Infrastucture

I have don't think we have a dedicated thread for it yet so I will make one here. We have the compressor installed at the new Makerspace! Thank you again to Skeans Pneumatic and Automation for there donation of the compressor at the old space. It is continuing to serve us well.

Thank you to everyone who has helped with the install. Sorry if I miss anyone: Torsten, Grant, James and Andrew.

The compressor is in a small shack to the left of the woodshop exit. I poured a small slab, due to trying to get it done as soon as possible I took some shortcuts that defiantly burned me later. A shack was built off the building on the slab and insulated with Safe and Sound. The slab cracked, settled and would not take fasteners to hold the compressor. We placed ready rod in the holes and poured a new top on the slab. It is hardening well.

The compressor has been installed. It is on plywood pucks. It is on the 30 amp breaker on the low left of the panel. There is a valve on the wall by the lathe that will disconnect the compressor from the system. There is a dryer inline without he compressor. The drain from the dryer and the compressor tank are both attached to solenoids on timers and routed to blow out above the roof of the shack.

To do:

• Roof Shack
• 110 V for light and solenoids
• Heat

There is a lot more to add here. Please add any other documentation here so we have a future reference. Particularly the rest of the air system.

Could you add a shut off valve and the flow limiter at the compressor? It would make service and modifications easier.

I will do that next time I am around.

Shut off and flow limiter are installed.

Posting here to keep this subject together.

Unfortunately, I may have been overzealous in insulating the compressor shack. We have developed an overheating problem. I added vents a month ago, however, with the temperature coming up the thermal protection on the air compressor is tripping. This has been particularly problematic on long laser cuts. It does pose a bit of a safety problem as it can increase the likelihood of a fire when the air assist stops.

I have a couple of 110V fans that would fit the vents I put on the doors. I am wondering if it is best to wire them to a temp sensor or tie them to the compressor running. Perhaps with a timer to run after the compressor turns off to cool the shack. I will also put some vents in the roof on the high side to vent any trapped heat there.

As for the laser. I think we should add a low-pressure alarm with a sensor on the feed to the regulator to avoid it being impacted by regulator changes and give a longer window before it impacts the regulated pressure. Grant, would it be possible/feasible to integrate this into the laser room control system you have been building?

The fans could be installed and left running for now. We could put in a thermostat by September.

We could wire a low pressure alarm directly to the laser. Low pressure should pause the laser. A warning light would need to light up so you would know why the laser paused. No need to ruin a project.

That was what I was hoping for. I was not sure the fesability of having it pause.

Does anyone know which version of Rudia controller is used on the laser? There are so many to choose from and I want to study the manual.

RDC6442S(EC)

Still Having heat problems in the shack. I have installed a 12" fan in the side of the shack. I have not finished wiring it, however I have a thermostat coming for it Monday so I will finish it then. I had turned of the breaker to the compressor so it would not kick on while I was hugging it. I forgot to turn it back on. It is safe to turn that breaker back on.

I finished wiring the fan up. I added a Thermostat (Type KTS 011) It is currently set to 25 degrees. Please post here if the thermal overload goes off again. There should be no need to open the compressor door when laser cutting now.