More power on the left side of the table than the right?

[Mike V Miller]

My machine started engraving deeper on the left side of the table than the right side? Now my detail of the engraving's gone on the left like the power is set too high. The engraving on the far right side is perfect? This is on a 24 x 24 piece of maple. The problem just started and i'm at a loss.

[Gary Hair]

Sounds like an alignment issue. Check your alignment as well as the distance from the table to the lens - check all four corners and ensure they are the same distance.

[Keith Winter]

Fully align the laser and check to make sure the bed is level. Full alignment should take a couple hours and you'll be back to golden.

[Scott Marquez]

My machine started engraving deeper on the left side of the table than the right side? Now my detail of the engraving's gone on the left like the power is set too high. The engraving on the far right side is perfect? This is on a 24 x 24 piece of maple. The problem just started and i'm at a loss.
Mike, welcome to Sawmill creek, please take a minute to fill out your profile so we can be of better assistance.
You will want to research laser alignment.
Scott

[Mike V Miller]

That's the first thing I thought of. I put the tape on all the mirrors and every one's dead center. I also checked the table for level and square. What has me puzzled is that everything worked fine last night but today is another story. I've had this machine over a year and nothing like this has ever happened before. I'm at a loss that's for sure.
Thank you

[Mike V Miller]

Thanks Scott, I'm new here and i'll do that! I have a MornTech MT-L960 80w

[Kev Williams]

if you're using a nose cone, take it off and see if that helps--

Even though the all the mirrors are hitting at or near center, there could be slight alignment errors making it so the last mirror isn't dead centering the beam to the lens across the entire table. On the distant coordinates, the beam may be hitting the sides of the cone a bit.

It's one of the reasons I won't use a nosecone...

also, make sure all of the lens assembly is tight!

[Mike V Miller]

I took the nose cone off and took the lens out and checked the alignment to the lens with a piece of tape. Dead center. I just a week or two ago did a complete tune up with alignment. I have checked everything I can think to check except one thing just crossed my mind. My computer. The one thing I have not done is redo the art work and reload it to the machine. I'm making custom coasters for a customer 36 at a time. Maybe something didn't load right.

[Keith Winter]

$5 says your side alignment mirror is off. ;) Check it again starting at the tube and 1st mirror working through all the mirrors.

Here is a good video on how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw8Ro2vEEzY

Also double check your engraving bed is level as Gary said.

[Scott Challoner]

I would think a 24 x 24 piece of solid maple wood would be pretty susceptible to warping. Check the distance from the lens to the material in all corners, not just the distance to the table.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Check extraction, smoke (CO2) blocks lasers like a brick wall

[Keith Winter]

I would think a 24 x 24 piece of solid maple wood would be pretty susceptible to warping. Check the distance from the lens to the material in all corners, not just the distance to the table.

Oh good call Scott, OP didn't say it was flat, that's very possible.

[David Somers]

Mike....I may be taking you too literally, but you said you checked your table and it is square and level? The key is if the table is on the same plane as the same plane of your gantry, not if the table is square, or if your table is level to the ground. To check if it is on the same place as your gantry use your focusing space. Put the laser in one corner of the table and focus to the table top with the spacer. Then move to the second corner. Is the spacing still the same? How about to the third and fourth corners? That is what they are referring to. And it has to be on the money. A small difference like an 1/8" will cause a change in performance.

My apologies if that is what you meant. Just making sure.

Dave

[Mike V Miller]

Scott, I use a special maple with an MDF core that I get from a high end custom cabinet maker. It's more expensive but worth it.

[Mike V Miller]

I said earlier that my table was level. As it turned out when I put the level on the table I just placed it in the middle of the table. I did a retune and sure as hell! one corner of the table was out. Instead of using a level I used a focal tool to reset the table this time. Problem solved. Thank you all for your help! Hope I can return the favor some time.

Mike

[Kev Williams]

I took the nose cone off and took the lens out and checked the alignment to the lens with a piece of tape.
First off, what kind of machine you running? Second, did you try test-engraving with the cone off?

I test with a small scrap of Rowmark, and engrave something (like 24pt "TEST") on it. I start at the middle of the table, and find a setting that just barely shows up. Then repeat the test at the 4 corners...

Awhile back I started tweaking the alignment on my Explorer, because engraves everywhere just fine EXCEPT for the first 2-1/2" from the top-left corner, which is odd because that's the corner the beam originates. You'd think the power would be highest right there, but any anodized aluminum in that area engraves noticeably darker than anywhere else. I now have the alignment to where the red LED beam tracks straight and true across the entire table area as to where the red dot hits the 2 moving mirrors.... I taped the gantry mirror and tested the Y tracking, after I was satisfied with my adjustments I then taped the lens mirror to test both X and Y tracking. The red dot barely changes position on either mirror anywhere I place the lens head within the 20" x 38" table area. Tape-burn testing with the laser gives me the same results.

Yet my low power issue in the top left corner remains. It's very minor and I live with by simply by avoiding engraving anything in that area. :)
But here's the thing, the laser tube on this machine is mounted at the bottom, which means it has 4th mirror down below. And I haven't touched the first mirror yet, because it's a bit of a lengthy process and I haven't taken the time... But my problem must originate from the first mirror's position, or maybe the tube's alignment. My assessment is that a small part of the beam is hitting the one of the holes in the gantry mirror cover. Or maybe the back cover? What I should do but haven't yet, is to pull the mirror covers and test engrave to see if it helps.

Also not too long ago I noticed my Triumph started losing power once it got beyond about 30" from left. A tape burn test on the lens mirror showed the beam moved at the mirror maybe 1mm to the right, from zero-left to the end of the X path (51"). The beam was relatively centered on the mirror at either extreme, but after adjusting the gantry mirror to eliminate the beam walk it's back to cutting equally well everywhere...

Regardless how aligned a machine seems to be, if it's not engraving equally around the entire table area, it basically boils down to 2 possibilities, the beam path isn't quite right, or something is obstructing or splitting the beam...

-- or a focus issue! :)

[Mike V Miller]

I am running a MornTech MT-L960 80w unit. (How do I set my settings on the bottom of my page to show what I have like everyone else?) I spent the last three and a half days retuning my machine again. I did find a couple of loose jam screws so I figured i'd start all over. My bed is 36 x 24 and it's about impossible to adjust by myself so I had my wife man the feeler Gage and I crawled inside. My bed is now within 0.002 from corner to corner.

Yes I did try without the cone but since my red dot, auto focus and air hookup mounts on the side of the cone assy. I have to use it. If I made a mount and relocated my Red Dot back by the laser tube and used the same path as the laser, would it interfere with the laser it's self? I don't like the way the cone assy. is set up.

It takes a lot of time to adjust everything out and more time i'm sure if you add a forth mirror but it has to be done.

Thank you for your help.

Mike