[ML-General] Big Laser

[Ryan Coons]

Methanol is the go-to for cleaning optics. We should keep some on hand.

Placing a crosshairs T alignment point will expedite the process, since an
aligned beam will make a cloverleaf pattern, and a wonked up beam will
signal which direction is needed.

Tube lifetime seems good because the discharge is still purple, but tube
replacement will become a thing someday, and we should start saving up.

On Thu, Dec 19, 2019, 1:04 PM <smeeon at gmail.com> wrote:

> FYI I met with Norm the other night and we installed the new mirrors and
> adjusted alignment some.
>
> It cuts okay-ish in the bottom right corner. However this big cut from
> Norm has proven that most of the bed alignment is bad right now.
>
> What this means: the alignment is off, really off, when I got into the
> mirrors I noticed that they had all been previously adjusted and the
> locking nuts not screwed in tightly, so pretty much everything was loose.
> This is bad. It means the alignment had likely drifted pretty far and we’re
> just getting it “sorta right” in that one corner.
>
> It’s going to require a full 2-3 hours of alignment to really dial her
> back in to cutting well. This isn’t an easy job, I’ve done it a few times
> even with other laser techs and it’s tedious at best. I’ll try to find some
> time this weekend to tinker with it and get it closer. If anyone wants to
> drop $500 on a laser alignment sensor system that works too *nudge wink
> nudge*
>
> The new mirrors are not *as good* as the ones that came with the laser.
> That means they won’t last as long as the ones we tore through in about a
> year? The old mirrors had been cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and the
> protective coating had been mostly worn off. This diminishes the cutting
> capabilities quite a bit. We really need a bottle of pure ethanol alcohol
> to mix with some distilled water to dilute down enough to not be harsh on
> the mirrors and focusing lens. For clarification, all parts of laser optic
> chain (tube, mirrors, focusing lens, power supply) all wear out at an
> almost uniform rate. Even the flyback transformers in the power supply wear
> out even if you “dial the power back” some. This is just normal for
> 100+watt Co2 laser systems with such heavy use.
>
> Heat is a problem for all of the the optics. Running the laser without the
> air assist or with a damaged air assist caused quite a bit of damage, the
> aluminum nozzle heated up, that heat transfers to the focusing lens and the
> lens actually cracked from the heat. This is really not okay, please if you
> see fire from your project, there is a problem, stop it and get help to
> address the issue. the flame ups have damaged several proximity sensors and
> now destroyed the factory tube for the air assist.
>
> The aluminum nozzle is already providing heat sink for the lens itself as
> it naturally heats up from the focused infrared light passing through it.
> It simply can’t handle all of that additional heat.
>
> So in closing, please take care with this very valuable shop asset and
> help everyone to keep it functioning well after we patch her back together.
> If these problems persist through these extensive repairs We need to
> investigate a system for approving members to use the machine or a
> lockout/user log system.
>
> - Dianna Valdez
>
> On Dec 19, 2019, at 9:09 AM, Joseph Absher <joseph.ryan.absher at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> 
> Will do. Thanks.
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2019, 09:07 Norm Marshall <normcooks at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Go ahead and move it
>>
>> Norm Marshall
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 19, 2019, 9:05 AM Joseph Absher <joseph.ryan.absher at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> When I got to the shop this morning there was what looked to be a
>>> completed job on the laser. However, it looked like some of the pieces
>>> didn't cut all the way through, so I didn't move it in case the owner
>>> wanted to cut it again.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know when that job will be finished?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Ryan Absher
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
> _______________________________________________
> This is the general mailing list.
> This list is for public discussion about Makers Local and related
> activities.
> To stop receiving mail from this list, write to
> general-leave at lists.makerslocal.org.
>
> _______________________________________________
> This is the general mailing list.
> This list is for public discussion about Makers Local and related
> activities.
> To stop receiving mail from this list, write to
> general-leave at lists.makerslocal.org.
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