Laser water cooler also needs your protection

Basic principles and methods of antifreeze

There is a "freezing point" in the cooling water. When the temperature of the cooling water is lower than the "freezing point", the cooling water solidifies and expands in volume at the same time, causing the flow-through components in the laser cooling system, such as water cooling plates, water separators and other components to expand and deform, or even swell. crack. For high-power lasers, the core optical components are all installed on the water-cooled plate, and the water-cooled plate swells and cracks, which will directly cause the laser to be returned to the factory for repairs, thereby causing large economic losses to users.

Therefore, winter antifreeze measures for lasers must be taken. Here are 3 solutions:

1) Keep the chiller without stopping. In the absence of local power outages, the chiller can be kept running, and at the same time, both the low temperature water and the normal temperature water are set to about 5°C (to ensure that the cooling water is higher than the freezing point and save electricity).

2) Drain the cooling water in the machine. Drain the cooling water in the laser and water cooler after each use.

Here's how to drain:

Example diagram of water cooler▲

Example diagram of multimode laser▲

Example of a single-mode laser▲

3) Replace the cooling water with antifreeze. Antifreeze must be used when there are frequent power outages in the environment and it is not possible to drain the cooling water every day.

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 freezing point is as low as possible, but according to the local lowest temperature, choose an antifreeze slightly lower than the local temperature.

2. It is recommended to use a professional brand of antifreeze.

Foreign brands: It is recommended to use Dowthem SR-1 products represented by American Dow Chemical or CLARIANT (Clariant) brand. There are two types of antifreeze suitable for laser systems:

1) Antifrogen®N glycol-water type;

2) Antifrogen®L propylene glycol-water type;

Domestic brands: LM series products represented by Chaoyang Chemical Industry are recommended.

Note: Any antifreeze cannot completely replace deionized water, and it is not recommended to use it for a long time throughout the year. After winter, it is recommended to use deionized water or distilled water to clean the pipeline, and restore the use of deionized water or distilled water as the coolant.

Precautions

1) When the outside temperature is ≥5°C, the water cooler can use the electric heating mode (automatic intermittent opening);

2) When the outside temperature is <5°C, the water chiller needs to use the continuous cooling mode (automatically and continuously open);

3) Regardless of the working mode of the water chiller, the water circuit circulation needs to be maintained during the antifreeze period;

4) If it is shut down for a long time (such as during the Spring Festival shutdown), it is recommended to drain the cooling water in the equipment, and use compressed air to blow off the residual water in the equipment (including lasers and chillers).