I often wondered about cleaning that. It made a huge difference in my cuts. Thanks for highlighting this often ignored area.

@philscraftcorner

Жыл бұрын

I'm glad it helped so much

I've just started my K40 for the first time and it really struggled to cut through 6mm MDF even after 7+ passes with 50% power at 10 or even 5mm/s which really surprised me so I'm gonna give this a check and also find the focal point because the lines seemed quite thicker than expected

@philscraftcorner

2 жыл бұрын

The focal point is always a great place to start. Also make sure you're alignment is good and you are not getting any reflections from the laser head

this video just saved me big time, thank you so much man! I was so frustrated and now it's working again. thank you

Hi Phil, I had the same problem and did same think also I added ice in antifreeze and for the fist time I cut 4mm birch ply in one pass Thanks Raj in Bolton

I did learn what a difference dirty mirrors make. Thank you

@philscraftcorner

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it helped. I always try to clean my mirrors every hour or so

Yes, lens (or better to say output coupler) on the laser tube can get dirty over time. Use acetone and cotton buds for cleaning. Also, if your laser losing power during operation, check water temperature. If it goes over 25C then it is time to add ice pack or just allow to cool down. While temperature in the water container may be at 25C, in the laser tube it can be even higher. If water pump circulating water slowly, then that part you should use in account for losing power. I am talking about sudden loss of power during cutting, not gradual weakening of the laser tube due to dissociation of CO2 molecules.

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

Some good advice. Thank you

@MilanKarakas

3 жыл бұрын

@@philscraftcorner You are welcome.

Ive had this problem and just done the clean like you said.. fingers crossed it fixes

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

If the lens was not clean then it reduces a good bit of power from the machine. Hope it helps

@laurabrooks6986

3 жыл бұрын

Did yours have like a sticky circle in centre of it?? I send you a pic but you can't attach on here unfortunately

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

There was a bit of residue on mine, like a brown spot

@laurabrooks6986

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah thats the same as mine have cleaned it as much as possible but some wont budge

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe it's been building up for a while and baked on. What are you using to clean?

Are you saying that the laser 'tube' exit was dirty? Just before the first mirror?

@philscraftcorner

4 жыл бұрын

Yes the actual tube it's self. I have not had to clean. This since

thans for the tip Kind regards Hans

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

You are welcome :)

Tried this Phil, but still getting less cutting power for some reason. My tube is three years old but I've probably only run it for an two or three hours in total. I can get 100% clean cuts in 2mm acrylic anymore, even at 15mA and 10mm/s speed. In places the cut doesn't go all the way through.

@philscraftcorner

9 ай бұрын

That's a list to take guesses at, the first thing would be to check alignment and focal length, after that it might be an idea to check to see if changing power settings makes any difference on your Ma meter, one of mine had a power supply fail and not increase over a certain level. The tube could very well be on its way out too. The gas dissipates over time. See if the beam inside the tube looks pink/purple or white. Closer to white meals less Co2 left. It's not an exact science but a good indicator

@richardmarkham8369

9 ай бұрын

@@philscraftcorner Hi Phil, Thanks for responding so quickly! Focus looks good and I've double checked focal point with a cut on a sloping surface. Do mirrors degrade after a while? If so, can they be adjusted so the beam hits a different spot? I know it used to cut 2mm acrylic perfectly at 10mA, 20mm/s.

@philscraftcorner

9 ай бұрын

@richardmarkham8369 mirrors can degrade but that's more from use rather than just time. I know it's trivial but maybe check that the final lens is curved side up

@richardmarkham8369

9 ай бұрын

@@philscraftcorner I'll check that.

i have the same problem and i cleaned the lens too. was not dirty but what i have is when i test the beam i have 4 dots coming out from the tube. what can it be ?

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

The 4 dots from the laser tube is quite normal, there are a few patterns, some are a single dot, some are 2 dots, some are 4. It's only if you get multiple dots from the final lens that there could be an issue

@marcorossi5953

3 жыл бұрын

@@philscraftcorner the thing is that i have the 4dots even on all mirrors. Can i send you some pictures and video email or somewhere else please

@philscraftcorner

3 жыл бұрын

4 dots is perfectly fine, it's what comes from the laser head that would be an issue

I cleaned all mirrors and it's aligned still not cutting through or leaving any marks on the back. Any other things I can try. Was working fine

@philscraftcorner

9 ай бұрын

You can check if your power supply is good by lowering and then increasing your power manually and watching the mA meter. If the output doesn't increase, then it's a power supply issue. If it does increase then check the burn pattern before your first mirror. Starting at low power and increasing. If the burn doesn't change significantly within say, 20% power, you could need to replace the tube. The 'beam' in the tube will also be bright pink/purple if good or white if it needs replacing

@CONEJO_CAPITALISTA

3 ай бұрын

@@philscraftcorner My beam in the tube is already white, thanks for commenting, now I know I need to replace it.

Thanks for this.. I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with mine and trying not to order a new tube unless I have to. Mine looses power if I turn it above 52% power. It just seems like the laser shuts off, but the tube still illuminates.

@philscraftcorner

2 жыл бұрын

Hmm that's a strange one. What kind of color is the beam in the tube. Do you have a mA meter installed?

@ZOIMIBiIE

2 жыл бұрын

@@philscraftcorner it’s the typical bluish white beam. There’s no visible taper or anything in the brightness (albeit it is daytime, so I could probably gauge better in the dark) No meter. It’s on the list, and has been in my cart for months, I’ve just been swamped lately. Just the stock “power” percentage thing. It tapers between 50-60%, but totally drops off as far as firing to the workpiece after that I gotta run out for a bit, gonna open it up, check everything and clean the mirrors when I get back. (Thanks for the wicked fast response btw)

@philscraftcorner

2 жыл бұрын

A co2 beam should be a bright pink. A white beam indicates that there is little co2 left in the tube. The brightness doesn't really change. A mA meter will help confirm weather it's the tube or the power supply. Generally speaking if it's the power supply the mA meter will not change with increased power. I'm doing a bit of video editing at the minute so I had some time to respond 🙂

@ZOIMIBiIE

2 жыл бұрын

@@philscraftcorner I just checked over everything.. water pump is good sensor is good, still cuts perfectly below that threshold. I suspect it’s just the tube dying which kinda sucks.. Finger crossed, just gonna bite the bullet and order a replacement.

@philscraftcorner

2 жыл бұрын

I would grab that mA meter first. They are super easy to fit. Just cut your black wire from the tube and attach it to that. You can extend the wires for a prettier fit in the future

You are a life saver! Thank you for making this video. I have spent 8 hours aligning everything perfectly only for the laser to be worse than before. Did as you said and it worked. Only thing I would add it when using masking tape to align mirrors it the glue leaves a residue on the mirror.

@philscraftcorner

Жыл бұрын

I clean the mirrors immediately after using the masking tape when aligning but I'm glad you managed to get your machine running well

Thanks guy

Cheers