Bill's 2.x Build

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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby whmeade10 » Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:41 pm

Hey guys, its been a while and now the laser is almost 2 years old. It has been a work horse for my small business and has done thousands of jobs. It has actually paid for itself many times over. I need you guys to take a look at one of my last projects I just completed. It seems that the either the laser tube is on its way out or I may need to replace a few bearings.

The laser tube seems to be firing OK and the power used to cut seems to be OK, but the quality has started to slip quite drastically, especially when rastering. Here is a sample: They use to look much better with crisp letters and not fuzzy.

PLP-1.jpg
New Project, FUZZY
PLP-2.jpg
Past Project, CRISP


The laser tube is still the original tube I purchased in April of 2011. If the consensus is that maybe the laser tube needs replacement I am going to upgrade the 2X to 80W system. If it looks like the bearings I will get an order into Bart for some new ones. I did start building a whole new 80W laser but decided that I would just upgrade the 2X I already have. Don't really have room for anything much bigger.

Looking forward to your help and comments. :D

-Bill
FSE 45w Deluxe CO2 Laser 5th Gen w/X7 DSP | CorelDRAW X7
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby orcinus » Thu Mar 14, 2013 1:26 am

whmeade10 wrote:Image


My desk could use with these two buttons (and their attached functions).
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby Kellerkind » Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:40 pm

i have no laser myself (yet), so please take my thoughts just as a educated guess...
- did you check your lens recently? as far as i understood they can get rather dirty even with air assist...
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby whmeade10 » Tue Mar 19, 2013 1:48 pm

Kellerkind wrote:i have no laser myself (yet), so please take my thoughts just as a educated guess...
- did you check your lens recently? as far as i understood they can get rather dirty even with air assist...


I will check it out tonight. I usually check the focus lens about 1 to 2 times a month for smoky residue but have been so busy lately that I have totally overlooked that possibility.

I did receive some new v wheels from Bart and installed them yesterday. I ran another job last night and I think it looks better but no where near what it should be. I really don't think it is mechanical. Everything is tensioned good and free moving. There is no dirt on the rails. If its not not dirty lenses what could it be? Could it possible be the tubes output? Just thinking out loud. :)

np2.jpg
Letters still not crisp after installing new carriage wheels and bearings.


Thanks for your everyones thoughts and help, I really appreciate it!

-Bill
FSE 45w Deluxe CO2 Laser 5th Gen w/X7 DSP | CorelDRAW X7
whmeade10
 
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby twehr » Tue Mar 19, 2013 2:37 pm

Bill,

You are not totally alone. I also noticed a significant degradation of quality over time.

Since my laser was 2x #1, some things had changed, so I upgraded my X axis to the MakerSlide with new double bearing v-wheels. Didn't seem to help.

You and I have both put a lot of miles on our lasers and I am wondering if the belts are getting spongy. They appear to be tight, but maybe the rapid changes in direction are causing a bit of stretch. Have you replaced your x belt lately (or at all)? I have been so busy on the router that I have had little time to do further investigation on mine.
tim
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"The answer is usually easy and obvious once you know what it is." tw

DIYLaser Blog
SemiHomemadeTools.com
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby whmeade10 » Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:09 pm

twehr wrote:Bill,

You are not totally alone. I also noticed a significant degradation of quality over time.

Since my laser was 2x #1, some things had changed, so I upgraded my X axis to the MakerSlide with new double bearing v-wheels. Didn't seem to help.

You and I have both put a lot of miles on our lasers and I am wondering if the belts are getting spongy. They appear to be tight, but maybe the rapid changes in direction are causing a bit of stretch. Have you replaced your x belt lately (or at all)? I have been so busy on the router that I have had little time to do further investigation on mine.


I am still using the original belts from 2 years ago. Never thought the belts could be the problem, but makes perfect sense. That X belt has probably seen a few thousand miles of travel. :lol: I will get some belts on order and see if that fixes the problem. You are right, our machines have a lot of miles on them. :D I see you mentioned you are busy with a router. That's where I got my start. I had a Joe's 4 x4 router before the laser. Had to sell the router to fund the laser. I do miss having the router but the laser has proved to be a better income source. Do you have a build log for your router?

Thanks for your insight Tim! I will let you know if the belts solve the problem. I am looking at getting another laser to help with the work load. Don't really want to build another one so I am looking around for a ready to go one.

-Bill
FSE 45w Deluxe CO2 Laser 5th Gen w/X7 DSP | CorelDRAW X7
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby twehr » Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:36 pm

whmeade10 wrote:
twehr wrote:Bill,

You are not totally alone. I also noticed a significant degradation of quality over time.

Since my laser was 2x #1, some things had changed, so I upgraded my X axis to the MakerSlide with new double bearing v-wheels. Didn't seem to help.

You and I have both put a lot of miles on our lasers and I am wondering if the belts are getting spongy. They appear to be tight, but maybe the rapid changes in direction are causing a bit of stretch. Have you replaced your x belt lately (or at all)? I have been so busy on the router that I have had little time to do further investigation on mine.


I am still using the original belts from 2 years ago. Never thought the belts could be the problem, but makes perfect sense. That X belt has probably seen a few thousand miles of travel. :lol: I will get some belts on order and see if that fixes the problem. You are right, our machines have a lot of miles on them. :D I see you mentioned you are busy with a router. That's where I got my start. I had a Joe's 4 x4 router before the laser. Had to sell the router to fund the laser. I do miss having the router but the laser has proved to be a better income source. Do you have a build log for your router?

Thanks for your insight Tim! I will let you know if the belts solve the problem. I am looking at getting another laser to help with the work load. Don't really want to build another one so I am looking around for a ready to go one.

-Bill


I did not do a build log on the router. In my usual fashion, I got everything together and then built it in one week. It is 25x25 with SmoothStepper and the SuperPID2 router speed control. This is not my final router, however. It is wood construction with cheap pipe and skate bearings but built it solely to use for making parts for the one I want to build. I will likely do some form of log with that one, as it will be more interesting than what I have done so far.

Next one won't be built so fast, either. Can't get any real time off from work until at least June 2014. Going to have to piece it together over time.
tim
--
"The answer is usually easy and obvious once you know what it is." tw

DIYLaser Blog
SemiHomemadeTools.com
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby whmeade10 » Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:26 pm

WOW! this group must be buying up all the MXL belting. :lol: I have looked at Econobelt and StockDrive and they are all out of stock. :o Are there any other places that you guys can recommend? Its been a while since my build but I believe the BOM part I need is: MXL Belt .250 40.00Lg Cut. So I imagine a 45-50 inch piece should do.

Cheers,
-Bill
FSE 45w Deluxe CO2 Laser 5th Gen w/X7 DSP | CorelDRAW X7
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby jkittle99 » Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:25 pm

Hey Bill, What are you using for your electrical contacts - they look like some sort of white shrouded crimp on connector of sorts. Would love to see a closeup, looks way more professional than just a screw on bare wire.

Josh
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Re: Bill's 2.x Build

Postby owensbyjason » Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:09 pm

Bill,
Here's where I got mine while waiting for the ones I back-ordered from stock drive: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BGU ... UTF8&psc=1 They arrived in 2 days. One day earlier than the ones from stock drive shipped that I had ordered 2 months ago. :shock:
Jason
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