Laser tube problem

[Dennis Christensen]

I have a 14 year old 60 watt Chinese made laser engraver. The tube has been acting strange. The beam inside, splits in two or deflects and goes to the metal ring inside the tube, just before the lens. I figured the tube must be bad, so I ordered a new one. The same thing happened inside the new tube. Does anyone know what might be causing this? Has anyone else had this happen? Thanks for any help!

[Robert Bonenfant]

Hey Dennis,

Is the manufacturer still around ?? It would be worth chatting with them and seeing what they think. As you probably already know your beam shouldn't split or deflect at all.
I would start by checking the power supply (Maybe replacing it) and see if there is a problem there because having two tubes with the same odd problem means something else is wrong.
What state are you in ?? Ray from Rabbit lasers has been very helpful to us in the past with machine problems might be worth a quick call.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Not unusual, that's not the beam you can see, it's the high tension plasma that creates the beam in side the tube