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Thread: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

  1. #1
    Registered etang858's Avatar
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    Default Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    Hello,

    Work has recently purchased a 60W CO2 laser, seen here: https://www.automationtechnologiesin...hine/460-60ws/ and have several issues, I hope someone can help with. I'm brand new to laser cutters.

    1. With potentiometer at 100%, and power settings at 99%, the max current I'm getting on the ammeter is 22mA which seems low. I've read that 60W lasers can run at 30mA conservatively. I contacted the vendor and they said 22mA is fine. Is this correct?

    2. In trying to align the 3rd mirror directly above the lens, there are settings where I can make the beam cut an arc or even have two arcs when pulsed. Any thoughts on why this is occurring?

    3. I aligned the mirrors, set the focal length using the provided tool, and tried cutting some 6mm cardboard with the following settings:

    25 mm/s at 75% power
    25 mm/s at 85% power
    25 mm/s at 95% power

    I cannot cut through all the material with any of these settings and if I try driving the speed at 10 mm/s or lower, it doesn't do anything. I hit start on RDWorks v8 and everything just stays still. A speed higher than 10 mm/s allows for movement and laser activation though.

    With the above settings, I should be able to cut clear through cardboard, no? Image of result attached. Note that 25 mm/s @ 95% power has been pushed with my finger nail.

    Thank you very any insight and help. It is much appreciated.

    Similar Threads:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!-cut-settings-jpg   Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!-thickness-jpg  


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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    hi
    not entirely sure but looking at the thickness of the lines on the first picture indicates to me that you are way out of focus



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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    Assuming it's a RuiDa machine, have you actually gone through the full 'download to machine' process, or are you just telling it to run what's on your computer screen? I've found that RDWorks will sometimes not send instructions with proper power data through if you're just telling it to do what's on screen, as opposed to downloading a file to the laser properly. No idea why, but the software is, um, kinda twitchy, to put it diplomatically.

    If it's RuiDa, try the lightburn demo, and see how you get on I find I consistently get better results using lightburn -to the piont where I was actually itching to buy a license for it.



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    Registered etang858's Avatar
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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    Dtcrafts- I think the width is due to the slow speed as when I pulse it the dot is not as thick. I'm going to try some empirical tests to see if it is out of focus though. Thank you for the feedback

    GerryG- it is directly hooked up to the computer and being read there, not downloaded. I'll try your suggestion about downloading. How do I know if I have a RuiDa machine? Thanks a bunch.



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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    How do I know if I have a RuiDa machine? Thanks a bunch.

    it is we can see from the control panel




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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    Dtcrafts- Ah, so you were able to see from the vendor image that it is a RuiDa based on the control panel. That's helpful. I appreciate your help.



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    Registered etang858's Avatar
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    Default

    I took apart the 3rd mirror assembly and noticed it was filthy. This is probably the cause of some of the issues.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!-20190117_101625-jpg  


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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    make sure that you are getting the 22 ma when it is cutting. for some reason my 60 watt will at times only be putting out about 10 ma when I try to cut. I had to change the low power to 90% to get it to cut. Also download a copy of lightburn and give that try.



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    Default Re: Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

    Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!-settings-jpg

    Hello,

    This is what we did yesterday. It should work. I pretty sure that you need to adjust reflective mirrors.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!-settings-jpg  


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Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!

Unable to cut through cardboard with 60W laser!