Laser alignment question - alignment of the tube itself

[David Borneman]

Hi guys,

Having a heck of a time getting both the near and far field alignment on mirror 2 to match up on our newest laser, which is a chinese 1390 model.

This particular machine has what to me is a weird mounting system for the tube itself. It has height adjusters on both the front and back, but even at full height the laser will not hit the exact center of the first mirror, so we pegged it as high as it will go and are aiming at the spot on all the mirrors that match where its hitting on the first mirror, which is about 1.5mm south of dead center.

Now all that said, when far field is at the point, near field is off by quite a bit - about 1.5CM. When adjusted to match, far field is off by even more.

So I got to thinking. What if the laser tube itself is not square with the machine? Like the back of the tube is higher or lower (or left or right) of the front in relation to the machine? Will that throw the beam off so that alignment on mirror 2 is impossible, or am I just farking this whole thing somehow? lol.

Any info greatly appreciated!

[Jeffrey Aley]

So I got to thinking. What if the laser tube itself is not square with the machine? Like the back of the tube is higher or lower (or left or right) of the front in relation to the machine? Will that throw the beam off so that alignment on mirror 2 is impossible, or am I just farking this whole thing somehow? lol.

Any info greatly appreciated!

Mirror 1 should be able to give you a beam that is parallel to the Y axis of the laser. Adjusting the position of the tube will determine where on Mirror 2 (two) the beam hits when it is parallel.

Good luck - the larger the laser, the more precise the alignment needs to be.