Hello everyone
I have an atomstack a5 pro 40w which was fine a week ago but now, suddenly it can’t cut 3mm material anymore. - I tried repeatedly with 3 mm masonite and with 90% - 700 - 20 passes, there is no trace of engraving on the other side of the sheet. — At the same time the fan above the laser started making an anomalous noise (which becomes normal again after about 20 seconds) — any advice on what to do to get a working laser back?
(p.s. the air assist is fine and regularly aimed at the focal point)
Hi, have you checked the lens for debris?
HI …
yes … lens and perimeter of the laser regularly cleaned; aligned air assist and focal distance adjusted every time, yet I have so much difficulty cutting 4mm plywood and 3mm masonite; it seems strange to me to have to go beyond 20 or 25 passes (with an A5 PRO) while others claim to cut those materials even with 10 fewer passes
This is not an indication for a properly operating setup. I might suggest contacting the nice folks at Atomstack for troubleshooting procedures to ensure hardware is working as expected.
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thanks for the advice, of course I turned to them for assistance … but the signs are bad; I attend a group of Atomstack users and other testimonials suggest that all this desire or ability to provide technical assistance does not have it. — Now I’m waiting for an answer from them.
in fact they don’t even reply to emails anymore … what happened to others too; so beware that technical assistance does not seem to be their priority ------- and now the engraver has presented another problem, when I try to engrave a design with filling, halfway through the work, the laser moves the its range, ruining everything. – Bye 
Did you ever figure out the issue with your laser? Please let us know , did you keep it or go with another brand
what does it mean you kept it? I would never have sold a malfunctioning item to someone else; these from Atomstack limited themselves to another email in which they suggested routine checks and nothing else. - In the meantime I replaced the fan and for a few days the situation seemed to have improved, then the new fan also began to make a lot of noise, I think there is some imperfect hardware component that makes everything vibrate (imperceptibly, but for laser means a lot), makes engraving less efficient and damages hardware. - To be sure I will buy another fan and if this too starts to malfunction, I will be sure that the problem is in the structure that is not perfectly calibrate, perhaps one of the engines. — But in the meantime I will have to do everything by myself because Atomstack only thinks about selling and collecting. – For now I manage with an Atomstack with limited performance, but the next engraver will certainly be from another brand; waiting for many others to copy the idea of the shielding cage around the laser
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I’ve found the fan on mine collects a lot of dust which can impede airflow and thus cooling. If I neglect cleaning it regularly it gets noisy and I get incomplete cuts also. I suspect you have a similar issue.When it behaves I get clean cuts on 3mm with 8 or 9 passes @ 350mm/min
Which would always testify to a badly designed machine, but I can testify that even when the fan was at its best, my a5 Pro 40W had to do a lot of passes, at 90% power, to NEVER be able to cut sharply of the Hardboard or Masonite ( compressed cardboard). It immediately showed many problems, but by now it has stopped working for a few weeks; almost certainly because one of the wires attached directly to the laser has unsoldered, in a position that makes it very difficult to intervene, but I would not exclude other defects as well. — I’m trying to decide which other engraver to replace it with; excluding in advance the bad Atomstack, I was thinking of Ortur, but with their LM2 Pro they have produced an engraver with an absurdly high price in the face of very few real improvements and a lot of make-up (obviously they want to make up for the hundreds of Engravers given to many youtubers who obviously have them then sang lavish praises). — I am still searching …
I’d like to add that Ortur has a grounding issue.
In a word…or more…Ortur Laser Master 2 Pro.
Tbh,I have covered the shield in black insulating tape to minimise light leaks, and just put the laser in an home brew enclosure.
Finding this forum makes me sad. My Atomstack A5 Pro is only a few days old. Day 1 I could absolutely destroy those 1mm test sheets of ply that was included in the box. I ended up cutting through all three of them stacked together easily. Bought some 3mm ply for a project, and two days later when it arrived now I can’t cut. I’m having a hard time even getting through the same 1mm test ply. The 3mm stuff I ran a pass at 1mm/s (followed by two passes at 2mm/s) and it still won’t blow through. It’s like it’s already gone to crap.
At least I find this out now while I’m still within the 30 days. And I read others that Atomstack just doesn’t reply to their support email any more. I’ll return it to Bangood I don’t get a reply to my email in 2 days.
Hi Shinma, I have mine one week now but all it does is put some dots in the cardboard.
I also going to try to send it back.
Please let me know if that’s working for you
Check the laser lens, if you have been cutting a lot and no air assist, it is likely lens is covered on soot and ash dust. Clean with an alcohol based fluid, do not rub the soot to hard into the lens, it can scratch it.
The soot on the lens prevents its full power …of the setting you are using…from being effective.
Check on betting Air Assist, KT Thompson makes them and ships work wide, but the company website may also be selling them.
If you give more information of your settings and material, we can help better.
Screen shots help a lot.
What image you were working on, speed and power settings, did you focus the laser at the right setting on top of the material being used?
Some burns do start dropping “dots” seemingly random, but its the preamble to layout the full image burn.
Don’t give up to easy…upload something the guys can check out and advise on.
Let us help you into a Great, Safe, New Year.
I confirm what ABW wrote, the cleaning of the lens, especially if you do not use the air assist and maybe you have used materials that have released soot, can make all the difference in this world. - But I have no doubts: that Atomstack, while boasting the most powerful diode laser, pays little attention to the construction and choice of materials. - And just as well, after the many problems he gave me previously, he is definitely dead because he first widened and then disconnected the USB connector of the control unit, causing a small short circuit. - I attended an Atomstack user forum and two other cases of malfunctions were reported due to the too fragile USB connector. - In a few days I will get an S9 sculpfun and I just hope it is not of the same quality
Hi Arthur.
I found the problem. It seems to be the focus.
I do have some problems with horizontal lines being like a wave but I’ll try to focus again and put most of the lines vertical.
Depends how “ severe” the wobbly lines are, my first thought is checking the belts are equally tight.
If you move the X rail slowly…( too fast and it can create a small current which can affect the board) just check if you can feel any bumps or feel tight or slack points in the travel.
Check the wheels nuts and bolts. The are concentric or eccentric depending on the model I think. But turning them will tighten or loosen the wheels on the rail and can help reduce the wavy lines. Also clean and check your belts and make sure they are the correct tightness.