I bought a laser cutter/engraver, had a few issues getting it working and they have now been solved.
So I thought I should start a new thread.
My laser cuts inaccurately. Period.
for example in the x direction its fine but in the y direction it is about 5% out. If I cut a square 100 x 100 (x,y) it cuts 100 x 105.
If I compensate and reduce the y axis percentage to say 95% it's pretty close but no matter what I do I get weird results. eg if I ask it to cut a 5mm circle it will start in one spot, follow roughly where it is supposed to go and then when it gets to the end it might be a millimetre or two out, so it cuts a shape a bit like a single loop spiral. You have to tear it out because it's still joined to the main sheet.
I tried cutting a 5mm x 100 rectangle and it cut one line about 5mm but the rest of the rectangle was close to 4mm by 10mm so it was a bit like a "b" shape, eg it had a stem one one side.
When I got it to cut a bunch of big circles you could see they weren't perfect, they were slightly oval in shape, and even if you compensated on the y direction they still didn't look symmetrical.
Anyone know what might be causing this and how I might fix? The manufacturer has stopped communicating with me because I wanted to take them up on their warranty and get a replacement or my money back.
Re: Just how accurate are laser cutters in general?
Hi,
The y is not accurate you can check from 2 aspects.
first is the mechanical assemble part on Y axis ,is there play(loose screws) on gears, belts loose,missing screws...if not,then
modify the parameter of Y pulse,depends on what software you use laser cut or RD ...
It sounds your optics is not good since you say two out. Be sure you got only one single small dot from laser head bottom nozzle part .Then you will cut with only one line and notice you have to find the focus length correctly before you cut.
Keep communication with the manufacture or try to contact their manager to solve if you can.
May you success and get better !
Regards
Re: Just how accurate are laser cutters in general?
If you bought one of those cheap 5 or 800$ lasers off ebay you can pretty much expect they might have accuracy problems, like the guy before me said, if anything is loose your going to have problems. Check your belts, your gantry, laser head. motors , make sure everything is tight. Make sure the x and y axis run smoothly, no tight spots on the rails, no wobble on the laser head.
Re: Just how accurate are laser cutters in general?
@EXLASer Hi thanks for replying, I've managed to correct the ypulse which has definitely helped a lot.
Still not right but much better. Manufacturer had told me something like this before stopping communicating with me but didn't explain what they meant and I could find no mention in the manual - so have had advice from a couple of others on my old thread on how to fix the Y pulse. Fixed it last night.
The optics seem to be pretty good, just pulsing the laser gives quite a small fine hole. Although power is not what it should be I've been told by others. Might have a dud laser tube.
My belts are tight and might actually be too tight, I might have a play around with tensions and see. I haven't checked all my screws yet but will go over it all on the weekend.
@BIGBIRD - As I said to Exlaser, belts are plenty tight enough but will check rest of machine. I've greased the runners further as I was getting the odd issue of the laser seeming to jam half way through cutting a shape and then finishing the shape in a different position, the extra grease has fixed that.
Interestingly my laser cost $2700 (AUD) all up delivered to my door, a month or so they were selling for about $6000 which I thought a bit odd, must be a mistake and they'll fix it, but I looked again yesterday and see them advertised on ebay by the same supplier for $9300 - See screen shot! Much more than many other bigger machines, it absolutely has to be a mistake and gives me great satisfaction they won't be selling too many for a while!
I've seen 900mm x 1200mm cut area x 80W lasers for $5600, mine is only 300mm x 500mm x 50W.
@ AmyThunderLaser - Thanks I'll try pulling on the belts and see if they loosen although I'm not quite sure what this test it checking.
Anyone thinking of buying one of these be warned, they give you a warranty and then stop communicating to you if you try to take them up on it. The limited customer service I was getting disappeared completely after I started complaining about all my problems and saying I want a replacement item! I thought by buying from a company that would ship the item from Sydney Australia I would have more consumer protection, but I have no idea what the originating address was and could only communicate with the chinese manufacturer........
Just how accurate are laser cutters in general?
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