I am considering getting this to power my air-assist, as it has a 3L tank & supposedly outputs 20-23L per minute. Price seems reasonable @ AU$106 with free shipping.
Any thoughts on whether this seems decent enough to power air-assist? I imagine that it would be much better than my current setup of aquarium pumps.
Actually, found the exact same thing from another seller for only AU$69.99.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-1-6-HP-AIR-BRUSH-COMPRESSOR-SPRAY-GUN-1-8HOSE-TANK-/200657637579?hash=item2eb82090cb:g:zGIAAOSwdG9XRCEa
edit: couldn’t resist at that price, so I’ve ordered one. Expected delivery Mon-Weds next week.
I don’t think it works I have similar one. It’s spits the same flow as a blower and no constant psi. I think air pump for fish tank it’s best. I’m still researching
EcoPlus 728457 5 to 80W Single Outlet Commercial Air Pump, 1300 GPH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JLGJVM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_RxACxbZFTYD8K
Maybe I should have waited a bit before hitting BUY then. Oh well, it should still come in handy for airbrush or the likes. We’ll see how it goes when I get it.
I have the 35W 1030GPH model. While it worked great as a chip blower on my small CNC router it’s also pretty anemic as an air assist. They’re rather different, the aquarium pump moves a large volume at low pressure, while the airbrush compressor moves a smaller volume at higher pressure.
@Kirk_Yarina Thanks Kirk.
I’m trying to find something that will be suitable for my air-assist head that I designed to force a larger volume through the air-assist head (it’s similar in design to how the dyson bladeless fans work). Currently I have 2 air pumps attached to it pumping air in, but the flow is super weak. Maybe I just need larger airpump/s.
@Yuusuf_Sallahuddin_Y With the attached air tank it should have a relatively smooth flow. I have an airbrush pump (23 lpm) plumbed into a 5 gal portable air tank and it has smooth flow with plenty of capacity. Get a small ball valve to regulate the flow a bit and provide a bit of back pressure.
Saite has a decent looking air pump that is being sold for the purpose.
It looks like a quality unit to me.
Used with a Plug-in air assist controller/houmeter driver kit, it would be a nice setup.
Info on the former forthcoming.
Here’s info on the pumps. They aren’t cheap, and may be found elsewhere for a better price. Try to find a carbon vane pump, not a diaphragm pump. The vane pumps run forever and don’t need oil or diaphragm replacement. pump. The vane pumps run forever and don’t need oil or replacement diaphragms. (I’m not sure of these ones, hard to tell if they are diaphragm or vane.)
I’ll look around, or maybe a user that found a good working vane pump will weigh in.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hailea-Electromagnetic-Air-Compressor-Pump-Aquarium-Fish-Laser-Engraver-60W-/261754845663
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/HQ-Hailea-Air-Compressor-Pump-Aquarium-Fish-Laser-Engraving-Cutting-80W-80L-Min-/252371628440
Here’s an example of a vane pump, they are frequently used as vacuum pumps, and work well as either a vacuum or low pressure air air pumps.
One system that would work well if you want to put in the work is to get a small tank type compressor designed for air nailers, often a “pancake” style, and put it in a location well away from your work area so you don’t have to listen to it,. run some 16mm PE tubing to rout laser, then regulate it down and use a solenoid valve to turn o/off.
I’m using this system, but have a 7.5hp 100gal commercial compressor in my shop. The High pressure is handy for using a blow gun etc for other work.
As many projects as you make, a little 2- or 3hp unit with a 10 gal tank could power small air tools like 1/8" grinders, and paint guns. It may be worth considering.
Scott
@Nedman @Scott_Marshall Thanks for weighing in & for your explanations.
I was considering a proper air-compressor but was concerned of the noise factor at night time (since I tend to do a lot of my laser work after midnight).
The thought of a proper 2hp/3hp air compressor for using other air powered tools was one of the main factors of my consideration for one. As I’ve never really used air-compressors I was unsure of whether they retain the compressed air for extended periods of time (e.g. over night). I thought that if they did, I could compress a full tank (during day-time) & have that available for my cutting during the night, noise-free.
Alternatively, I should just move out to the bush where nearest neighbour can’t hear me using power tools at 3am haha.
Compressor will provide psi for a period of time. Unless it’s big enough to be continuous. Once it’s open you loose pressure and get only flow. Power tool like airbrush, nail gun and similar just use a small burts, a quick open and close thus let’s the compressor get pressure again.
@Ariel_Yahni_UniKpty Yeah, that makes sense. I’m considering using some kind of system that only opens the flow when the laser is actually firing. So it would provide short bursts of air, like an air-brush. But, as usual with me, everything is just a “test” to see what happens if I do this. No idea if it will work haha.
Could work if we can program a small burst every few seconds since openning it for regular cut patch would drain it. This can be easily be done I believe via smoothie and a valve that can be controlled
@Ariel_Yahni_UniKpty That’s why you need to throttle the flow some to have some back pressure. As long as you are not flowing wide open the system will have some pressure. For instance, if I build up 20 psi in my system I can put out 15 lpm and maintain that pressure. 
I have a 5 gal tank.
@Ariel_Yahni_UniKpty I think Scott has been working on something to add in with his ACR board that controls your airflow, as I did see some “air-assist” pins on his board diagram.
That would be nice to have an automatic on/off for the air assist. Lol I keep forgetting to turn my on before starting a job.
5 Gal is a lot more than 3L from this airbrush compressor isn’t it?