two problems! laser not cutting and is in reverse
Bought a 50w cheap chinese laser off ebay (brand new) for $2500 (including delivery) which was shipped from their Sydney distributor, and I set up as per instructions however it does everything it is supposed to do except activate the laser beam when it is supposed to be cutting.
I found a small red button with the word test next to it, on the side of the laser powersupply inside the cabinet and the laser will make a small hole when you push it but so far that is the only cutting I've been able to do.
I set up my laptop and followed all instructions (output is set to cut mode and laser is 100% output etc) and it starts moving to the design I've drawn but it doesn't activate the laser beam. The Chinese manufacturers (as I also thought) suggested the water safety cut off switch could be the culprit, and I should strip and reconnect the wires, but that didn't help.
Troubleshooting with them in china and me being a novice in Australia is near impossible. It takes days to get response and so far after a couple of weeks I've only tried one suggested fix as mentioned above.
I also noticed that if I draw anything on the software, eg a simple word, I can see it tracing the word in reverse. Is this normal? I would have thought it would try to cut exactly what is on the screen not the reverse.
I'm at the point I'm going to have to fork out a couple of hundred bucks and ship it back to the Sydney "distributor" and get a replacement delivered, but thought I'd ask an expert or two on this forum if there are any obvious things could try that I'm missing.
Every wire appears to attached and every light appears to be on. Also the front panel has a button which by rights should cause the laser to pulse but doesn't.
Here's a link to a similar machine: Engraver Cutter CO2 Laser Engraving Machine Auxiliary Rotary Device 50W NEW DL | eBay
I don't suspect anyone is going to be able to work this out via a public forum but I thought what the heck why not give it a try!
Re: two problems! laser not cutting and is in reverse
Hi
several issues you have:
the inverted engraving: in the software on your pc, under "config" - "system settings" , make sure the box on x-axis is NOT checked, and the one on y-axis IS checked. select the top left position in the "laser head" grid on the same window.
the engraving: should easily cut this 1mm rubber at maybe 15% power / 50mm speed.
check your beam alignement. If the beam is not aligned and centered properly, it will bonce off the sidewalls inside the mirror enclosures, meaning SOME laser light will get out of the lens, but not a lot. It probably also makes a hissing noise. proper mirror and laser tube alignement should solve the issue, happened to me too.
if you had a water problem, then the display should tell you and the head should stop moving.
hope that helps.
Re: two problems! laser not cutting and is in reverse
Hi Shenhui, Thanks for trying to help. Please see my responses below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shenhui laser
Hi
several issues you have:
the inverted engraving: in the software on your pc, under "config" - "system settings" , make sure the box on x-axis is NOT checked, and the one on y-axis IS checked. select the top left position in the "laser head" grid on the same window.
This issue has been solved thank you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shenhui laser
the engraving: should easily cut this 1mm rubber at maybe 15% power / 50mm speed. .
Are you referring to cutting through the rubber or just engraving on the top? If I can't get it to cut at 98% power and 10mm/s I doubt very much it will cut using 1/6 of the power and 5x the speed, but I can try and get back to you what my results are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shenhui laser
check your beam alignement. If the beam is not aligned and centered properly, it will bonce off the sidewalls inside the mirror enclosures, meaning SOME laser light will get out of the lens, but not a lot. It probably also makes a hissing noise. proper mirror and laser tube alignement should solve the issue, happened to me too.
The laser came already installed in the machine so I checked the alignment and found it to be fine. Each burst of the laser seems to line up in the middle of each mirror no matter where the head is located.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shenhui laser
if you had a water problem, then the display should tell you and the head should stop moving.
hope that helps.
Hi yes I solved the water problem, a plug inside the cabinet that was unable to be seen mustn't have been put in properly or become dislodged in transit.
I have more difficult issues to solve if you are able to help? When I cut in the x direction it seems to cut fairly accurately but when I cut in the y direction it cuts about 5% too big. I can reduce the y dimensions by roughly the error to compensate but I get all sorts of mixed results. eg when it cuts a circle it doesn't start and finish in the same spot and hence with little circles around 5mm dia it cuts more of a spiral than a circle. Also I it is supposed to cut a small rectangle it finishes above where it starts and cuts a shape like "b" with the bottom part of the b is the rectangle, eg a rectangle with a stem poking up in one corner.
I've cut quite a few shapes with it now and they are never the same as the cad file I create. I can print out the file on a printer and it is exact, but when I cut from the same file on the laser it doesn't match the drawing. This is driving me nuts and the manufacturer has stopped communicating with me because I demanded they swap it or give me my money back. Their 100% commitment to customer service and solving all your problems with 2 year warranty is not worth the paper it's written on.
Cheers Mike