[leemh99]

Hello, I have just recently brought a Chinese k40 laser machine. The primary use for the machine is to engrave on pet tags which are made of anodized aluminum.
I have had some success after days of fiddling with the machine and the moshi draw program that come with it.
The problem I am having is when i output to the machine the power/ current indicator drops right down to no more than 5Ma while engraving with the current regulator turned up full.
When i use the test switch with the laser on the current indicator goes up to around 15 - 20 Ma.
I have checked the alignment of the laser, the water is flowing fine and the laser is working but just is not powerful enough.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Leemh99.

[herby08]

Hi there
did you set the power in moshidraw?? check this because the current regulator lets you only go to the max what is set in moshidraw as max power for the file
greetings
walt

Hello, I have just recently brought a Chinese k40 laser machine. The primary use for the machine is to engrave on pet tags which are made of anodized aluminum.
I have had some success after days of fiddling with the machine and the moshi draw program that come with it.
The problem I am having is when i output to the machine the power/ current indicator drops right down to no more than 5Ma while engraving with the current regulator turned up full.
When i use the test switch with the laser on the current indicator goes up to around 15 - 20 Ma.
I have checked the alignment of the laser, the water is flowing fine and the laser is working but just is not powerful enough.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Leemh99.

[leemh99]

Hi there
did you set the power in moshidraw?? check this because the current regulator lets you only go to the max what is set in moshidraw as max power for the file
greetings
walt

How do I set the power in moshi draw? I have played and tested with all the setting I can find but nothing makes a difference.
I am missing something?

[TechGraphix]

I think this is quite normal when engraving:
Your laserhead draws lines in X-direction.
When you look at your drawing you will see that your laser has to fire only where you want to change the color of your dogtags, right?
Say that this is only 10% of the whole line. This means that the average lasercurrent is only 10% of the lasercurrent during firing.
Only when you cut or when the picture is all "black", the average lasercurrent will be the same as the lasercurrent you set with the potentiometer.
When i engrave a picture with just a few lines and i have set my current to 80% (~20mA in my case) i still seee the currentmeter only display a value of 0,5-1mA...

You only have to test for the results with various materials and colors, write that down and set is that way.
Create a pattern with different speeds and what you can set in this Moshidraw and test..

Kees

[leemh99]

I'm not sure about that, it seems like the laser is not giving off enough power. When i first started using the machine I had mixed results with some of the tags coming out fine and others not so good. Now they are just coming faded as if the laser is not powerful enough.
I use the moshidraw program, write the text to be outputted to the machine in bold with the current regulator turned to full and if I turn the regulator any lower I can hardly see what i have engraved on the tag.

[TechGraphix]

Ok, then the meterreading is not the issue..
When you testfire with the button you think you have the same power as before? Does the color in the laser looks good (plasma must be a kind of purple all the way)
Mirrors and lenses ar clean? Focusdistance is right?
Visable bad contacts somewhere?

I don't know how to work with moshidraw but i know a lot of people try to rebuild these lasermachines with other controllers/stepperdrivers etc. Just to get rid of that crappy Moshidraw and controller.. just to know..

Kees

[mondo50m]

I have the same laser. I know, in my case, that I can cut out (vector) with 10ma and if I leave the settings alone and do engraving (rastor) the output as seen on the meter is only around 3 to 5 ma. It must be the way Moshi does it. If you need it to engrave deeper, you need to engrave slower. That is how I do it, someone else may have a different way. I am now saving to purchase a DSP from Lightobjects. This is going to be the start of a new build to make a larger working area.

Milt

[leemh99]

Thanks for all your reply's, I have tried engraving slower but it doesn't make a difference. It seems the longer the laser is on for the worse it gets. The laser plasma light up purple all the way but i can't see it being anything apart from the laser. I have only had the machine around two weeks and its been like banging my head against a brick wall trying to get it to do what i want.
Is there a way i can test the laser?

[herby08]

Hi there
its a long time I worked ( or try to) with the moshi sh.....
did you pot a piece of tape on the first mirror how does the burn look there?
make a picture, then do the same on the second mirror burn a test there make a picture then put a tape on the top mirror from the laserhead make a burn there and a picture post all the picture here this way we can better help you.
greetings
walt

Thanks for all your reply's, I have tried engraving slower but it doesn't make a difference. It seems the longer the laser is on for the worse it gets. The laser plasma light up purple all the way but i can't see it being anything apart from the laser. I have only had the machine around two weeks and its been like banging my head against a brick wall trying to get it to do what i want.
Is there a way i can test the laser?