I have a 2 year old Omtech 100w with only 200 hrs of use. The cutting dropped so much that now it will not cut paper at 100%. I have cleaned all mirrors and lenses and done several ramp tests. The amp meter reads 31ma at 100% power. The only questionable change is that the lens 3 head is getting hotter during use. I have not had any problems till now and I am looking for some suggestions to find and fix the problem.
That indicates the beam is hitting the inside of the head, which means that it’s not properly aligned coming out of Mirror 3. Despite its limited use, the machine may have arrived misadjusted, so don’t assume anything is right.
You must do a complete mirror realignment starting from Mirror 1 at the laser tube and proceeding through Mirror 3 in the laser head, after which the beam will exit through the center of the nozzle.
Things to look for while you have your head in the machine:
- Mirrors / lens not just clean, but undamaged
- Lens installed convex side upward
- Mirror lock rings tight
- No loose hardware anywhere along the line
You can upload pictures of the before-and-after test pulses at each of the mirrors to let us check your work.
When you do an alignment, test the TEM mode at m1 to ensure you have a valid beam source. If it isn’t in TEM00 mode, it will never align or operate properly.
I have done all of the alignments and don’t see a problem. The beam hits the same spot all four corners and comes out a one beam and centered in the nozzle. Is there some other alignment or check I need to do?
Thanks
- properly working tube
- clean and aligned optics
- proper focus
If you have these three they work. You must be mistaken about at least one of the three or it would work.
Did you do an m1 mode test and do you mind posting a photo of it?
We’ll start here, then eliminate issues as we go… sound ok?