Laser Cutter

Got here at 6:30 this morning and the laser isn't firing. Will look through manuals-- is there anyone who knows what happened?

Lol, fixed it. Not sure how I did, but I did.

Door not closed properly? Happened to me a few times but it was all me

I'm too proud to confirm if this was the case 😅

Hahahha. I am not. Technology out smarts me all the time.

It's down again. The high voltage power supply ate its line thermistor because it overheated and that is the safety fuse.

Partly my bad. I clean the filter and heatsinks on the PLC and driver but I forgot the high voltage supply has its own fan and I don't think anyone has cleaned that in the last six years. Fan still tests good but it was quite well packed with sawdust from people ignoring the warnings about sanding in the fab shop.......

Replacement is an NTC-5D20 or equivalent.

I belive there is a back up power supply in the office.

Where might that be?

It's in a cardboard box labeled "SPARE POWER SUPPLY FOR LASER CUTTER".

We looked at it last night. I'm remembering now that it is not a direct replacement to the supply in the cutter but that is what we received when the first power supply flamed out after a couple months. It's used, the wiring is different and it's almost too big for the compartment. A drop-in replacement is actually still available (and it seems there's a newer version of it as well) but from multiple vendors it's around $200 shipped.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32721737928.html

New thermistors are on order but they are anywhere from 1-4 weeks away. I've been slammed for time all year and if it's in the next 2 to 3 weeks I might not even be around to bring it over and install it.

This is a very, very nice chance to make use of one of our joint sponsorships.

I've ordered the power supply. Delivery by Oct 19th. Could we get the spare installed in the mean time? The laser being down is an urgent problem. I guess when we talked about having a spare supply I glossed over the "doesn't fit properly" part of the conversation.

The "spare" that doesn't quite fit in in the office on top of the shelf on the left wall, under the box of pigeon spikes. As john mentioned. it isn't a direct replacement and it take a electo-wizard to know if it is still usable for our machine.

The Thermister repair is a good backup to have.

Thank you everyone for jumping on getting this fixed asap

-Kyle Rankin

Could someone move the spare power supply from the office to the laser? I'll be able to have a look at installing the spare on Tuesday.

I will go down tomorrow and get it out for you Grant.

I did not get a chance to go down and now out of town. Sorry

It's Allright. Anybody else have an office key?

I do. I can drop by tonight and take it out. i will leave it on the hack room table, labeled accordingly

-Kyle Rankin

I have the spare power supply. Now to puzzle it out

Thanks Grant.

Laser is up and running. Maximum cutting power is 12ma at 50%. Increasing the percentage does not increase the cutting power. Do some test cuts before working on your project.

The laser now beeps when the lid is open. The power supply doesn't know the difference between the lid being open and the water not flowing.

The gory details:

The pinouts got moved. I labeled the wires. Pictures attached.

The high voltage connector was moved from the old power supply to the new. It involves warming up the connector to soften the hot glue. There is a screw holding the wire to the pin.

Thank you grant for casting your electrical wizardry to get the laser cutter running again

Replacement power supply is installed. 40% power gives 16ma of current. Higher power settings will shorten the life of the tube without speeding up your cut by very much.