Dusty environments and laser cutters

[efab]

Hello,

I am trying to convince my university administrators that putting a laser cutter in a wood shop is a bad idea because the exhaust system draws dusty air from the shop through the cutter. The machine we have needs constant cleaning to the motion control system and the optics need replacing. They are considering by a brand new Universal machine to put right next to it. This seems bad.

How can I convince them otherwise?

Erik
Graduate Teaching Fellow
Art Department Fabrication Lab

[brunog]

Erik,
In my opinion, the best way to go about the problem is by estimating the cost of maintenance for both situations. If the environment in which the laser cutter is installed is very dusty, then the cost of cleaning the optical and eventually replacing them will be higher.

Best regards,

Bruno