[ML-General] Big Laser

[Ryan Coons]

1) Fire.

Actually, that's true off all shop equipment,  excluding the forge...

On Thu, Dec 19, 2019, 2:23 PM Nick Kopp <nkopp2 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> This list is for public discussion about Makers Local and related
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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
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>> general-leave at lists.makerslocal.org.
>
> --
> Nicholas Kopp
> 630-536-6231
> _______________________________________________
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> activities.
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