Todd Mueller
07-28-2017, 10:40 AM
I have a chinese 60 watt machine that is just over a year old. until about 3 weeks ago, it has cut perfectly. I use it on average no more than 10 hours a week, never going over about 17ma of power, in which my machine has that meter built in.
the lenses are clean and the alignment of the lasers is good, they hit the same spot no matter what part of the cutting field i am on, it is a 600x400mm size machine. the laser hits the center of each mirror.
I do cut pvc with my machine and clean it after every use and I am well aware of the safety issues with pvc. I have a filtration system specifically for pvc cutting.
the material i cut is less than 2mm thick.
my first ideas are possibly the power supply acting up, the cuts are now just not clean, they leave little bits of material in the cut area that make it harder to remove the cut out pieces, and it didnt use to do this. kind of raspy looking, i guess is how i could explain it. the power supply is rusty somewhat on the outside from the pvc gases and such, but i have no idea what it would look like internally. it does seem like maybe the laser is a little weaker than when i first got it, but it may just be because of the "not clean" cut
2nd idea is the tube, but knowing that they typically would last much longer, im not sure on this. my cutting does do a lot of intricate designs, so lots and lots of laser on/off during my cuts, but other than that, the tube doesnt seem to have tons of hours on it compared to what i think it probably should last
3rd idea is the focusing lens, although i clean it regularly and have good air assist, i can visually see the coating on it as being kind of splotchy, not scratched or dirty, just discolored kind of like looking at water colors.
all rails are clean and sliding nicely
I am trying to think of some things to test to rule some things out, like maybe cutting some paper or cardboard
the lenses are clean and the alignment of the lasers is good, they hit the same spot no matter what part of the cutting field i am on, it is a 600x400mm size machine. the laser hits the center of each mirror.
I do cut pvc with my machine and clean it after every use and I am well aware of the safety issues with pvc. I have a filtration system specifically for pvc cutting.
the material i cut is less than 2mm thick.
my first ideas are possibly the power supply acting up, the cuts are now just not clean, they leave little bits of material in the cut area that make it harder to remove the cut out pieces, and it didnt use to do this. kind of raspy looking, i guess is how i could explain it. the power supply is rusty somewhat on the outside from the pvc gases and such, but i have no idea what it would look like internally. it does seem like maybe the laser is a little weaker than when i first got it, but it may just be because of the "not clean" cut
2nd idea is the tube, but knowing that they typically would last much longer, im not sure on this. my cutting does do a lot of intricate designs, so lots and lots of laser on/off during my cuts, but other than that, the tube doesnt seem to have tons of hours on it compared to what i think it probably should last
3rd idea is the focusing lens, although i clean it regularly and have good air assist, i can visually see the coating on it as being kind of splotchy, not scratched or dirty, just discolored kind of like looking at water colors.
all rails are clean and sliding nicely
I am trying to think of some things to test to rule some things out, like maybe cutting some paper or cardboard