Power supply making crackling noise

Community Laser Talk
1

Hi everyone hope use all had a great Christmas :slightly_smiling_face:
I’ve been having a few problems as of late so I thought I would post here .
I have noticed a crackling noise appear from power supply. I have traced the cable to tube and checked for rips or burns etc but everyting seems to be 100%. Connection to the tube is 100%
Its cutting and engraving 100% at all times. It dosn’t make any noise when cutting but when engraving there’s a crackle type noise everytime it fires. I have been hunting the internet for more information.

I don’t feel comfortable running the machine now incase I do further damage or until I learn more information.
my machine is a generic Chinese 1800x1200mm bed with 150w Reci tube.

Maybe someone on here has had this problem before :slight_smile:.

I hope I have posted in the right section

Jamie

2

If you’re sure it’s coming from the PSU, then I’d probably ditch it and get another one. That high power stuff isn’t something I want to mess with.

Otherwise if you’re not sure where it’s coming from, definitely watch the tube and the high voltage wires coming off it, and look for visible arcing to the cabinet or something.

3

Thanks for the reply Blake

All the wiring so far is good. Ill get another look at tomorrow. The noise is coming from power supply

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Try it in complete darkness and see if you can see any blue light(ning) inside the PS. If so, it’s hosed.

5

Thanks Hank ill check tomorrow :slight_smile:

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Flyback transformers will start to arc as they fail. There’s really no easy way to test them unless you know an old CRT TV technician. I keep a spare PSU and flyback transformer just in case. The transformer is the weak link but the entire unit is not much more than just a transformer. You’ll usually see some arcing near the junction of PSU to transformer.

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Thanks for replying. Im worried by continuing to use it I might do damage elsewhere. Can this part be replaced or will I have to replace the full unit? Thanks

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For what it’s worth, in some cases such noises are generated due to contaminated distilled water in the system.

Just me speculating out loud.

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We video I made. As you can hear and see the arc inside power supply

10

You can see the arcing inside, too. That’s a fire and shock hazard. Time to replace; it’s likely not economically reasonable to repair.

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Thanks Rick

Im going to have to replace it, I will not be using machine until its replaced. If I get a fix ill post here so others can see

Thanks everyone

2 Likes
12

It’s very easy to just replace the entire laser PSU. I’ve done a flyback transformer replacement on an existing PSU and it worked great. I would do a full replacement and get a spare flyback transformer and fix the original as a spare. Like I said they are the weak link the the chain but not hard to source.

Side note: This type or arcing usually starts small and as the transformer fails it gets worse. As in big sparks and burning wire worse.

13

Make sure to order it from a reputable seller of genuine RECI tubes. (Check the tubes they sell and make sure they’re legit, then look at the PSUs). There is another type/brand of tube out there that is like a RECI, so make sure you get the correct power supply.
I ordered my last PSU and flyback transformers from CloudRay, and my last RECI tube from Wavetop Sign.