Laser power down after mirror cleaning

[robbiesands]

Hi Laser Forum,

I have a MARS-130 100W purchased from Thunder Laser in October 2015. So far the machine has been great, however after a particularly messy job I decided to remove the mirrors and give them a clean. This is the first time I'd had a go at removing and cleaning the mirrors.

After reinstalling the mirrors, the first problem was the laser guide pointer no longer pointed at the final mirror. We followed the instructions on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY5D27TQwZI to realign the mirrors. Our effort seemed successful (laser lines up near and far for both mirrors), but we can no longer achieve the same power output as with before the cleaning, especially towards the right and the bottom of the cutting table, ie. the further the head is from the laser tube, the weaker the power.

I've read through this forum and many others, but I haven't had any luck so far. So far I've:

• Done a mirror alignment check (near and far dots are same point)
  - Checked the output is centred leaving the laser head
  - Checked the bed is level
  - Checked the beam splitter is clean
  - Cleaned the lens

Given the falloff in power, I'm assuming the beam isn't aligned in the head when it hits the lens (not sure how to check this). Other than that I'm just guessing. I'd be happy to hire a professional (anyone in Melbourne Australia?) as we have lots of work to do and the machine isn't cutting effectively.

[Deshawn_Bell]

Hello,
Have you correctly installed the lens ?
you can try to install again!
good luck!

[robbiesands]

Hi and thanks for your reply. The concave side of the lens is facing downwards as recommended by the manufacturer.

[Wayne Rees]

HIya
Sometimes even though the red dot is coming out of the nozzle the cutting beam can be out of alignment, layer up 3 pieces of masking tape and place over the aperture on the cutting head, do a pulse and check if the dark dot is dead center, if the dark dot is off adjust the mirrors until it is center to the hole at all 4 corners, once the main beam is aligned THEN adjust the red dot at the rear of the laser using the red dot adjusting screws ( 4 Allen screws on the actual mount....dont readjust mirrors or the main beam will be out)