Ping: Mike Mackenzie

[Dave Johnson29]

Hi Mike,

I was given and old and dead ULS laser which has Date of Manufacture 1992 on the Synrad tube.

After about 200 hours of work and some tricky electronic additions, I have it pretty much working.

I am trying to understand the settings with Pulse Width and Pulse Rate for various materials and processes.

Would you have any paperwork or user manuals on these early models?

I contacted ULS but they no longer have anything and they suggested it is a model 1600 or 1700. I have attached a pic of the programming panel.

Thanks for anything you can offer.

[Mike Mackenzie]

Dave,

Yes I do I will find them and post them here if they are not too large otherwise I will send you link and put it up on our website so you can download them.

By the way this system is either a 1720 or 5010 about 20 years old I did find the manual it is about 50-60 pages let me scan them and turn it into an electronic version and I will get it to you. Does it look like this?

[Dave Johnson29]

By the way this system is either a 1720 or 5010 about 20 years old I did find the manual it is about 50-60 pages let me scan them and turn it into an electronic version and I will get it to you.

WOW! Mike thank you so much. I am retired and folding green is pretty tight, but I could pay something for this if need be.

It has been an interesting time with this rebuild. It was a bare frame unit that had been in some kind of production line. The laser tube was declared dead. As it tuned out it was the 24v shutter solenoid that was dead. A bonus for me and I thought I had stumbled on to a great deal. I removed the solenoid and machined up a some aluminum rod and now manually shutter it.

Unfortunately no controlled burn but I could make the raw laser beam "pop" cardboard using a AA battery on the intensity line. The electronics would only put out 450mV PWM to the laser so I had to build an interface board that tracks the 450mV PWM and then outputs it at 5v that the laser tube required. Success.

I have had it burning for about a week now and it seems to be doing what it used to, just not under any semblance of my control. :) Yet!!

I very much appreciate your quick reply and very generous offer. If I can be of service making stuff with my CNC machines then please just holler.

[Dave Johnson29]

By the way this system is either a 1720 or 5010 about 20 years old

Hi Mike,

Just for interest here is the rest of the control board to help identify it. This never had a case so not sure what it was supposed to look like. :)

The P-Speed panel goes to 8 as the top number, I got a bit creative with framing the pic trying to block the flare from the flash.

[Mike Mackenzie]

Dave,

No Problem you just have to give me some time to do it. By the way we still have some parts for that old beast (electronics, Motion system) no laser tubes.

[Dave Johnson29]

No Problem you just have to give me some time to do it. By the way we still have some parts for that old beast (electronics, Motion system) no laser tubes.


Hi Mike,

No problem with time, I have plenty of that. I have figured out a couple of settings and can do anodized aluminum and have cut some 1/32" gasket material and also paper.

I am waiting on a friend to send me an old woodwork dust extractor before I venture into the plastics cutting and burning.

I could have used the electronics about a months back, :) but now I have built the work around board it appears to be doing well. Attached is the breadboard version. There are a 2 x 555 timers in there somewhere. I have since made a PCB for it.

Thanks again for helping. That Rate and Width stuff produces some baffling and quaint results in some combos.