• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Summa F1612 Air Compressor

mbarden

New Member
Hi Folks,
We've purchased a Summa F1612 and are getting the area ready for installtion. What air compressors have you installed? Do you get a sperate compressor or run air off of an existing paint booth complressor?
Thanks
 

PHILJOHNSON

Sales Manager
Good afternoon,

The air compressor that you select will vary depending on whether you are getting any of the pneumatic tools like the POT or high frequency router, but if you aren't getting any of the pneumatic tools a "pancake" compressor will be sufficient for the media advance clamps. If you are getting some of the pneumatic tools, a lot of the companies that we work with like to use the California Air Tools compressors and the reviews have been solid on those. Not sure who you purchased the 1612 from, but we usually send out a full site preparation guide ahead of time that lists out all the specs for the compressor, electrical, etc. so you might check with your dealer to see if they have anything like that.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com
 

netsol

Active Member
no reason you can't do either, as long as it is good, clean DRY air
look in the installation manual and bebsure you give it thevpressure it requires
 

mbarden

New Member
Good afternoon,

The air compressor that you select will vary depending on whether you are getting any of the pneumatic tools like the POT or high frequency router, but if you aren't getting any of the pneumatic tools a "pancake" compressor will be sufficient for the media advance clamps. If you are getting some of the pneumatic tools, a lot of the companies that we work with like to use the California Air Tools compressors and the reviews have been solid on those. Not sure who you purchased the 1612 from, but we usually send out a full site preparation guide ahead of time that lists out all the specs for the compressor, electrical, etc. so you might check with your dealer to see if they have anything like that.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com
We got the Summa from Northlight Color. they sent the guide but honestly its a little confusing. As with anything you can spend a lot of money on the ancillary products so I'm wondering if anyone has any good suggestions. We do not have a pneumatic tools ordered. we do have the 1.4 router though.
 

PHILJOHNSON

Sales Manager
There are several guides, and some companies make their own, so it's possible the one you received is quite a bit different than the one we created(which we started when we owned and operated Summa and then refined it over time). If you aren't getting any pneumatic tools, there is no need at all to invest in a high capacity compressor when all you'll be using the air for is the pneumatic clamps. 100 PSI(7 bar) @ 0.7CFM is all you need for the clamps.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com
 

ProColorGraphics

New Member
We got the Summa from Northlight Color. they sent the guide but honestly its a little confusing. As with anything you can spend a lot of money on the ancillary products so I'm wondering if anyone has any good suggestions. We do not have a pneumatic tools ordered. we do have the 1.4 router though.
It doesn't take much. My building has a big compressor setup as it was an old forklift service building. But when that went out for a while, I just used a small pancake compressor for a few weeks and it worked just fine. I would get a decent sized tank and a super quiet one if it's gonna be in the same area.
 

kosh_al

New Member
Good afternoon,

The air compressor that you select will vary depending on whether you are getting any of the pneumatic tools like the POT or high frequency router, but if you aren't getting any of the pneumatic tools a "pancake" compressor will be sufficient for the media advance clamps. If you are getting some of the pneumatic tools, a lot of the companies that we work with like to use the California Air Tools compressors and the reviews have been solid on those. Not sure who you purchased the 1612 from, but we usually send out a full site preparation guide ahead of time that lists out all the specs for the compressor, electrical, etc. so you might check with your dealer to see if they have anything like that.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext. 112
philj@airmark.com
Phil, from what I read in the Summa F Series User Manual Rev15 (page 1-19, section 1.5.6), the HF router appears to still be an electric motor (like the standard router) with a pneumatic "clamp" for the collet for the bit. I imagine since it is just the collet using the air pressure, that a large capacity compressor is not needed for the HF router. We are going to get our F1612 up and running hopefully in the next two weeks and we shall find out!! We purchased this compressor to use and we have the EOT, not the POT. FORTRESS 2 Gallon, 135 PSI Ultra Quiet Oil-Free Hand-Carry Jobsite Air Compressor
 
Last edited:

balstestrat

Problem Solver
Phil, from what I read in the Summa F Series User Manual Rev15 (page 1-19, section 1.5.6), the HF router appears to still be an electric motor with a pneumatic "clamp" for the collet for the bit. I imagine since it is just the collet using the air pressure, that a large capacity compressor is not needed for the HF router. We are going to get our F1612 up and running hopefully in the next two weeks and we shall find out!! We purchased this compressor to use and we have the EOT, not the POT. FORTRESS 2 Gallon, 135 PSI Ultra Quiet Oil-Free Hand-Carry Jobsite Air Compressor
You need dry air (air dryer) for the POT and HF router. That's why you need to go up with the compressor.

 

kosh_al

New Member
You need dry air (air dryer) for the POT and HF router. That's why you need to go up with the compressor.

We have a manual dessicant air dryer/oil remover in line between the compressor and the table, so dry, oil free air is no issue. What I was saying are that the specs for the HF router show that it is not a pneumatically driven router, it simply uses pneumatic pressure to operate the collet clamp and the router motor itself is electric. There appears to be no need for a compressor with a large air tank (reservoir) to only operate the table clamps and the collet on the HF router. I could see maybe needing a larger tank to operate the POT since it is a pneumatically operated tool and would have a constant air draw during operation.
 

balstestrat

Problem Solver
We have a manual dessicant air dryer/oil remover in line between the compressor and the table, so dry, oil free air is no issue. What I was saying are that the specs for the HF router show that it is not a pneumatically driven router, it simply uses pneumatic pressure to operate the collet clamp and the router motor itself is electric. There appears to be no need for a compressor with a large air tank (reservoir) to only operate the table clamps and the collet on the HF router. I could see maybe needing a larger tank to operate the POT since it is a pneumatically operated tool and would have a constant air draw during operation.
Nevermind on this part, I was wrong.

It's also constantly pressured so small compressor likely is running too often to once again reduce the compressor life. Other than that you don't need much more output.
I'm not sure if it's also air cooled that way, to some extend anyway.

These are the actual specs for the dryer.

With HF router option:
Particle Class 3
Water Class 4
Oil Class 3

And yes, for POT you need more air.
 
Last edited:

kosh_al

New Member
Summa says that you need Active dry air for HFR, not manual. Otherwise you will reduce the life of the spindle.
It's also constantly pressured so small compressor likely is running too often to once again reduce the compressor life. Other than that you don't need much more output.
I'm not sure if it's also air cooled that way, to some extend anyway.

These are the actual specs for the dryer.

With HF router option:
Particle Class 3
Water Class 4
Oil Class 3

And yes, for POT you need more air.
Can you share documentation that says the Air Dryer has to be active instead of manual? The pre-installation guide we have and the F Series user manual we have don't say anything about active/passive, just "The air quality should be clean and dry and filtered to 15 microns.", which we have an ISO Class 2 Air Filter/Dryer-Oil filter setup that at least meets the requirement by cooling the compressed air to -40 degrees (reduced dewpoint) and filtering to 15 microns. The one you linked at Harbor Freight reduces the dewpoint by cooling the air to 36 Degrees which is equivalent to ISO Class 4. It does not filter/remove oil or other particulates and the owner's manual for the active Dryer shows it should be used in conjunction with a Manual Filter/Dryer and Oiler in line. (Of course we wouldn't use an oiler since we want to remove oil from the Air)

Our installers are coming out in under two weeks and I don't want to stop the show due to missing or improper equipment. I havent seen anythign that says we have to use active Air drying, and as long as the air is dry to the required specs, I don't see a difference in how the air gets dried, so long as it is dry to spec.
 

balstestrat

Problem Solver
Can you share documentation that says the Air Dryer has to be active instead of manual? The pre-installation guide we have and the F Series user manual we have don't say anything about active/passive, just "The air quality should be clean and dry and filtered to 15 microns.", which we have an ISO Class 2 Air Filter/Dryer-Oil filter setup that at least meets the requirement by cooling the compressed air to -40 degrees (reduced dewpoint) and filtering to 15 microns. The one you linked at Harbor Freight reduces the dewpoint by cooling the air to 36 Degrees which is equivalent to ISO Class 4. It does not filter/remove oil or other particulates and the owner's manual for the active Dryer shows it should be used in conjunction with a Manual Filter/Dryer and Oiler in line. (Of course we wouldn't use an oiler since we want to remove oil from the Air)

Our installers are coming out in under two weeks and I don't want to stop the show due to missing or improper equipment. I havent seen anythign that says we have to use active Air drying, and as long as the air is dry to the required specs, I don't see a difference in how the air gets dried, so long as it is dry to spec.
You know what, you are right. They only state active air dryer for the POT.
I guess the other classes don't necessarily require that.
 
Top