Vacuum aluminium

[Carrara]

Hi, just wanted to ask if anybody here on the FOG have vacuumed cold aluminium "chips" with a Festool extractor and had any malfunction on the extractor because of that? Note that I wrote cold.. meaning that the extractor wasnt plugged in to for example the Kapex at the time of cutting..

Cheers!

 

[RKA]

I haven't done it, but I wouldn't be particularly concerned.  The aluminum swarf is more abrasive, so if you're doing it routinely, I might switch to a cheaper non-antistatic hose, but that could be a false economy as that may wear through much faster as well, offsetting the lower cost of replacement.  But, that swarf is fairly large and you don't need a HEPA extractor for that kind of clean up, so you could just use any inexpensive vacuum for the job (if you have one nearby) where replacement bits (and bags!) are really inexpensive.  But if I only had the Festool, I would use it without hesitation.

 

[Peter_C]

I cut and route aluminum sometimes with a different brand dust extractor *shrugs* No issues. Aluminum is good at dissipating the minor heat created. Go for it!

 

[rst]

In the last 36 yearsI've cut enough aluminum to fill a dumpster with chips...it is not an issue for any vac.

 

[Discap]

I cut aluminum regularly on my Kapex and CT26 and Midi.  No issues

Bill

 

[Bohdan]

The situation to avoid is a mixture of aluminium chips, from cutting or sanding and rust dust in your bag as this is called Thermite, it's flammable and burns at 2500*C.

If you add some copper oxide dust it can ignite much more readily but it would still need a spark to reach the bag.

 

[Maximus]

The situation to avoid is a mixture of aluminium chips, from cutting or sanding and rust dust in your bag as this is called Thermite, it's flammable and burns at 2500*C.

If you add some copper oxide dust it can ignite much more readily but it would still need a spark to reach the bag.

Yep - you totally want to avoid aluminum and iron oxide in your extractor bag!  [scared]  Thermite is how POW's burn through metal bars and escape, and also how to weld metal in survival situations.  It can also be used by certain stealthy type military peeps to destroy things without attracting too much attention, as it does not explode - it just turns into a red hot molten mass!

 

[Discap]

Although Thermite may (but not always) contain aluminum I cannot fathom how chips from cutting could in any way react to cause a fire.  Thermite has a bonded oxidizer that provides the oxygen when the activation energy reaches a sufficient level.  No way that atmospheric oxygen is going to do that.

Magnesium, that is another story.  Don't cut it.  I found out the hard way what Class G extinguisher is.

Bill

 

[rst]

I've cut aluminum along with plastics and wood for 36 years...all go to the same Oneida.  I would have thought that if there would be an issue it would have reared up at least once in all the dumpster filled chips I've produced.