below 400-600 cfm. This is a case of more is better. Moving the blower motor to the attic or outside is a better solution.

Mark,

The air flow is sucked over the tube before it enters the bed area to pick up the smoke and then it exhausts.

Yes - that's my mini too. I have 4 cooling fans.

Dave - what type of exhaust setup do you have for the mini? (Apologize in advance if you already stated earlier in this post....no coffee yet!)

Holly, there are a number of manufactures that make a 1 hp. exhaust blower that will work really well with your Mini. Most of these are sold as dust collection units. most have a 4" dia. inlet and a 4" dia. outlet. We have tried amny of them and they all seem to work fine. Grizzley Industrial, Delta, Harbor Freight, Penn Industries to name a few. You can usually get into almost any of these units for $150 to $ 200. And they are all pretty quiet.

As important as the cfm rating of the exhasut blower is the static pressure rating of the blower. Do not get anything with less than 6" of static pressure. Moving air is important, but the pressure to move that air is every bit as important.

Well Nick it's not much of a device but a bunch of precautory measures. First off you need to get your blower to a service and repairs workshop for venting and extraction devices so they can level the blade on it, this reduces noise greatly, and extends the life of your blower. Also make sure al the parts that come in contact with the blower have proper friction reduction mechanism, i use tire rubber in the floor and polyurethane foam for the holes in the walls. I attach images for those two, nevermind the dust, the blowers for the four laser machines i have here are in a secluded room with the air compressor, we call this (guess what!) the machine room. The room also has the walls covered in styrofoam to reduce the noise even further, like you would in a recording studio.

As far as i know the length of the pipes or the distance between the laser system and the blower is not a factor for noise reduction, it might be for odors though.

I hope this is useful for you.

p.s. I already found a provider for the vacuum pump, the high precission gas pressure regulator and the mix of gases to refill the laser tube, a coherent diamond g-50. The gas pre-mix is 4.5 percent CO2, 13.5 percent N2, and 82 percent He. We wont be working friday and saturaday, meaning I'll get to work on it on sunday. I'll keep you posted on that.

The more airflow the cleaner the machine and especially the cleaner the optics.

I use a 1.5 HP chip collector for my NH Optima laser. 30' run to the blower then about 10" to the outside. Unfortunately most of the run is in flexible tubing, goes around more things in the ceiling than you can imagine. It still sucks. (That is a good thing!)

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

Holly, my exhaust system is different than most, and was far too expensive for most situations.

I'm located in the second floor of a brick building in the center of a small historic town. There are a mix of apartments and businesses here and the slightest smell of burning wood or plastic will cause a panic (the town burned to the ground in the late 1800's so the fire department is on a hair trigger).

I also couldn't modify the building, but the room I use for the laser already had an exhaust vent (low power) in the wall from when it was a restaurant prep room a few decades ago. So I bought a large filtering system that has an electrostatic smoke and particle remover followed by a 3 stage filter/blower. The two units together cost over $4,000, but they remove all smoke and fumes while providing the needed air flow for the laser. The output of the filter just comes out into the same room, a couple of feet under the wall exhaust, which slowy pushes the air outside.

The plates in the electrostatic filter have to be cleaned all the time, but they catch so much smoke that the HEPA and charcoal filters in the other unit last quite a long time.

But this is not the normal type exhaust system most laser folks use. It's a special case.

Well I just got off the phone with Epilog...

They advise that my Penn State Industries blower - 1 1/2 HP; 850 CFM - is ideal for a mini. However, he confirmed that Penn State makes the loudest blowers in the industry.

I asked about the inline blowers. He advises they could work but as someone in this thread said earlier, higher CFM is better as it helps the mini keep clean. So I'd need to keep that in mind when considering an inline...higher CFM ones are more cost than I'm interested in spending right now.

So I've come full circle from last night...we're back to the re-work of the venting from the existing exhaust to the outside. God knows I have enough PVC piping on the deck that's been there all winter just itching to get installed! Epilog did suggest we insulate all that piping too. We'll see.

So thank you to all for your thoughts/input! I'll let you know how we make out!

I think this was one of our better discussions.... Hardly got off topic and everyone had good solutions to their individual situations...

My shop is loacated in general business area and the quiter the fan the better for all..... Hard to believe Epilog could not refer a company with a quiter blower.....Insulation would not be a solution in my area.
Dr.s upstairs, Insurance agents nextdoor and computer repair on the other side.............

Be safe working in the attic..........