Problem: Extremely low power, even on 80% power. Barely cuts paper.
What I’ve tested so far:
I realigned all mirrors.
Raised the focusing lens housing.
Verified that focusing lens is rounded side up.
Verified incoming power (110V)
I have a MA meter arriving tomorrow so that I can verify the milliamps at the tube.
What else am I missing? What could cause low power like this?
I’m experienced in CO2 lasers. We have a 130W red/black since 2016.
The video didn’t give me much other than motion sickness.
The controller has a setting for test fire power - have you set that? It wasn’t clear. Have you tried running a file with both Min & Max power set the same, with low speed? Does it behave the same?
Which laser PSU do you have? What are the manufacturer settings on the controller? One you need to double check is the max power setting. If that is set to 10%, for example, then it wont matter what percentage you put in as power. The controller will limit the PWM output to the laser PSU:
Thanks Jeff. I had the same thought process, so I checked to make sure the maximum power setting was 99%.
All of my values are identical to the above photo. Laser 2 was enabled, so I disabled it.
I forget where I saw a laser attenuation percentage setting - that was set to 0%. I let it be, as I couldn’t find another user mention that setting anywhere.
I’ll check on the PSU version tomorrow morning. There wasn’t a brand stamped on it, so I’m not 100% sure where to look for that.
Thanks Oz. I know - there’s not much to show via video. It’s just not cutting. It seems like the power just needs to be cranked up, but I know better. Is there a new perspective that you think would help? I don’t mind creating another video.
Everything seems normal, really that’s why it’s hard for me to diagnose. The RECI tube glows pink when firing, the mirrors are lined up, no cracks, coolant is cold, etc.
I’ll check on the test fire setting. I know that I can set the power directly on the machine, in previous experience that power setting was the pulse laser power %. I’ll check on it though.
I’ve tried cutting at 5 mm/s @ 80% power with virtually no increase in power. I even ran 5 passes. It didn’t cut after 5 passes, but I could start to see the black cut lines through the bottom of the 1/8" birch.
We cut 1/8" birch at 10mm/s @ 35% on our 130W machine all day in 1 pass.
I had already aligned the mirrors at 9 equally spaced points along the bed.
I’m showing this video with the laser head stationary as to eliminate any potential alignment issues. This thing should be blowing through 1/8" ply, and the masking paper shouldn’t even be an issue - but as you can see at the end of the video it barely even marks the paper.
I just can’t get it to cut. I’m afraid to overpower the laser tube, so I’m staying at or below 80%.
My machine is apparently 220V even though it has a 110V power port on the back.
220V seems to have fixed the issues I was having. The laser is exceptionally strong now.
Thanks for your help, I apologize for wasting anyone’s time!
Glad it’s up and running, how very odd though. A lot of power supplies will take either without having to switch anything, some have a selector for 110/220.
I hope running on 110V did not stress anything inside the PSU ( yes, too low of a voltage makes some things work harder ).
Considering you were operating the machine to some extent at 120v, that leads me to thinking that one or more of the three PSUs in the machine (there’s usually three PSUs in a machine) is auto switching between 120 / 240.
It’s the laser tube PSU that I believe is not auto switching. You could replace that component quite easily with a 120v unit (such as the MYJG-100w) and gain a digital ammeter if you prefer.
Just verify the rated line voltages on your PSUs and at this point double and triple check all of the wiring. Never ever ever ever trust the high voltage wiring, plugs, power strips, etc that come with a generic machine. Having 120v connectors on a machine that was built for 240v is a prime example.
I just looked at the PSU, does it have an option for a remote display? On the PSU is of limited use, not normally visible. I have an HY PSU that displays power info on the Ruida controller. It’s a bit slow to update, but once everything was setup, it’fine.
