I have been trying to fix my Wavy x axis but I also noticed a very big difference in Engraving thickness between Y and X axis as you can see in the picture I attached.
Same speed, same settings same material, I just rotated the material to get the line on Y axis.
can anyone comment on this? is this normal? I expected a little difference but since the software is engraving with lines on the x axis I assumed the Thicker axis would be the Y one. In my case the Thick engraving is on the X axis, so I doubt I’ll be able to get clean results engraving this way.
If I engrave a rectangle the difference is so noticeable that it makes it weird.
Do you have the same distance from your laser head to the materials to be machined? to me it sounds more like a focus problem, you can easily have a half or full mm difference in the length of the X and or Y axis with the associated error focuses.
Another source of this difference could also be the diode’s elongated focus “point”, but it is rarely seen that they are precise 90 degrees to x or y. You can clearly see it (the direction) if you defocus until you get a clearly elongated rectangle.
Yes I have the same distance from head to material. Maybe it’s a focus problem. But the laser is brand new, full stock… So don’t really feel like messing with the focus point. Isn’t it weird it’s this off?
I was able to get good results with engraving images when i set the engraving line directions on the y axis.
But still cannot do lines on the x axis
That’s a 40mm high image, engraved fairly fast at 2000mm/m with 40%. So it’s great on that axis. Really pleased but unusable on the other axis. I can’t adjust the focus as i mentioned the Atomstack A5 30w is a fixed diode laser…
Well maybe i buy a Neje 20W or another brand with adjustable diode
Unfortunately, I do not know much about your laser. The 20Watt, is it a laser with 2 diodes? Although it is a very misleading term, even if it should be 2 diodes, it will have a max output power of 2x 7.5 but probably approaches 2x5.5Watt. In return, they achieve a more round focus point with their mirror technique.
Even if it has a fixed focus, you always decide with the actual adjustment of the height of your laser head which focus you want. Have you done a ramp test ?, it is enjoyable and important basic knowledge regarding one’s machine.
True I haven’t done the ramp test but I’ve set it as it is suggested but the manual. Like I mentioned, I can do the engraving with y axis, but the difference in focusing between Y and X is so big, with the same distance from material.
I should do the ramp for learning but I am trying to first get a laser that performs as advertised, This is far from the video I’ve watched reviewing this machine
This is exactly the same machine and he engraves a really nice and clean grid which I wasn’t able to achieve at all… Despite all my attempts to adjust the belts and such
Of course, it’s true what you say, the same height should give (almost) the same focus diameter in the X and Y direction. Could it be that your lens is not ok?
Try to put your machine far out of focus, wear glasses !!! and see what the laser beam itself looks like on a piece of black paper or other material, remember to reduce power so you do not burn the house off.
If you do not have proper goggles, do not do this test!