How to maintain the laser engraving and cutting machine in winter

          In winter, the cooling water needs to be replaced regularly to avoid exceeding the specified temperature. In severe winter, it is assumed that the temperature of the cold water will not increase much. The laser tube cooling layer is not within the scope of replacement, so in winter, all cooling water in the laser, cutting head, lens, and water cooler must be cleanly discharged to effectively protect the entire set of water cooling pipes and related devices!
It is a very common thing to do the anti-freezing of the laser cutting machine in winter. The risk avoidance is mainly from the following aspects. Here we will give you a related introduction. We must pay attention to the following three key points:

       1. Since the laser cutting machine uses water as a cooling medium, the operating temperature of the laser should be above 5℃. If the workshop has conditions, we still need to ensure that the equipment is not damaged as much as possible so that the temperature is 15 °C to 35 °C. Therefore, we particularly remind users that when using our laser cutting equipment, it is possible to ensure the working environment and working temperature of the laser cutting machine.

      2. In winter, if there is no heating in the workshop or the temperature of the environment may be lower than 5 ℃, the use of professional laser antifreeze measures will maximize the damage of the laser cutting machine. If the laser does not work at night, or does not work on weekends, you can still turn on the machine. In this way, the cooling water is still in a circulating working state and will not freeze.

      3. If your factory or workshop is on holiday for a long time during the holiday, the machine tool will not operate. Be sure to pay attention to the winter heat treatment of the machine tool. All water in the chiller, laser, and laser cutting head must be drained to prevent damage to the machine tool due to icing.

The following is to provide you with some technical information and solutions for antifreeze

      1. Basic principles and methods of antifreeze
Liquids have a “freezing point”. When the temperature of the liquid is lower than this “freezing point”, it will solidify to form a solid, and the volume of the deionized water or purified water will increase during solidification, which will “broken” the pipes of the water cooling system. Damage to the sealed connection. In order to avoid the damage of laser, output head and water cooler caused by the solidification of cooling liquid, there are 3 solutions:
      Option one, such as the situation where there is absolutely no power outage in the local area, the water cooler is not turned off at night to ensure that the coolant is in a circulating state and the temperature is not lower than the freezing point.
    Option two, after the daily use, the laser, the laser output head, and the cooling liquid in the water cooler are emptied.
Option three, use antifreeze as the cooling fluid.

      2. The cooling water evacuation method and pipeline design scheme are as follows:
      Open the water drain valve of the chiller and drain all the water. Take out the filter element and drain it, because this part of water can not be drained to prevent the ice from swelling the shell. Some water that is not easy to discharge needs to be blown off with compressed air. In order to prevent water from flowing back into the laser and damaging the precision sensor inside the laser. All water valves must be closed. For guidance, call 400-0635-668 for consultation.

      Finally open the drain of the water cooler to empty the residual water in the final water tank.

      Note: The laser, laser output surface, cutting head and all cooling water in the water cooler must be cleaned to effectively maintain the entire set of water cooling pipes and related devices!

      3. Use antifreeze to do antifreeze

When the application environment is often powered off and does not have the conditions for daily cooling fluid evacuation, antifreeze must be used. The root liquid of antifreeze is generally composed of alcohols and water, which requires high boiling point and flash point, high specific heat and conduction ability, low temperature viscosity, low foaming, no corrosion of metal parts, rubber hoses, etc. When selecting or preparing antifreeze, its freezing point should be 5℃ lower than the lowest temperature in the application environment.

      1. Use ethanol for short-term antifreeze:
If there is a power outage and the cooling water cannot be drained, temporary short-term antifreeze is required. You can participate in ethanol (alcohol) in deionized or purified water. The increase cannot exceed 40% of the volume of the water tank, because ethanol is very corrosive to oil, grease, etc. Paints and rubber parts are corrosive and corrosive to metals, so they cannot be used for a long time. You must empty and clean the cooling pipes with pure or deionized water within a week. If there are still antifreeze requirements, special antifreeze must be selected.

      2. Use special antifreeze of professional brand:
There are two types of antifreeze used in laser systems:

①Glycol-water type (industrial product, toxic to human body)

②Propylene glycol-water type (food grade, harmless to human body)

      Note: Any antifreeze cannot completely replace deionized water and cannot be used for a long time throughout the year. After winter, the pipeline must be cleaned with deionized or purified water, and the use of deionized or purified water as the coolant must be resumed.

      Because many users will add butter to the screw, they will definitely forget to clean up after the winter, resulting in no movement every time they are turned on. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to the working environment of the laser cutting machine during the use.
The above is the operation of laser cutting machine anti-freezing skills in winter. We should pay attention to mastering common sense. Only when we are familiar with the operation of anti-freezing skills can we better maintain laser cutting machine equipment. Finally, I wish you all a prosperous business and a wealth of money!