Glass Tube Connection

I have been reading some threads about people having difficulties trying to connect the high tension leads to the glass laser tubes.
I wrote about this in another thread but it was buried so I thought I would start another thread to make searching easier for those that need to know.

I have never liked the idea of wrapping wire around the terminals and then trying to solder them as it's still not a good enough connection for my liking so the easiest way around it is to use an electrical wire joiner of the household type. The EARTH joiner/connector has 2 screws but the neutral and active ones only have 1 screw. The picture below shows what I mean.

OR cut the end off a terminal strip and use that as it has a hole both ends and is also insulated

If you use the wire connector then get the EARTH type as it has 2 screws in it. 1 screw for the laser tube pin and 1 screw for the wire.

You don't have to tighten the screws very much but just enough to make a good connection that won't vibrate off

I don't know why the manufacturers tell people to solder the connections as it is way too long a process and too time consuming and also you could crack the tube if you heat it up too much.

Here is a picture of the 2 different types of connector that you can use.

Hi MonoNeuron,

Thanks for the info and tip. I was never particularly keen on using the small, cheap, crocodile clip as in the photo. Strangely, the anode end had a small connector, similar to the type you show, already installed and I cannot see why they did not do the same at the cathode end. The crocodile clip could, quite easily, work its way off the pin and I would then have high voltages loose in the cabinet.

I think I will adopt your solution very quickly.

Cheers,

Mike

Interesting thread - do you think this improves the performance of the machine - power change response/ tube power /tube life etc. I have the same alligator clip arrangement and did wonder about the crudeness of it.

I doubt the alligator clip would do any harm as we aren't talking about 10's of amps here. The voltage is high and amps low so the clips would be ok as long as they remain firm/tight on the probe or tip. It just seems a bit flaky to have a small clip like that but as long as the spring is tight then it would be perfectly acceptable.
I just prefer the double screw method of positive clamping.

Personally I much prefer a good soldered joint. There's only two connections and it's a breeze to do, if you know how to solder.

If you don't know how to solder then the connectors mentioned (we call them chocolate blocks) are still a better solution to the the crocodile clips.
Over the years I have come across many of these connection blocks where I have found the securing screws to be loose resulting in a bad connection. I have found this mainly on solid wires where it seems the compressed wire hardens and the screw ends up being loose. However, on multi-strand wire this doesn't seem to be the case so much.

My opinion would be, if you are capable of soldering a wire correctly, then this is the best method, if not, then these connectors provide a satisfactory solution.

Dave.

Yes , welding is a normal way of connect the tube to the power ,and after the welding, it need use the Silica gel to cover the joint and then covered with the tape . all these is for preventing the Discharge .especially positive terminal of the tube .

And also there is a problem . if you choose welding . the Temperature is important .maybe it will melt the Sealant of the connection terminal ,and then the gas will give off .so ,please pay attention to this .

Now, the new good co2 laser tube do not make the connection terminal on the glass body ,it is on the tube metal head , it is easy for connecting it .

I think this will help you .

This is very a helpful thread! I hope I have read this thread before I connected my laser tube. I connected it with wire nut and electrical tape. Now, my CNC laser machine doesn't start. I think the X axle limit switch was damaged caused by the bad joint, because when the laser return to home position does not stop when it hit the limit switch. I don't know if anyone here had similar problems or know how to fix this.