Laser won't Engrave or Cut after cleaning

[Michele Welch]

I had to do a good cleaning on my mirrors and lens today and since I've done that I can't get anything to cut or engrave. I realigned everything and get a nice dark brown dot on all the mirrors, even one on the bed, but I send a job to engrave or cut and it doesn't do anything at all.

It was suggested to lower the bed about an inch and then test fire the laser and I should have had a nice large brown dot, but all I got was a small half moon shape that looks clipped. I've checked everything from the focal tube and there doesn't seem to be any obstructions.

Does anyone have any suggestions please? Of course this being the week before Christmas I still have a lot to do and can't afford for it to be down. I'm waiting on the tech person from the company I bought it from to get with me tomorrow, but I'd sleep a lot better if I could get an answer sooner rather than later.

Thanks a ton and Merry Christmas!

Michele
80 watt Rabbit laser

[Bill Reibelt]

If your machine has a red beam dot check the lens near the exit point of the tube, the lens could be blocking part of the laser.

[Scott Marquez]

It sounds like an alignment issue.
i suggest doing some quick tests. Since Ray locks down the mirror screws with nail polish I really doubt that that is the problem.
Place a slab of tape over the top hole of your final mirror tube, if it is in alignment to that point you know that your problem is either the final mirror or the focus lense.
Scott

[Guy Hilliard]

(I) "get a nice dark brown dot on all the mirrors". Your mirrors are discolouring when the laser beam hits them?

[Bert Kemp]

I think she means she gets a dot on the tape at each mirror.


(I) "get a nice dark brown dot on all the mirrors". Your mirrors are discolouring when the laser beam hits them?

[Bert Kemp]

check the lens make sure its seated right not cocked at an angle.

[Kev Williams]

So, is the lens itself in place? Not a stupid question, I've tried to laser with a missing lens more than once!

[Bert Kemp]

Call Ray They should be in the shop Now

Funny how these things always mess up Friday night , the week before Christmas or when the Chinese are on vacation:D
JUST SAYIN

[Mike Troncalli]

quote: but all I got was a small half moon shape that looks clipped. I've checked everything from the focal tube and there doesn't seem to be any obstructions.

That sentence right there tells me your beam is off.. Either alignment or blockage... Your going to just have to do the thermal paper test at each mirror to locate the problem...

[Martin Boekers]

I know it sounds silly, but, make sure the air assist tube is not blocking the beam. It's easy to hit it accidently sometimes.

[Matt McCoy]

I would check the nose cone, if it has one attached. It might be clipping the beam.

[Mike Troncalli]

I know it sounds silly, but, make sure the air assist tube is not blocking the beam. It's easy to hit it accidently sometimes.


Funny you should mention that.. I almost burnt through mine one time...

[Bill Carruthers]

quote: but all I got was a small half moon shape that looks clipped. I've checked everything from the focal tube and there doesn't seem to be any obstructions.

That sentence right there tells me your beam is off.. Either alignment or blockage... Your going to just have to do the thermal paper test at each mirror to locate the problem...

Yes - that is the classic sign of the focus tube being out of vertical in either the x or y axes. If the testing shows the beam hitting the last mirror correctly try minute adjustments to the tube angle to the bed. Good luck

[Jerome Stanek]

sounds like the beam is hitting the nose cone and bouncing off the side of it. I will remove my lens and nose cone put a piece of tape over the ed of the tube and see if the beam hits the center

[Michele Welch]

Well, I have it all aligned and everything seems to be ok with that part. I can do a test fire and I get a nice dark brown dot, but when I go to run a job I don't get anything at all. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero!! AHHHHH, so frustrated!!! I've had them tell me it could be the safety switches or maybe a power supply. I just don't need this right now!!! Any other suggestions please?????

[Bert Kemp]

Yea does now sound like a safety somewhere. try by passing the safety on the lid with some magnets, also check the water flow sensor. Are you running a chiller if not check the bypass jumper thingy magoo LOL

[Scott Marquez]

Since the machine can test fire and alignment is good, does that mean it could be a file problem or communication error?
Scott

[Kev Williams]

I'm going to run this by just because it just now happened to me, and who knows?

I had a customer watching me set up his knife to laser etch the handle. Problem was, when I sent the job to the machine for a painters tape test run, the machine wouldn't run- The machine got the job, but pressing start results in a 'job finished' beep a second later-- this will happen if I try to send a line vector job that's thicker than hairline, or if I send a job with the color and/or the raster turned off...

I checked and sent the job 3 more times-- black was black, black was turned on, it was a simple raster test, but it wouldn't go-

I tried a previous job in memory, it was fine...

I finally traced the problem to the object manager, all printing functions were turned off! Not exactly sure how that happened, but that was MY problem..

Thing is, my machine wouldn't even start. However, I don't know what a Rabbit will or won't do under the same circumstances. But since it fires via test but not via print...?

[Jerome Stanek]

just for the heck of it draw a square and run it. Check the vender settings on the software and make sure that your cut power is set correctly. I had to raise the min laser setting to over 30% for my laser to fire correctly

[Michele Welch]

OK - egg on face right here!!! I am such an idiot!!!! When I cleaned it, I suppose that I have a lot of my mind trying to get Christmas orders finished and I haven't even done my Christmas shopping or making and I put the lens in the wrong end of the tube. So when I was trying to cut or engrave something it acted like it was a 100 mm lens instead of the 50.8. So I actually put it in the top of focal head, furtherest away from the nose cone. Well it should have been right above the nose cone.

I'm so sorry I wasted everyones time, especially Ray with Rabbit Laser who was so kind to me and spent 2 hours on video chat this morning trying to fix my mistake and only after pulling our hair out and nothing was working, he had me pull the focal tube off to look at the lens and that's when he saw where I had put the lens back in at. So we got that corrected and had to do the mirror 3 alignment all over again because it was totally off.

OK, now to finish the orders I still have to fill. Thank God for patient customers!!!!

[Bert Kemp]

Hey Glad your up and running. Don't feel bad either, we all have made mistakes when were in a hurry and lots to do and no time to do it. I always say the faster we go the further behind we get;)

[Scott Marquez]

Thanks for the update, you just may save one of us the headache of creating the same problem.
Scott

[Michele Welch]

Thanks Scott, that's so much better than hearing what an idiot I am!!! And I'm not even blond :)

Merry Christmas and thanks for being a great bunch of people!!!