How Do I Size My Dust Collector For Laser Cutting?

The size of the dust collector required depends on a few variables. Laser cutting is an intensive operation, and accounting for all of these variables is important. Here are some of the major variables:

• Amount of material being cut. In short, the more material that is being processed, the bigger your dust collector needs to be. The amperage your laser cutter is using impacts how much dust is being produced; the more amperage, the more material is being removed (and the more dust is being produced).
• Amount of downtime in the cutting process. Many laser cutting operations run for hours at a time. During that period, the dust collector can’t be turned off or serviced in any significant way. If an operation needs to run for many hours at a time, then the dust collector must be sized accordingly—i.e., have a larger containment system and perhaps more filter media.
• Nature of the dust. Some dusts are easier to address than others. If your operation produces dry dust, it will quickly shed off of the filters, making dust collection easier. If there is moisture involved, then the dust will be stickier and more of a problem. An engineer is able to design the collector accordingly.

A good example of a dust collector suitable for laser cutting is a unit in the RoboVent Plaser Series. These units are designed for the high volumes of dust produced by these operations.