New Shenhui owner, looking for some help

[Dan Simone]

I've been reading these forums for a few months now and I decided based on others success to order a machine from Shenhui. I'm more than a novice when it comes to setting these up and I have a few questions I'm hoping some of you may be able to help with.

I know this is going to sound dumb but, I was looking at the very first reflector next to where the laser tube will go and I unscrewed the ring that holds the reflector in place. The reflector has two sides to it, one that appears to be more silver looking and one that looks more like copper. Can anyone tell me what side should face the laser tube since it dropped out before I had a chance to get a good look at how it was in there?

Also, I have a single 50A 220V circuit by the machine and I was told by Shenhui that this circuit can handle running the laser and all accessories, i.e. air pump, blower, cw5000, etc... Does anyone have any suggestions on creating a breakout box from this main circuit to run everything. Pulling more 220V circuits isn't an option.

Lastly, I noticed on the CW5000 that there is a plug on the back for an alarm but, I don't see a connection anywhere on the outside of the machined to plug this alarm connection in. Is this because they possibly forgot to put that on the outside or is this because they have some other mechanism built into the machine that detects the flow and temperature of the water?

I tried to do a search as I'm sure these questions have been asked before but, I guess I'm not very good at using the search function because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for?

Thanks in advance,
Dan


I also plan on posting the whole process from ordering to receiving the laser when I get it up and running.

[Rodne Gold]

Good luck with your new baby , lots of info here
Beam reflects off the shiney silver side , 10kw is WAY more than you need , I run 2 lasers , chillers and blowers from a single 220/15 amp circuit. The alarm on the CW5000 is proably for an external alarm for overtemp , its a stand alone machine , the laser has a flow sensor , so is protected in another way.

[Rich Harman]

I think it would be better to use the alarm output of the CW5000 rather than the flow sensor supplied with the laser. It is something that I will be changing in the future. I will post how I did it when I get around to making the modification.

[john banks]

When I was trying to unkink my tubes around the laser I introduced a kink underneath. The machine flow sensor wouldn't let the laser fire, but the CW5000 didn't do anything on its default settings. I didn't see a flow warning, only temperature warnings. Need to check re flow alarms unless you've look already Rich?

Our machine running at 90% power with the 500W exhaust fan and Hailea compressor only runs about 2kW max total on our 230V supply (I monitor it for tax purposes).

[Rich Harman]

I periodically test the alarm on the CW5000 by pinching the water tubes. It has set off the alarm every time and I have not changed any settings on it.

[walter hofmann]

Hi dan
you are sure the mirror looks like copper on one side and silver on the other side? usually they look gold on one side and the other side is silver the gold or maybe in your case the copper side has to face to the outside. I would not temper with the mirrror especially taken them out they are very sensitiv against stians and scratches.
if you wana take out a circuit with a box for 220V plugs then you should for a double breaker this are 220V breaker now I would call a electrician or talke to one and let them do this part because it is dangeres if you dont know much about house wiring.
greetings
walt

[Gary Hair]

Can anyone tell me what side should face the laser tube since it dropped out before I had a chance to get a good look at how it was in there?

Look at the other mirrors and see how they are installed, they will all be the same.

Gary

[Gary Hair]

I would not temper with the mirrror especially taken them out they are very sensitiv against stians and scratches.

How do you clean your mirrors Walt? They can be scratched if you don't handle them carefully, but they must be cleaned.

Gary

[Daniel Wolanski]

HI Dan,
The sensor hookup on the back of the CW5000 is a NC (Normally closed) circuit. The circuit opens when you get the alarm shutting off the laser if you have an attachment for it on your machine. You can test it with an ohm meter and see the results.

My machine came with a hookup in series with the loop for the machine top sensor. If the top goes up or the alarm goes off on the CW5000 (either) it will shut off the laser. I showed Rich this when he came to visit me a month or so ago and he liked the setup. Apparently your machines use a flow sensor but this should be easy to hookup in series with your existing top sensor for added protection.

[walter hofmann]

Hi gary
I used denature alcohol and Qtips carfulwip with the Qtips over the lense let it there for a few sec and then take another Qtip and wipe over again this is doing the job. but still over time there will be micro or even nano scratches thats why I now only use my mirrors made from old hard drive disc they are pretty much scratch resistend and now proofen from many guys that they do the same job as the original just look here the author tim wehr did a nice write up from my idea.
http://diylaser.midwestlaserarts.com/2012/01/get-your-co2-laser-mirrors-for-free.html

greetings
walt

[Dan Simone]

Thanks everyone for your help. As far as the electric goes I went crazy and bought all the supplies I needed for a 50 amp sub panel box with two 15 amp and one 20 amp circuit breaker, then pulled the outlets from these breakers.

I'm keeping an eye on the thread entitled Shenhui tips and tricks as well but, if anyone has any links to anything they think would be helpful with initial setup, i.e. checking for squareness of the laser bed, leveling the table, etc... I would be very interested.

[walter hofmann]

Hi dan
go here to message #2 to #4 there I have postet pictures for all steps in regards to alligning and checking 40W co2 chinese laser machines.
explanation is on the picture http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?181819-Chinese-Shenui-Laserworks-tips-and-tricks-thread&p=1876334#post1876334
greetings
walt

[Gary Hair]

Hi gary
I used denature alcohol and Qtips carfulwip with the Qtips over the lense let it there for a few sec and then take another Qtip and wipe over again this is doing the job. but still over time there will be micro or even nano scratches thats why I now only use my mirrors made from old hard drive disc they are pretty much scratch resistend and now proofen from many guys that they do the same job as the original just look here the author tim wehr did a nice write up from my idea.
http://diylaser.midwestlaserarts.com/2012/01/get-your-co2-laser-mirrors-for-free.html

greetings
walt

Walt,
My laser mfg, GCC, said to never use qtips or apply pressure to the mirror. Instead, the way they suggested cleaning them is to lay a piece of lens cloth on the mirror, apply a few drops of cleaning solution (acetone is fine but not alcohol) and drag the cloth over the surface, repeat if necessary with a new section of cloth or a new cloth. Don't drag the same area twice, any dirt you pick up will damage the mirror. NEVER rub or apply pressure to the cloth. If you can't get it clean this way then it's probably ruined anyway so you can then use some pressure to clean it - while you are waiting for new mirrors to arrive...

Gary

[Dan Hintz]

Walt,
My laser mfg, GCC, said to never use qtips or apply pressure to the mirror. Instead, the way they suggested cleaning them is to lay a piece of lens cloth on the mirror, apply a few drops of cleaning solution (acetone is fine but not alcohol) and drag the cloth over the surface, repeat if necessary with a new section of cloth or a new cloth. Don't drag the same area twice, any dirt you pick up will damage the mirror. NEVER rub or apply pressure to the cloth. If you can't get it clean this way then it's probably ruined anyway so you can then use some pressure to clean it - while you are waiting for new mirrors to arrive...

Gary

This is accepted industry practice for kW lasers, but IMHO is overkill for the power levels we're working with. At kW levels, micro scratches cause loss of power at the optics, which means heating... at our levels, micro scratches are barely noticeable. I use Q-tips on mine and will occasionally bear down if something is stuck to it... no deleterious effects so far. YMMV...

[Mike Null]

But lens cloth was factory supplied with both my old Universal and my newer Trotec.

Still, I use q-tips and my lens and mirrors are now nearly 7 years old.

[Rodne Gold]

You really don't have to be real careful with the chinese mirrors , they ar $22 a pop ... consumables....?
However I do the drop/drag thing with all my mirrors as a matter of course , the GCC ones are pretty expensive.
With all my machines , it seems you really have to have messed up mirrors or lenses to notice any appreciable degradation in quality - we have run well with lenses that have significant coating damage?