Referencing a Milliamp Meter

[Dan Foreman]

Hi All, I have added a milliamp meter to find the max power % for my system. Would appreciate some input with regards to my decision to run the machine at 75% power when cutting. (Purchased my machine primarily for cutting 6mm plywood)

When cutting at 75% power, my meter reads 25 milliamps. Am I correct with using 75% power for daily use of the machine?

Here are the specs for my Reci tube:

Power: 130W (150W peak)
Triggering Voltage: 30KV
Operating Voltage: 26KV
Current: 25~26mA (28mA max)
Triggering Current: 9mA (At which the laser beam is smooth and round shape)

Just looking for confirmation as to whether or not I'm in the safe window for maximizing tube life. Thanks!

[Gene Uselman]

You are figuring this correctly, what a lot of peeps do not realize is that the % of power will be different on each machine, for instance on my 130w EFR tube 50% is the max military power and safe power that I use normally is 45%. And most tubes do not have any real identifying marking so that the max current can be easily determined. I believe it to be a function of how well the HV power supply is matched to the tube.

[Dan Foreman]

Thanks Gene.