How well does a water table contain smoke and dust?

[slowbob]

Hi,

A couple of the guy in our shared shop are going to have a plasma cnc build done in a couple weeks. We plan on using a water table, but I would like to know how well water contains smoke and dust. Should we vent it and do we need a hood? The cutting area is 4x5 so I think a hood is possible.

Any advice or experiences would be appreicated!

[jeffrey001]

Look at this thread, I think it says it all.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc_pl...ant_water.html


I don't know which one is better, hood or water table, but one thing is sure, you have to do something about the smoke, don't keep it in your shop.


Jeff

[slowbob]

Jeff, thanks for the reply and the link it is a good article, but I'm not sure it fully anwsers my question.

What I really like to know is how well does a water table work? 99% effective, 80% effective...
We do plan on installing a water table even if we add venting, but is venting necessary?

The machine will get light use, most likely not more than a few hours a month, but our shop is a coworking shop with 8 businesses. I'm trying to get a handle on how much soot/slag/dust is going to end up around the shop.

Thanks!
Bob Stack
What is industrial coworking? check out: A2 MechShop

[Pro-Fab]

Depending on the water level, the water table will capture at least 90% of the smoke. If you keep the water just below the plate, it will also quench the material and reduce distortion. The down side is that you will also have more slag to freezing to the bottom of the plate.
If you have a small shop you will probably want to add ventilation. In my old shop, we didn't have an air handling system, and smoke was barely noticeable, even in the winter with the doors closed, but we never used the table for more than an hour at a time.

[landmark]

I have had good luck using a small dust collection blower hooked up to a 4" flex line that I attach to cable carrier and hang right next to the plasma. That seems to get quiet a bit of the left over smoke the water table doesn't capture. Eventually I'll build a fume collection head that mounts on the z axis but for now just dangling the hose next to it works well.

[slowbob]

thanks for the responses!

From the replies I don't think we will have an issue. I do think we will add a small dust collection blower, like Landmark. I was mostly worrried about the heavier dust, smoke we can always open a door for a bit to clear out the shop.

thanks again,
Bob