Losing power

[Kay Bengtson]

Hi all,
My ULS 25ER seems to be losing power. This morning I was cutting 1/8" lite plywood and while I was watching the intensity of the beam seemed to dim and the cut line got thinner. I have seen this happen with wood that had density variations and this could be the case here except that my test is to see if light will pass through the wood. This wood does pass light from a 25W fluorescent bulb.

I have heard that the laser tube will fail eventually and my laser has been running for a year and supposedly was recharged by the former owner perhaps a year prior. So I suppose that it might be the cause. However, I also read that the laser when it goes down, it is an all or nothing situation. Mine will still fire but at 1/3rd the power.

The laser tube power supply would be my next source for checking. I read that it can fail slowly.

I read that sometimes the power supply can overheat and not provide the power necessary so I turned off the unit and will wait an hour then retry cutting. However, if this does fix the problem, should I have the power supply repaired or is this normal? I was cutting continuously for 4 hours and the ambient temps were ~65F.

My question is just how do I diagnose what is happening?

Kay

[Rodne Gold]

Sudden losses of 1/2 or more power are generally a failure of one of the RF boards , you can try a DIY repair of you brave and its not warranteed or send it to one of the laser source mnfgrs service centres.

[Mike Null]

ULS tech support is there to help. Why not give them a call--it's free.

[Kay Bengtson]

ULS tech support is there to help. Why not give them a call--it's free.


I emailed my contact there just now. Thanks.

Also, my test seemed to indicate that the power supply is the culprit. I started the machine after an hour and a half. It cut a couple of parts just fine. I thought my previous results were a fluke but then when I put in a full sheet, it happened again. The first few parts cut fine then when it moved to the next part, the laser dimmed again and the power seemed to drop by 2/3rds. It is consistent at that low level and doesn't drop any further.

Kay

[Kay Bengtson]

I am a little confused as to the exact issue with the unit. Is the RF board part of the 28VDC power supply or is it part of the laser cartridge?

Kay

[Richard Rumancik]

In the Synrad laser tubes, there were two RF boards in the 25-30 watt laser cartridges. I don't know what manufacturer's tube you have in the ULS and whether they paired them like Synrad did.

[Zvi Grinberg]

First of all, weakening tube does not necessarily go "All Or Nothing". There could be many reasons for such issues.

And a few comments:
1. Universal should know when your tube was replaced historically.
2. Power supply is more likely to be "all or nothing". Much more than the laser tube.
3. Overheat affects both the tube and the power supply. If you find that giving the machine a break has effect, I would also check the environment and make sure that the space is well vented, and has enough space from walls or air traps.

Good luck

Zvi

[Kay Bengtson]

According to ULS, the laser tube is what they believe is down. Their records show that it was last serviced in 2003. It is a Synrad laser and ULS doesn't recharge/repair them. I suppose that I need to contact Synrad next. I was given another company to contact called Laser Resale Inc. in MA. Does anyone know this firm?

Kay

[Kay Bengtson]

Latest update. My Synrad laser tube is new enough for repair but the estimates go as high as $4000 from Synrad. They recommended PhotoVac as a good third party repair so I contacted them and am waiting for a reply. Apparently, there are drop in replacements for this series of laser. The "L" series? Does anyone know of sources?

Kay

P.S. Just got a guesstimate from Photovac. They say most repairs of this model go for $1400 and are warranted for 18 months.

[Kay Bengtson]

Our laser tube arrived this morning from PhotoVac. It cost $1420 and was recharged and the RF caps were replaced. We installed it and it seems to be aligned well enough to our needs. The initial power levels seems to be a lot higher. The laser tube now is putting out 32 Watts. Photovac is a bit aloof in dealing with customers and their requirements for payment methods made it more difficult still but they came through in the end. Turn around time was three weeks. Now, I am going to go cut some model airplane kits!

Kay