40 watts not enough to cut 1/32" plywood?????

[Mrebeiro70]

HX3040a from Rabbit.
I finally got my tube in and mirrors aligned, but now I can't seem to cut anything but cardstock and that's using 75 percent power.

I had it at 100 percent power and it just barely burned through the 1/32" plywood leaving about a 1/16" kerf. Am I doing something wrong or did I just buy something that will never do what I bought it for?

[bisjoe]

Something is wrong. I have 45 watts (Epilog) and can cut 3/8" wood. With that wide kerf I'd guess you are out of focus.

[Mrebeiro70]

Now the machine is completely dead. It won't turn on at all. Fans don't spin and no power to outlets for fan and pump. The fuse is OK.

I think today is the day I'm going to start smoking again.


FALSE ALARM! I feel like quite a fool. The software froze up and I couldn't stop the machine so I hit the red emergency button. I forgot to release it (by turning it) after the machine stopped. LOL! Came pretty close to writing a pretty nasty email there for a minute although I wouldn't count that completely out just yet.

[Mrebeiro70]

Originally Posted by bisjoe Something is wrong. I have 45 watts (Epilog) and can cut 3/8" wood. With that wide kerf I'd guess you are out of focus.

Does the kerf suggest I'm too far or too close to the wood?

[bisjoe]

More likely too close. What you need to do is find out what the focal length of your mirror is, and measure the distance. Whatever tool they provided for adjusting the focus may be out of kilter.

[Mrebeiro70]

Originally Posted by bisjoe More likely too close. What you need to do is find out what the focal length of your mirror is, and measure the distance. Whatever tool they provided for adjusting the focus may be out of kilter.

There's no info about focal length and no tool to adjust focus.

I lowered the table and the kerf got smaller but even at 100 percent it still won't go through the 1/32" plywood.

[lamicron]

what speed are you using?
With 40 W I suppose you have to cut it at 4-6 mm/sec, if you are too fast you will only draw lines.

[Mrebeiro70]

The problem was my mirror alignment. There are two mirrors on a bracket right after the tube and before the X and Y that were about an 1/8" higher than the the tube and other mirrors. I lowered the bracket and then aligned all the mirrors again but this time I got them all dead center and I have a lot more power now.

It still depends a lot on the plywood though. One kind of 1/8" plywood cuts great while another can't even get half way through. I guess it's the layers and the glue. But it will cut the 1/32" very nicely at a good speed now and that's the main reason I bought it.

One other problem I had was cutting arcs and circles. It was making a mess out of them until this morning when I got the idea to tighten one of the belts. Now it cuts perfect circles. Now if I could just figure out the features of this damn Chinese software.

[SkipW]

Originally Posted by Mrebeiro70 The problem was my mirror alignment. There are two mirrors on a bracket right after the tube and before the X and Y that were about an 1/8" higher than the the tube and other mirrors. I lowered the bracket and then aligned all the mirrors again but this time I got them all dead center and I have a lot more power now. It still depends a lot on the plywood though. One kind of 1/8" plywood cuts great while another can't even get half way through. I guess it's the layers and the glue. But it will cut the 1/32" very nicely at a good speed now and that's the main reason I bought it. One other problem I had was cutting arcs and circles. It was making a mess out of them until this morning when I got the idea to tighten one of the belts. Now it cuts perfect circles. Now if I could just figure out the features of this damn Chinese software.

How did you make out with the .dxf files being too small when imported into NewlyDraw? Did you get that figured out?

[Mrebeiro70]

Originally Posted by SkipW How did you make out with the .dxf files being too small when imported into NewlyDraw? Did you get that figured out?

I haven't figured it out and I've tried just about everything. Tried importing them to corel12 and then exporting them out again as a new dxf. Sometimes that works but other times NewlyDraw Sends the machine gibberish to cut.
Because of this horrible software (NewlyDraw) my imports can only be dfx's and I've tried every type that corel12 will export to but NewlyDraw sends crap to the machine even though the drawings look perfect on the screen.
And I'm not sending it complicated drawings either. The drawings are very simply sometimes and 3 lines and a curve, but still they cut wrong.

I don't get it and would pay just about anything right now for another software to run this machine, but I don't believe there is another so right now I'm screwed.

[SkipW]

Originally Posted by Mrebeiro70 I haven't figured it out and I've tried just about everything. Tried importing them to corel12 and then exporting them out again as a new dxf. Sometimes that works but other times NewlyDraw Sends the machine gibberish to cut. Because of this horrible software (NewlyDraw) my imports can only be dfx's and I've tried every type that corel12 will export to but NewlyDraw sends crap to the machine even though the drawings look perfect on the screen. And I'm not sending it complicated drawings either. The drawings are very simply sometimes and 3 lines and a curve, but still they cut wrong. I don't get it and would pay just about anything right now for another software to run this machine, but I don't believe there is another so right now I'm screwed.

Have you tried deleting all the NewlyDraw files and reinstalling the software? Like Lamicron has told me about LaserCut, the fifth install is usually the best. When mine acts up, reinstalling it usually corrects the problem.

Good luck to you.
Skip