Nodes

[Nigel Morgan]

Hi All,

Have searched the forum and been reading some threads but can't find the answer I'm looking for. If for example you have 2 contours all most identical, one has 100 nodes and the other 10 nodes, does the laser take longer to vector cut the 100 node contour, does the Laser read this vector line as one continious line or re-fire/stop/start at each node.

Cheers

Nigel

[Nigel Morgan]

I am just trying to find out what if anything can cause a tube to fail quicker than the average.

[Stephen Beckham]

Nigel,

In my very limited knowledge - I'll revert back to my comments earlier about moving the machine alot. It doesn't apply in your case, but more background info.

When I first installed my laser in the bus, I was warned that excessive movements from major bumps in the road, which could cause hairline fractures in the seals of the tube. Helium being the Houdini of the tube will seep without any assistance anyway (hence loss of power over time), but a hairline would give it that much more reason to escape. It was further explained to me that if I have my tube go out and I get it recharged only to have it go out "early" again - I should purchase a whole new tube versus paying to put more gas back in to a leaky tube!?!?

The other part of the comments on the tube was that sitting for a long time with out agitation of the gasses would also allow for seepage sooner. So I never let my laser sit longer than a weekend without at least smoking some matboard.

Again - a guess, but if you think your system was jarred a couple good times as a demo model before you got it or if it sits for long periods while you are away, you might ask the experts if that could be causing you troubles.

I'm new to this so I haven't seen all the posts and I hope I'm not covering something you've already been over. Have you tried sending your tube back to Epilog or to another Helix owner to see if they get the same response on a different Helix machine?

[Joe Pelonio]

Having cut lines with way too many nodes from people's lousy artwork, I can tell you that it will take longer. Also, the cut will not be as smooth. I have no idea what effect that has on the tube, but it does seem like it would cause the x and y motors to work harder.

[Nigel Morgan]

It does seem a bit of a grey area, info on the tubes, I have been in touch with Deos, but they just told me to contact Epilog. If there were a way to prolong the life I would like to know, does leaving the Laser on effect the tube, I presume not as it's just stood still doing nothing, the tube is not exited so to speak,

[Mike Hood]

What my experience has shown is that it won't make any difference on a straight line, but on any kind of curve, it has to compensate for the upcoming direction change by not ramping up to speed as quickly.

I'm not sure how much of a direction change has to be made before the laser stops firing (if it does at all), but I always reduce all the extra nodes out of stuff before I cut it.