Laser Engraving Machine... not cutting

[abcd14u]

Hello, 'm in a dilemma, since i have receved our first laser engraving/cutting machine from G-WEIKE. The machine looks great. When at the time of initial run, we have noticed, the machine is only able to engrave... its unable to cut..!!

Why so? Is it a software issue? The machine is equipped with W4 series Reci Tube..! How can I make the machine cut?? Its engraving well... Have selected the color, select cut, given power 100... but its coming only as a thick deeper line...! Why so? Please help.

The person at the company is not a technical person... and the service is lacking time... there is no direct service person in this company. Have to ask the doubt to the customer care person, then she will ask the engineer and give me a reply.

But at times, she cant understand my questions and doubts... The resaon she told, the engineers dont know english. So the communication only possible through her only. Is it true?? Any Weike guys here?? Had faced this issue before?? Using Corel X3/ Laser Cut 5.3. Please reply...

[cncbasher]

i'm not familiar with the machine , however i work and service co2 lasers ,
i presume this machine is one of the chinese type engraver /cutter models 100w .

what materials are you wishing to cut , balsa , thin ply , plastics should be possible
metals is out of the question , if your using AIR assist to the nozzle try changing to oxygen .
you will need the power level near to 100% , also check alignment of the mirrors this is very important , a slight mismatch here and you wont cut anything .

40w - 60w is fine for engraving , but cutting you need near 100w or more , cutting metals you will need at a minimum 400 - 600 w for 1mm steel , aluminium 2Kw or more
these toys are purely engraving , and at most hobby plastics , or balsa / ply at a push

let me know what your cutting and i can advise later

also see if the focal point of cutting is near or at the surface of the material , a wide line would indicate that it is out of focus , it should be a resonable fine line
if the optics are out of alignment , you would not have enough power to cut , but probably enough power to engrave etc .

[abcd14u]

dear cncbasher... its great reading you here. thnx for your reply. We need to cut non metals. mainly acrylic 3mm to 20mm. The tube is 120W Reci. One day old..! Going through the message, 've a doubt on the focusing.

When testing the laser out through the nozzle, its not pointed..! Its just like a small crescent. May be this is the issue?? And when trying correcting the mirrors, i think there is smoke in the mirrors. How can I clean it? Pure water with cotton??

Appreciate your reply.

Thnx.

[cncbasher]

you should be ok to 15mm acrylic ,20mm is a possibility , but you proably may need to slow the feed right down , cleaning the mirrors ... best way is with Acitone and a light clean cotton cloth , or tightly woven cottonbud .. never never touch the surface of the lens or mirrors with fingers .

[abcd14u]

thanx for the reply. can you please tell me how will be the focusing look like at the nozzle? (at the nozzle. not the material). When testing the ray pass, the ray emits through the nozzle like a crescent shape. Is it be also a good focusing?

Regarding the machine, its wklaser machine. Chinese make.

[cncbasher]

your looking for a narrow beam at the point of contact to the material being cut ,
thin material aim for the top surface , thicker your aiming for focus approximatly 1/3rd down.

if you have some thick acrilic you can fire a single quick shot and see the size of the hole
and adjust , then try again , the beam is more of a egg timer shape so you should be able to move up and down to find the optium point .

you will not be able to find one point to cut the range of material thickness , so you will need to make notes as to a few optimum points for different thicknesses .

the nozzle will probably be around 0.5 - 1mm above the material should give you a good start .

[abcd14u]

your looking for a narrow beam at the point of contact to the material being cut ,
thin material aim for the top surface , thicker your aiming for focus approximatly 1/3rd down. the beam at the point of emmission is like an arc. not like a dot. and when hitting the material, its a tiny dot. if you are focusing a couple of seconds, it will look like drilled surface, like a cone"

if you have some thick acrilic you can fire a single quick shot and see the size of the hole
and adjust , then try again , the beam is more of a egg timer shape so you should be able to move up and down to find the optium point . The beam is not pointed. And might be this reason, it cant even cut the 3mm acrylic sheet. I guess its look like a engraved with 60%power.

you will not be able to find one point to cut the range of material thickness , so you will need to make notes as to a few optimum points for different thicknesses . Have to adjust the screws to get the optimum point. Its not possible to mark the levels. Do it as a trial and error basis.

the nozzle will probably be around 0.5 - 1mm above the material should give you a good start . The correct focal length is 70mm+/-1mm by terms of the manufacturer.

[cncbasher]

if it cannot cut 3mm , then either the optics are not in alignment , so although you think you have say 100w output you only realy have say 20w , and or the focal point is incorrect , you say the focal point is 70mm + - 1mm , so ... measuring from the lens lower surface to approx the top of the acrilic wants to be as close to say 69mm , and with the nozzle as close to the surface as you can say 1mm above it .

you will probably find the lens position is fixed in your software as to it's optimum height if the z axis is adjustable
so it's a question of manualy adjusting the nozzle height .

the problem with lasers theirs a multitude of interactive adjustments LOL