Newbie- Few questions

[mitr4dilip]

Hello, as I am a fresh entry to this laser engraving subject, i have lots of questions. I sincerely request forum members to answer the below questions with some explanations to understand better.

1.)How to know whether the rated wattage of the laser tube is correct?

2.)If a laser tube life is being told as 1600 hours and if we just give the power to the laser tube without engraving or cutting does those hours count? Should we switch off the machine quite often when we are not using even for about 15mins?Does switching off and switching on quite often affects laser tube life?

3.)If a laser tube is being rated 100W with 1600 hours then if we use at a rate of 20W then do we get 1600hrs X 5 times laser life?

[zax15uk]

1) That depends, if you are looking at a major brand machine they would be able to provide a certificate of power using a calibrated meter. A metal 'tube' laser (eg. Synrad) would almost certainly exceed the rated output compared to the cheaper sealed glass tubes that are almost always over rated. The newer Chinese RF excited tubes are getting better.

2) The machine being on doesn't count to the tube life, only when you are actively engraving or cutting (using the tube) does it degrade. Turning off the machine for short periods of time isn't a good idea, you'll just cause other components to fail early (PSU etc).

3) Not exactly, but running it at a lower power will help get the rated hours. The 'wear' can be from several factors, for cheaper glass tubes it is mainly from electrode loss and/or CO2 breakdown. Lower temperatures help reduce both of these and ensure a longer life. The metal 'tube' lasers will often exceed their ratings by several times, and although over time the power output will reduce they can always be recharged and have the electrodes replaced.

Zax.

[mitr4dilip]

Thank you for your answer, but chinese won't give us any such certificates for the tube. In that case can we identify through some other physical parameters of the laser tube? If so, could you please give those details

[nobacoutinho]

Hi.
I get this from ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-40W-CO2-LASE...item5ad4a8b09b

Have Technical Parameters on the description.

[zax15uk]

If you are getting a cheap glass tube (sealed gas) then I really wouldn't worry about it. The power rating is at the output when new, so there's loss from the mirrors and lens not to mention the particles in the air and humidity etc and over time the power will decline anyway.

Just consider the power to be 10% less than quoted for comparison. So a 100W would be more like 90W and a 40W around 36W.

Zax.

[mitr4dilip]

those ebay technical specifications is really useful.

thank you both for your replies which helped me in understanding the laser tube better

[Litografa]

Warranty
Directly Manufacturer Fully Guarantee For 24 months


Company located in HK can not offer better price, quality and etc by default IMHO. But presentation good.

[nobacoutinho]

To mitr4dilip = I am confused here... did you want to buy a laser tube or the entire laser engraver? That ebay link is only for reference.... do a large search on google for yours doubts, but I indicate zax15uk and Litografa opinions. They are in this laser area a long time .... I am a new in laser engraving.... Just reading this forum and making a effort to help someone to need for.
Sorry to all for my bad english.
Norberto