40W Chinese Laser not cutting quite right
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 5:26 pm
Hi all...
I am new to laser cutting and I just bought a Chinese laser cutter, here is a link to the specific one that I bought.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XP ... UTF8&psc=1
I got it all hooked up, installed the software etc. and everything seemed to be fine until I tried to engrave one of the example logos. It sort of engraved but just barely. Then I tried to cut with it and it would hardly leave a mark on the acrylic. Having done lots of research before purchasing this machine I am aware that they are not "plug and play" so I figured it was a common problem like mirror alignment etc. So I cleaned all the mirrors (cotton swabs and acetone) and the lens then I did an alignment of all the mirrors (quickly and as best as I could for the first time).
I got it to at least work better it will now cut 2mm clear acrylic but only at full (99.9%) power and set to a speed of 1 mm/s. I am planning to go home tonight and adjust the mirrors again to try to maybe dial it in a little better but I am wondering... Are the mirrors really the problem? Could it be the power supply is not working or something else? I don't have the equipment and I am a little nervous to go messing around inside this thing and with the laser but I am willing to give it a shot if anyone has any suggestions or might know what the problem is.
Also one other thing I would like to point out... I do not have the earthing ground hooked to anything. I did look at the wiring inside the control panel and coming off the 3 pin power plug are red, black and yellow wires. The yellow wires are also tied to the earthing pin so, being as I live in Texas I figured it should be adequately grounded off the 110 wall socket, but I could be wrong. If this is the problem I am in trouble because I live in the 3rd floor of an apartment complex and I really have no place to run a wire for the earthing ground. Also I noticed the laser beam on the outlet end is occasionally arching to the metal ring I'm not sure if its the anode or cathode, maybe this is the loss of power?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I am new to laser cutting and I just bought a Chinese laser cutter, here is a link to the specific one that I bought.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XP ... UTF8&psc=1
I got it all hooked up, installed the software etc. and everything seemed to be fine until I tried to engrave one of the example logos. It sort of engraved but just barely. Then I tried to cut with it and it would hardly leave a mark on the acrylic. Having done lots of research before purchasing this machine I am aware that they are not "plug and play" so I figured it was a common problem like mirror alignment etc. So I cleaned all the mirrors (cotton swabs and acetone) and the lens then I did an alignment of all the mirrors (quickly and as best as I could for the first time).
I got it to at least work better it will now cut 2mm clear acrylic but only at full (99.9%) power and set to a speed of 1 mm/s. I am planning to go home tonight and adjust the mirrors again to try to maybe dial it in a little better but I am wondering... Are the mirrors really the problem? Could it be the power supply is not working or something else? I don't have the equipment and I am a little nervous to go messing around inside this thing and with the laser but I am willing to give it a shot if anyone has any suggestions or might know what the problem is.
Also one other thing I would like to point out... I do not have the earthing ground hooked to anything. I did look at the wiring inside the control panel and coming off the 3 pin power plug are red, black and yellow wires. The yellow wires are also tied to the earthing pin so, being as I live in Texas I figured it should be adequately grounded off the 110 wall socket, but I could be wrong. If this is the problem I am in trouble because I live in the 3rd floor of an apartment complex and I really have no place to run a wire for the earthing ground. Also I noticed the laser beam on the outlet end is occasionally arching to the metal ring I'm not sure if its the anode or cathode, maybe this is the loss of power?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!