To be precise - from the grid surface. The crumb tray as a unit has almost no space between the bottom of the machine.
Yes, from the top surface of the deck. I was replying to this;
I didn’t take that to mean under the crumb tray.
Do you have any idea how often it needs to be cleaned, say per hours of lasing?
Blowing air out of the nozzle seems more effective than blowing it across the nozzle. I’m wondering if the air blown across the nozzle might not induce eddies just inside the nozzle that could sweep up debris or fumes into the nozzle.
It would be interesting to model both approaches with Comsol and perhaps GF has already done something of the kind.
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I’ve looked at those samples before. Aside from the finish, my first concern is making sure it is real wood and not some vinyl substitute.
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That’s true. I don’t recall seeing good photos (thanks @PFI-Guy!) of the fan area before though. We probably would have had this discussion a long time ago if those of us without a PRU were graced with the opportunity to see the hardware earlier.
I haven’t cleaned mine at all in 2 months of use. @marmak3261 probably has better discrete data though. The issue is going to be what are you lasing and how much is cutting vs engraving. For instance engraving acrylic pumps out a lot of very fine almost ash-like dust (although not as bad with cast acrylic than extruded) but cutting it doesn’t produce much residue at all. Wood engraving or paper cutting, etc are all different in terms of what floats out & about to deposit on a lens or mirror shield.
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Yeah, I’m getting ready to clean mine, the oak engrave I did last month put so much oily crap around, and the silicone leaves a lot of white powder around. I find the solid woods produce a lot of ash too…
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It makes sense that the sort of lasing you do will be a major factor in how often you need to clean. I suppose the only ways to tell if your lens (or mirrors) need cleaning would be to see a degradation in performance or to just pull the components and visually check them. Russ seemed to go at least a few months between cleaning but I don’t know how often he used his laser and it seems that he used it mostly for cutting acrylic or cutting/marking paper.
Now that actual production units are shipping we should see user reports on the need to clean (or lack of same) within a few months.
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There is a separate small fan blowing air past the lens to keep it clean.
You don’t want to let it get dirty because it will get hot and can crack. I.e. any reduction in efficiency due to dirt causes the lost power to be dissipated in the dirt.
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Yes, clean optics is Paramount - if the energy isn’t transmitted it’s deposited.