[ML-General] Big Laser

[Nick Kopp]

Can someone tape a checklist to the machine of the things we should be
watching for and stop use if seen?

Nick

On Thu, Dec 19, 2019 at 1:54 PM <smeeon at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you for the correction Ryan, I typed out the wrong thing. Diluting
> it should be safer too from what I’ve read on the forums.
>
> - Dianna Valdez
>
> On Dec 19, 2019, at 1:18 PM, Ryan Coons <ryancoonsyhg at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
> 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
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> 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.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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.

-- 
Nicholas Kopp
630-536-6231
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.makerslocal.org/pipermail/general/attachments/20191219/e2a7d212/attachment.html>