On my omtech pronto 40 is running it at 80% for a project too much? I am working with a thicker material than I normally would and I’m having to run multiple passes on it but is that power to rough on the machine? My water temp seems to be staying good
It depends on what the machine manufacturer recommends. Normally the output power is checked in mA, find the max value that is designed for your laser tube for continuous safe operation. For example. my 60W tube reaches its max power at approx. 70% power setting on the controller and in LB, which corresponds to 16 to 18 mA. Anything above that has no effect other than overloading the tube.
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Would running it higher than recommended for a period of 5 hours be extremely detrimental? I’m not sure I ran it too high just making sure I didn’t do irreparable damage, I gotta see the recommend process for checking mA on the machine
It depends. Since you have refused to tell us the mA draw, we can’t really give you any kind of a valid answer.
If your machine is a 100W model then you can pick a operating value off this chart, I’ve used for 5 years and found it pretty accurate. If possible, get this value from the tube manufacturer.
Your laser power supply (lps) might have a mA digital display on it… you need to look in the electronics bay.
The window that says laser power is where your mA draw should be displayed.
My understanding is that tubes come with a working current maximum value, meaning you likely shouldn’t exceed this value. They have a maximum output value usually indicating that you are running or at least on the verge of running a damaging amount of current through the machine.
If you set these up correctly, you really can’t damage them via a programming error using too high a percent power setting. I always set my lps to restrict it’s 100% current level to the working current value. This is done via the lps internal pot setting.
When you are testing and setting up the machine, don’t be foolish and use high power, there is no need. You can setup and align everything in these running at 50% power or less. Ensuring you can’t hurt the machine with an over current issue.
Most of us put analog mA meters in the cabinet so we can watch it as it operates. The lps mA meters are digital and can be difficult to read. I’ve gotten my meters from Amazon for years.
This is my console, you don’t need a kV meter, but a mA meter is pretty much a must.
If you’re not, I’d suggest you use the machines console for this stuff.
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Not a refusal more of now iv been pointed in the right direction😂 as soon as I get back I will get the value and let you know! Thank you!!!
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That’s a nice explanation again for this topic. The only “difference” to my experience/tube is the “operating current” values, my max. is, as I said, about 20% lower than the 20 mA from the list.
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Yes, each tube is different. Just like I wouldn’t want to make a bet on how long a tube will last. It’s kind of like life, you don’t know until it’s over.
It depends a lot on what exactly you are measuring when it’s at maximum. Is that watts out or current?
Many people will spend the $<10 US on a mA meter before they cough up enough money or want for a watt meter.
Did your vendor give you an operating current for your tube?
My original machine had nothing in there except don’t overdrive it’s current, and giving me no idea of how much current should be allowed.
Don’t know what to say about tube life. My first machine, which I ran on the hard side, lasted a little over 2 years… I replaced it with a CR45 from Cloudray and was gentle and kind to it … it lasted a little over 2 years … So I’ve gotten pretty good tube life, or at least it seems consistent.
Now I’ve gotten a bigger 50W tube from LightObject and we’ll see how it works out.
I feel if I purchase an 50W bulb, it should operate at 50W. If you need 50W all the time, you’d be a bit deluded to buy a 50W machine… most analog equipment runs best in the 70 - almost 90% range.
I’ve used that chart many times and it seems to be accurate. If you have the equipment to measure things, that’s even better. It’s also just a guide, as it’s the gas volume that determines the possible watts out and related current needs.
There is no fault or problem with being conservative.
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Thank you both for all the advice! Well my next question is how to do test to see if I damaged my tube because it was at 34 mA
Generally it results in lower output power due to the gases being damaged. Possible changes to resonance or the tubes TEM mode can occur.
I’d suggest, keep the power down, mA wise, and use it.
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Should I run a test to see what actually puts me at 25mA? And when you say keep it down you mean keep it further down from that right? Like if I have a thick piece of material I should just run more passes and leave it away from that mark right?
Your chart is pretty on point for me though, it recommends around 26.5mA with 35 being 100% so I didn’t overload it but I did run it to the limit so I’m gonna try not to dwell and just be thankful I got you folks to keep me from continuing foolish stuff haha