Laser Anti-Freeze Protection Measures

Laser operating temperature requirements

The working environment temperature of the laser should be controlled at about 22°C. The low-temperature water temperature should be set at 20-24°C, the high-temperature water temperature should be set at 28-30°C.
 
The chiller needs to work for more than 20 minutes before emitting laser to ensure that the actual temperature of the chiller reaches the set temperature. Open the monitoring software and confirm that the temperature of the laser main control board and the module optical sensor are above 18°C to reach the laser emission condition.
 
If the set temperature is not reached, the monitoring interface will pop up an alarm page to prohibit laser emission. To resume work, please restart the laser and observe that the temperature of the monitoring interface reaches 18°C before emitting laser.

Basic principles of anti-freeze

There is a "freezing point" in the chiller. When the temperature of the chiller is lower than the freezing point, the cooling water solidifies and expands in volume, causing the flow-through components in the laser cooling system such as water-cooled panels, water separators, and other components to expand, deform, or even crack.
 
For high power lasers, the core optical components are installed on the water-cooled panel, if the water-cooled panel cracks, it will directly cause the laser to be returned to the factory for repair which will bring greater economic losses to the user.
Therefore, winter anti-freezing measures must be taken for the laser.

Anti-freeze solution

1) Keep the chiller non-stop
Under the circumstance of no local power failure, the chiller can be kept running, and the low-temperature water and normal temperature water are both set to about 5°C. (ensure that the cooling water is above the freezing point while saving electricity)
 
2) Drain the cooling water in the machine
Drain the cooling water in the laser and chiller after each use.

Drainage method:

Water drainage from the chiller

Remove the water inlet pipe from the chiller, and then ventilate the water inlet (WATER IN) with compressed air until the residual water in the chiller is blown out.

Water drainage from the multi module CW fiber laser

Remove the water inlet pipe from the laser, and then ventilate the water inlet (WATER IN) with compressed air until the residual water in the laser internal water cooling pipe is blown out from the water outlet.

Water drainage from the single module CW fiber laser

Remove the water inlet pipe from the laser, and then ventilate the water inlet (WATER IN) with compressed air until the residual water in the laser internal water cooling pipe is blown out from the water outlet. Then plug the water inlet and outlet with a water pipe (or rubber plug) to prevent dust from entering the water pipe.

3) Use antifreeze to replace cooling water.
When the use environment is often power cut and does not have the conditions to drain the cooling water every day, antifreeze must be used.

The choice of antifreeze

1. Please select an antifreeze with a suitable freezing point according to the local temperature. The choice of antifreeze is not that the lower the freezing point is better, is according to the local minimum temperature, you can choose an antifreeze that is slightly lower than the local temperature.

2. Maxphotonics recommends American Clariant antifreeze for the chiller.

Ratio