Ready to push the button and buy a laser....

Well, that was fun :)

The one thing i did not check was the run of the cooling pipes :)

I fitted the water chiller and filled it up, waited for leaks, waited a bit more, looked round the tube-ok, wen't to get a coffee - come back and the alarm is screaming and water is now over the workshop floor and streaming out the bottom of the cabinet :)

After mopping up, it turns out there are no ty-wraps or clamps on any pipes and it had blown off of the flow switch inside.

I've fitted ties everywhere now and refilled, the bottom of the cabinet is surprising water-tight and also full of very sharp corners :(

Since then it has burnt its first hole in card and i'm now running up some test shapes in RD.

The mirrors are filthy and the first check i did at mirror 3 shows the beam not to be very well aligned but i'll leave for a while and do some playing about.

I have also fixed the table up/down buttons.

It begs the question how they checked it at the factory - lucky that water didn't kill any electronics !

Yeah i'm using a Cw3000 circulator/cooler and its got a pretty good little pump on it.

Stupid not to put clips or ties on though, would have been far worse if it was a tube pipe as that sits above the electronics and the cabinet has plenty of holes there, close call i think.

Its been on all day and no more leaks though so i think i caught it.

Made a few cuts, turned the lens over the right way, will be fitting current meter tomorrow so i can check max safe power level to use - limit is 20mA for my tube.

Its fascinating to watch, great fun.

I think that yours also came with the big snail extractor fan didn't it? Even with that extracting directly outside, the corrosive fumes given off by some of the plastics have rusted the table lift screws on mine - well worth getting some lubricant on them before it happens to yours.

Yeah thats the one, i have gone over it all with the lube ;)

just got to get used to it now, considering i have not adjusted anything yet it seems reasonably well aligned.

Ok i have one specific issue i am battling with no luck...

As it came, the machine cuts the work reversed in the X axis so words read backwards but it reads correctly on the machine display.

I have tried switching axis direction in the settings file and that worked BUT it then homed in the wrong direction and crashed, there is no homing direction setting.

I tried using the "mirror X axis" in the RDWorks software and that cuts correctly BUT now it reads backwards on the machine display.

Surely there is a way to get the machine display to actually show what is going to be cut??

Any ideas here??

Sorted - Russ Sadler from RDWorks video fame got it covered,

Control panel -> Screen Origin -> Top Right

:)

Glad you are sorted.

(Russ is back from his travels, and just emailed me that he's awaiting more Dohickeys from the anodiser)

Yeah, got that message too :)

Messing about with acrylic now, good so far but i think it needs tuning properly as not cutting as thick material as i hoped so probably losing what power it has somewhere, mirrors need cleaning too - is Iso Propyl Alcohol ok on them?

Yes IPA on a cotton bud

I bet that your mirrors need tweaking after shipment

Yep, they are not terrible as it does cut pretty well but a quick test showed alignment to be off centre so i'll clean up and go through following Russ' Tube, M1, M2, Head, setup pattern.

No doubt it will get worse before it gets better :)

I did flip the lens over the right way though.

Once thats done i'll do a focus ramp test.

Yes I noticed your mention of the lens before - are they asymmetrical then ?

yeah, flat one side and convex the other, from what i have read so far the flat side should face the work but they always put them in upside down in China :)

Presumably that shifts the effective place that the lens is sitting in the optic path by a bit ? Did you do before and after spot size comparisons on test burst, and if so what were the results?

Nah, should have probably ;)

I'm going through the whole lot now anyway so i'll finish with a focus ramp test.

Sorted out a few issues :)

Cutting ok now, just waiting for my power meter to see just how little there really is.

Test job :)
Attachment 21221

Didn't you have fun !

Damn right :)

I know a lot more now too.

I need to modify the head mirror mount as the tension screws are binding in their holes so the angle adjusters do not work properly, the tube mounts need slotting.

Tomorrow i'll be replacing the death-trap 'universal' sockets on the back with IEC ones - milled out a nice aluminium plate tonight to mount them in the original holes ;)

Hopefully my power meter will arrive soon and i can prepare to be disappointed with just how little power this tube is pushing ;)

Nice neat socket plate with decent sockets....

Attachment 21245

Also fitted a relay to the top socket so i can turn the extract on and off from the front panel :)

I've been lurking around these forums for a while now, and following this thread with interest. I have a project in mind that would require the use of a laser cutter. My initial investigations have lead me to believe that the same model of 60W cutter would be best suited to my requirements, and meagre budget!

My main issue is that to get to my workshop, it will have to pass through a fairly narrow gate and negotiate a tight turn between two brick walls 900mm apart. The machine will have to be un-crated outside, and tipped on it's side to get it through the gap.

To make this easier, is it possible to remove the legs under the machine, and if so what would be the dimensions with the legs removed?

If it's not possible to remove the legs, I'll probably need to get the builders in to make some modifications to the corner, or choose a smaller model instead.

I have my one at work at present while i extend my workshop to fit it in :)

To get it home i will have to put it in the back of my ford Mondeo so will have to do the same as will anyone that wants to get it through a standard door.

Aparrently there are a lot of screws holding the legs to the cabinet but it does come off eventually, not investigated this yet but read up on it so it does seem possible if a bit fiddly.

Don't forget the 60W will be a 50W, no arguments, it will be 50W.

I am fully expecting to need a new tube anytime between now and some time soon, they have a limited life and my one was labelled as being made last December, worth bearing in mind.

Overall its a good machine, I have ordered some new mirrors as the ones in it were stained - £18 from China for 3 :) I dont mind the fiddling and tweaking needed - for me this is part of the fun, I need to remove my tube mounts and mill some slots in the bases so i can better align the beam.

Dave,

I got my Dohickey the other day but events have conspired not to give me time to use it yet (lambing !) have you used yours yet?

yes, and it seems to work very well too :)

Had a little issue getting my thermocouple down the tube - had to remove the shrink-tube from the end but it all went together in the end.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davek0974

I have my one at work at present while i extend my workshop to fit it in :)



Don't forget the 60W will be a 50W, no arguments, it will be 50W.

I am fully expecting to need a new tube anytime between now and some time soon, they have a limited life and my one was labelled as being made last December, worth bearing in mind.

---

I have one of the blue and white ones rated at 50W. Quite what the power is I'm not certain as I have no way of checking it. In a conversation with small Son the other day we were working out how old this machine is and we make it between 4 and 4 1/2 years old, given that my wife died over 3 years ago and it was used well before this for making things she used to sell.

As a quick test I can still cut 10mm acrylic at the same settings as when it was new as we keep a book of settings when we cut anything new.

I realise that the tubes in these have a finite life based on use and age but so far this one is behaving and now we had the yardstick of settings for 10mm acrylic I'll continue to use it until [a] it stops working or [b] the loss of power causes problems.

This is the second laser I have owned, the first far more expensive model [ now discontinued ] from a well known UK agent, although still a Chinese import was sent back after 5 service calls as totally unsuitable and problematic.

That is excellent tube life, impressed.

Unless you are 'knob twiddler' like myself, measuring power is not important, if it does the job thats what counts.

I like to tweak things so i have a method of measuring output etc.

I think its pot-luck with the Chinese tubes really, one thing that really kills them it seems is running them at 100% power - they over-run the tubes to get more power but at the cost of really short life. My one is rated 20mA power and that is reached at 67% on the machine, which gives me almost exactly 50W output from my supposedly 60W tube.

There are always losses from the tube to the cutting head.
50W from a 60W tube is normal.

Apologies, this was measured at the tube output before mirror 1

I've finally got round to ordering one of these 60W laser cutters, and just been given my tracking number (which of course doesn't work on the DHL website). Did anyone manage to successfully track one of these sent from Germany, or am I destined to stay at home all week waiting for the crate to turn up?

I just badgered the seller to give me the correct tracking ref - it was because they logged it into DHL international and their system is ending soon, it does not show on DHL uk.

When i got the right link it worked ok.

Thanks, I've been sent a link to the tracking page for DHL freight, but the number isn't working there either. The 'Help' for that page says you need to be logged in first, and I don't have a DHL account, so can't log in. :(

I'll keep pestering the seller until it turns up, and then I'll start pestering you lot with all my questions about setting it up properly. ;)

I am looking at the 100W ones.

One question. Whats really useful size ? I am looking ebay at RECI 100W Co2 1300x2500mm Flatbed Laser Cutter Laser Cutting Engraving USB, which i assume is around 80W. But hey, around 5000 only. Then tax, extra reserve tube, etc. I started already thinking schemes how to obtain it :-)

Don't get a spare tube until your one fails.

They have a shelf-life and you may well find that when you go to use it, your new tube is nearly dead.

Always best to buy new stock.

Got the tracking working in the end. Turns out it hasn't left Bremen in Germany yet, and was only collected from the warehouse today (I got the eBay 'Dispatched' email on Sunday!).

For any one else who's trying to track their laser cutter and finds this thread, you need to select 'Logistics' (instead of the default 'Express') tracking from the DHL homepage and then 'Road and Rail Freight' Tracking and enter the supplied tracking number as a 'Package ID', and it will only show anything after the package has been picked up by DHL.

To answer Boyan's question, for me the most 'useful size' is the biggest one I can afford, and will fit into the workshop. The size and laser power isn't too important to me at this stage, as I'll be cutting small parts from thin plastics which should be fine with even an entry level machine.

However, If I need a more powerful laser in the future, then a new tube and power supply could be shoehorned into this machine (with perhaps an optics upgrade at the same time). On the other hand, if I needed a larger cutting area, then I doubt any upgrade would be practical.

The laser cutter turned up just over a week ago. The top of the crate was completely smashed up, and the two separate pieces were laid on top of the cutter and 'fixed' back on with a bit of plastic pallet wrap. The front side of the crate was cracked, but still in one piece. Needless to say the contents of the crate were covered in a fair bit of dust and dirt, and a few minor scratches in the paintwork, but luckily it was all intact, and at this stage everything appears to work.

Removing the legs is quite an involved process. There are a number of sheet metal screws holding the legs onto the machine, but half of them are under the cover for the belt and pulleys that raise and lower the bed. The problem is that all the other parts that are directly fixed to the base of the machine were fitted after the legs, and their screws go straight through into the legs as well. So to get the legs off, you have to remove the bed lifting motor, a couple of the pulleys on it's belt, the stepper motor drives, and one final screw nicely hidden in the cable channeling. Luckily I had a nice sunny day to do it, and it was all reassembled in the 'shed' a few hours later.

The extensive disassembly gave me ample opportunity to clean all the dust and dirt out of the machine, so the proverbial two birds were well and truly dispatched. ;)

I've fired it all up a couple of times, and burned some small patterns into some scrap wood, but haven't got as far as laser alignment or any real cutting yet, as I have a question about the laser cooling.

Attachment 22218

The tubing for the coolant water is wrapped around the high voltage end of the laser in a fairly haphazard fashion, which makes it pretty much impossible to bleed any trapped air out of it. There seems to still be a decent flow of coolant, but I'm a little concerned about this setup, and was wondering if this is acceptable, or should I refit the tubing without all the twists and turns? I'm not really comfortable running the laser for more than a few seconds until I know whether this is OK or not.

Also I filled the coolant bucket with de-ionised water, and the pump was run for about a minute, and the water immediately smells musty. There was some green liquid in the laser tube when it arrived. Is there anything suitable for flushing the system out, or should a drain and refill with added antifreeze be adequate?

Finally, I only bought the basic machine without the rotary axis. There is wiring and connectors present for one to be connected, but the wiring only goes to a spare connector next to the two stepper drives. I'm just curious, but do the machines that come with the rotary axis have a third stepper driver, or is it just done with a wiring swap on the y-axis?

Looks like you had a narrow escape;)

The third axis is just plug-and-play - my one came with the rotary(busted to buggery) and it just has the loose plug.

My pump was able to flush the bubbles out and the tube is still wrapped like yours but i have the CW3000 "cooler" LOL, and it does have a strong pump, so strong in fact that it blew all the pipes off and flooded the machine with 9L of coolant. I fixed all the pipes with small ty-wraps and its been ok since.

It makes you wonder how many of these machines arrive intaact!

Your tale of woe is an almost exact repeat of my experience, and Dave's bust 4th axis issue again is similar to what happened when mine was delivered.

Definitely don't blow through the coolant tubes to make sure they're not blocked! I did this and contracted a really nasty stomach bug. I can't remember what it was, but my wife's a GP and said they wouldn't normally test for it if you hadn't been somewhere like China on holiday.

Definitely untangle that tubing. Also check the HV wiring isn't flapping around near the metal chassis like mine was. Basically treat the machine as a kit of parts that has been assembled by a 5 year old whilst watching cartoons.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Boyan Silyavski

I am looking at the 100W ones.

One question. Whats really useful size ? I am looking ebay at RECI 100W Co2 1300x2500mm Flatbed Laser Cutter Laser Cutting Engraving USB, which i assume is around 80W. But hey, around 5000 only. Then tax, extra reserve tube, etc. I started already thinking schemes how to obtain it :-)

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Hi, up to 80w for engraving and cutting, 100w for cutting. AS tube 100w or greater does not engrave that well.