CNC dust and smoke management

[Chris Puttick]

A day for CNC questions, anyone would think I'd committed to some ambitious projects with a hard deadline (6th birthday party levels of hard)

So I have a dust shoe attachment for the spinde - but how do I attach a pipe to it that doesn't interfere in the movement of the bit, particularly X/Y movement? Similarly what strategies are available for extracting the smoke generated by the laser - just put a large extractor inlet above the CNC? In the case of the laser I don't have space to put one of those little smoke filter vacs near the CNC, it's going to need pipes, at which point using existing extraction systems seems sensible. So I guess it all comes back to the right sort of pipe/routing.

All input welcome.

 

[meccarroll]

A day for CNC questions, anyone would think I'd committed to some ambitious projects with a hard deadline (6th birthday party levels of hard)

So I have a dust shoe attachment for the spinde - but how do I attach a pipe to it that doesn't interfere in the movement of the bit, particularly X/Y movement? Similarly what strategies are available for extracting the smoke generated by the laser - just put a large extractor inlet above the CNC? In the case of the laser I don't have space to put one of those little smoke filter vacs near the CNC, it's going to need pipes, at which point using existing extraction systems seems sensible. So I guess it all comes back to the right sort of pipe/routing.

All input welcome.

I have a Hilti vacuum that I use for my CNC I simply attach the hose from the Hilti vacuum to the ceiling using bungee cord (Two attachment points) which seems to allow the hose to move easily without restriction but also stay above the gantry. 1500mm x 700mm work area on the CNC so should also work for an 8' x 4' Machine too. Be careful about any flames from the laser igniting any dust in the extraction system.

 

[Chris Puttick]

Be careful about any flames from the laser igniting any dust in the extraction system.

Eeek.

 

[Ollie78]

You can support the extractor pipe by a bungie cord on the ceiling, just give it enough slack to move around the full bed area. It supports the weight but lets it move freely. I got some elastic para cord type bungie stuff from my neighbour which is thinner ( 5mm maybe ) and more flexy than the regular bungie cords with a hook on.
Not sure about the smoke but why not a welding or soldering extractor. for more quick and dirty option a big fan blowing accross the bed towards the open window.

 

[Sachakins]

Don't the size of your cnc, but I built an enclosure for mine.
I have dust extraction on the spindle, with hose on elastic just hanging from the top. I also have a simple inline bathroom extractor, piped to vent out of the shed for my laser enclosure.
I have a 4" flexi connecting from laser enclosure. If needed I can attach the flexi to the cnc enclosure to vent any smoke and fine floating particles outside.

I used one of these

VENTS UK 4 inch Loft Mounted Inline Shower Ceiling Powerful Ventilation Damp Control 100mm In Line Bathroom Extractor fan with Run On Timer 100 mm Silent In-line Toilet Ventilator https://amzn.eu/d/ak1nNXP

 

[Sideways]

I'd agree hose coming down from an attachment on the ceiling with suspension allowing lots of wiggle. If large, maybe a track with 2 or 3 moveable hangers suspending the hose.
More flexible hose will be better - some of the clear pu hoses used on woodwork machines seem more flexible than a lot of vacuum cleaner hoses.
High suction or high volume airflow probably depends on how good your dust shoe is.
You can put a fine wire mesh screen across the entrance to a hose to keep hot embers out of it, but that probably works only for fume extraction and ultra fine dust, otherwise the dust will quickly block the mesh up.

 

[meccarroll]

You can put a fine wire mesh screen across the entrance to a hose to keep hot embers out of it, but that probably works only for fume extraction and ultra fine dust, otherwise the dust will quickly block the mesh up.

CNC router/spindle cutters should be set at the right speed and feed to produce chips so mesh in this case would not work very well. Dust can cause rubbing and burn out the cutters so the aim is to produce chips that can be cleared. Using mesh for just a laser might work though.