oh my poor laser

[sebastien laforet]

this has been a long time since i have used my laser. the guy who owns the place and can use the laser in exchange had said it had problems... hard to cut, too much smoke, poor focus. he had tried to setup mirrors without obtaining a better result.

well, actually, the nozzle was covered of soot, same for the red-dot. a black-thick-crusted soot. not good.

the air assist connector was almost burned. the plastic partially melted. definitely not good.

started cleaning the mess, the lens was "smoked" and beyond redemption. the pipe bringing the air flow was "crusty" and the connector fell in piece when i disconnected. i assume too much heat botched the pipe.

well, after some cleaning, i started air assist, and nothing came from the tube... at least a clue. the small compressor under the table had moved due to its own vibrations, and the pipe was twisted! so, no air assist.

it has been difficult to restore air assist : the main pipe is probably a 8mm pipe, while the connector should be 4mm. there was a small length of smaller pipe to connect everything, but this part was too burned and disintegrated when disconnecting for cleaning. clearly a chinese hack, why would they not use a connector of the good f.ck... size??? of course, i had no replacement, and no caliper to measure correctly. i ended cutting the end of a syringe to connect the parts, which was mainly ok.

after setting up a new lens (always have a spare!), new 3rd mirror, and reconnected the airflow, the machine was in good shape. now cutting at standard power with efficiency.

shopping list : new mirror, new spare lens, new air connector (once i can measure the size of pipes), new pipe, some acetone to finish the cleaning.

to-do list : reassess to my co-laser-user that when something is wrong on the laser, it should absolutely be repairing it, not trying to continue using the laser until definite breakage!!!

[Pete Cyr]

Perhaps mount your air compressor so it can't twist the tubing - even if you attach it to a board and use some double sided tape to hold the board to the shelf you would be better off.

[Jeffrey Aley]

Thanks for sharing your tale of woe. I will definitely check that there is air coming out of the nozzle the next time I turn on my laser. I can't remember the last time I checked / noticed it.

[Doug Fisher]

>>to my co-laser-user that when something is wrong on the laser,<<

This is why I don't let others have access to my machine

[sebastien laforet]

This is why I don't let others have access to my machine

my point of view also in normal circonstances, but the guy provides the room for the laser. it would cost around 2000€ / year otherwise... i would like a free laser room near home, really (or better, a man-cave with everything to work wood, and the laser, and and and ...), but it is too expensive for a hobby, and i don't really have plan to make a living from the laser.