By Josh Perry, Editor [email protected]
In a recent case study from EXAIR, which was republished on AdvancedManufacturing.com, the company described how its custom cabinet cooling solutions ended production shutdowns for Lasercraft, Inc., a laser-cut metal manufacturer based in Fairfield, Ohio.
Controls at Lasercraft were vulnerable to summertime heat that could shut down production until the company installed compressed-air powered Cabinet Coolers from EXAIR. (EXAIR)
During a sweltering summer heat wave, Lasercraft had shop temperatures in excess of 100°F, which proved to be too high for the electrical components in its laser-cutting machinery. “The computer produced many error messages and then stopped operating,” the case study explained. “Lasercraft tried numerous times to get the program to run without success.”
The CBC machine’s circuit board had failed from overheating and a replacement cabinet took days to arrive, forcing the company to move production to another location in order to meet customer demands.
After looking at heat exchangers and air conditioning solutions, Lasercraft turned to EXAIR’s cabinet cooler system for both the laser cutter and for the control panel monitor. The cabinet cooler features a vortex tube that creates two air streams, one hot and one cold. The cold air is pushed through the cabinet forcing the hot air to rise into the ambient through an air exhaust.
“Most important to Lasercraft was the fact that there are no moving parts to wear out, making the cabinet coolers maintenance free,” according to EXAIR. “The only requirement was clean, dry, oil-free compressed air at 80-100 psi (551-689 kPa). EXAIR’s system provided a filter/separator for removing dirt and water from the compressed air to keep the inside of the enclosure contaminant free.”
Thermostats controlled the cabinet temperature at 35°C and minimized the air through the cabinet to reduce energy costs. The electronics in the cabinet were rated at 40°C, so the thermostat kept it below that threshold without using too much air.
Read the full case study at https://advancedmanufacturing.org/lasercraft-enclosure-cooling-production.
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