Greetings, apologies if I am in the wrong category.
Fairly new to Lightburn, laser burning. Purchased an Omtech usb350d after having a Full Spectrum Muse for a few years. Recently have been having a problem with wood scorching while burning. And the scorched portion is not as deeply burned, so even after washing it off, its not really laser cut.
I thought perhaps it was the air assist going out, since I purchased a used Omtech. I swapped it out with the Muse air compressor…but it continues to char the artwork. And not immediately, but after awhile.
It hasn’t always done this, I’ve been burning successfully for almost a month, and now this has appeared and started to happen.
Attached are some pictures and apologies if I’m missing something super basic!
I’d lay long odds the tube or power supply is failing, because the change happens much faster than the air supply can vary.
Because it’s intermittent, catching the tube or power supply while it’s misbehaving will be difficult.
This discussion started out on a different topic, but eventually got into testing the tube for proper operation:
Take a picture of the test scorch so we can look over your shoulder. If it looks marginal, that’s a Bad Sign™.
Although the machine may have been ridden hard and put up wet, other folks have had new tubes fail shortly after pulling them out of the box, so total power-on hours don’t mean very much.
Replacing the laser power supply is relatively inexpensive and is the only other thing that will directly affect the beam.
Thank you Ed, this is very helpful. I will look into power supply replacement first, and if that doesn’t do the trick, tube replacement. Appreciate it!
