Air Assist Piping for Fiber Laser Cutting Machine - SS vs. GI ?

[lancekaleb2015]

I am planning on a compressed air piping design for a Fiber Laser Cutting Machine. Our boss needs reliable sources/reference that recommends air assist piping material selection designated for fiber laser cutting machine.

We used compressed air as an air assist gas. We also had air filter before the laser cutting head unit.
The current set-up that we had is, an existing 2" GI pipe header. We had a screw compressor and a refrigerant type air dryer and filters.

Does it void the plan of SS piping because the receiving tank is not stainless?
Does it help or improve our process if we will install SS? or a normal galvanized pipe will do the duty?

A recommendation from a well known laser cutting manufacturer/company that would justify using SS as an air assist gas piping would really help.



Thanks in Advance.

 

[bimr]

Many places use "shop air" and then rely on filters to remove the crud and debris. Is this too expensive for you?

Galvanized is a bad choice, but you have also left out some of the better alternatives such as the thermplastic Air-Pro and the aluminum Transair systems.

http://asahi-america.com/images/x-assets/PDF/CatalogAirProDec2013.pdf

http://www.transairaluminumpipe.com/?gclid=CNDnmPexyMMCFRAzaQodE1EAnw

You may desire a dedicated compressor as well:

http://www.amada.com/america/TEXT FILES/EZ_ Cut.pdf

You need to decide on how much pain that you are currently experiencing and then develop a budget on how much you want to spend. There is no easy button for all applications.

 

[racookpe1978]

If you select a dedicated filter for the laser cooling air - probably a good idea in any case, install that filter immediately upstream of the laser cutting machine's inlet. (Put the filter not just between the compressor and the laser, but between the compressor-pipe-filter-laser.)

 

[lancekaleb2015]

@bimr - the company is willing to invest if it is really justifiable to use SS.
The total length of 2" SS steel to be install is around 25-30 meters that comes from the compressor room to the production line.
We need to benchmark from a company that specializes in the industry of fiber laser cutting. Are they using a SS piping for their laser assist gas?

We just need to confirm what facilities they had for their air assist gas.

Thanks for the inputs....

 

[lancekaleb2015]

@racookpee1978 - If you select a dedicated filter for the laser cooling air - probably a good idea in any case, install that filter immediately upstream of the laser cutting machine's inlet. (Put the filter not just between the compressor and the laser, but between the compressor-pipe-filter-laser.)

We already had a filter and regulator before the laser head. We also have a 3 stage filter in the air dryer and compressor but it is not equipped with auto drain.

We just need to be sure if it can help us installing a SS pipe in the air assist gas lines, because most of the laser manual that I've read doesn't really specify on what material is really recommended for this kind of duty.