Laser Tube not getting power after working for 7 years...
My laser cutter is about 7 years old and looks a lot like this one: https://image.made-in-china.com/43f3...g-Machine.webp
I have a new 150w W6 Reci tube (about a year old) and they added a square metal box cover to the right side about 12 inches long to enclose it. The old tube lasted aver 5 years and still works but is stored.
I was cutting a sheet of acrylic last week and towards the end of the job the laser kept powering on and off about every second, the meter would go from 30 to zero and back, so I powered it off and restarted it. Finished the job and it worked fine the next day, Two days later I was trying to cut 8 acrylic sheets and after completing 5 of them the laser would not come on, even after restarts. I suspect it shorted out somewhere.
I did some troubleshooting over the weekend and here is what I know works - power strip to the plug is OK, power cords from strip to back of machine are good and working, Two new fuses in the power outlets, two new rocker switches (I've had the rockers go bad before). The controller rocker switch works fine and lights up when on, the menu is not reporting any errors, and the machine starts up normally.
I pulled the leads off the tube and reset them and added lots of silicone for insulation. The refrigeration unit is running as normal, water and air are as normal.
The rocker switch for the laser doesn't light up when switched on and there is no power to the tube. If the laser rocker switch doesn't light up is there something it goes to that might have burned out or have a bad connection? I'm pretty sure I have the new rocker wired up the same, but I got the controller switch wired up wrong before. I checked the wiring diagram for the rocker switch and set the 4 connectors to the correct positions and no change to the laser not getting any power or the light on the switch not coming on when in the on position.
It doesn't seem to matter how I wire up the rocker switch for the laser, I get nothing from it and no power at the switch. It acts like the fuse is blown at the plug, but it's fine.
I did use the emergency off button to shut down the laser. I'm wondering if it could be faulty and is in a constant off position even though I reset it?
Any ideas as to what might be the problem so I can look at it?
What electronic part is between the switch and the tube?
Where would I find it?
Oddly; the laser power cables run from the socket up into the tube area, down the tube length, back into the case, down to the base, back along the back bottom, into the right panel area and then up to the front where the switch is.
Seems like a long wire run just to get to the switch.
Re: Laser Tube not getting power after working for 7 years...
After tracing wires back to the plug and doing continuity thru put testing on the two emergency stop buttons, I discovered the laser stop button had no electrical thru put even though the button was reset. It did take some effort to power off with it as I recall. After disassembling it the plastic housing had failed on one of the two halves and the internal springs were keeping the switch in a locked off position. I've ordered a 4 pack as replacements and have resolved not to use the emergency stop buttons ever again. This was probably the 3rd time they were ever used - pretty high failure rate.
We'll see if this fixes the problem. I also think I've sorted out the wiring on the rocker switch, we'll see how many fuses that takes to get right when the new off buttons arrive.
Re: Laser Tube not getting power after working for 7 years...
I can see the benefit of an emergency stop switch on a router but not on a laser. The worst you will see is that it ignores a limit switch and the stepper keeps moving so you just shut it down. I think it’s there for regulations.
Be careful working around the high voltages.
Does your power supply have a red light that indicates the laser is running? Is it lit?
Laser Tube not getting power after working for 7 years...
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