Test card error

LightBurn Software Questions
1

So I did test 2 cards at the same time. I did 2 of them because I wanted to learn more about burning multiple objects simultaneously.

The first pic is what the test card looks like.

Capture

The second picture is my results.

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3 issues:

  1. The font on the right didn’t finish on either of the tests, though I’m not sure why. And it was incorrect in different ways.
  2. the laser burned out the circles instead of just making a line. Was it because my wood was too thin?
  3. under “speed” none of the speeds were actually in the oval like its supposed to be.

Any help?

** UPDATE - I should have mentioned that it did much better on a piece of slate. 2 problems though:

  1. right side font is totally all over the place
  2. it drew a random box around all the circles that cut through some font. Why?

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2

Is this a new machine?

Are these circles or ovals?

You do know that Lightburn has a materials test under laser tools?

It appears to have some mechanical issues. Most of your cirlces do not line up, they should be perfectly aligned. The first burn test at the bottom, the circles are poorly aligned.

Are you trying to figure out how to cut something?

You used the same test on slate, what were you expecting?

I suggest you go over your machine and ensure that all belts are properly tensioned, grub screws are set and it’s properly aligned.

:smile_cat:

3

Thank you for your response. It’s a brand new machine. It’s ovals.

I didn’t know that Lightburn has a materials test under laser tools.

Also, where would I start on checking the mechanical issues?

4

With a new machine, I’d suggest you cover the whole machine as an overview.

If the lens tube or lens is lose, it will be wiggling around as it’s moving effecting where and if the beam is going strike… If the tube is tilted enough it will cause the laser beam to be clipped by the nozzle… depending on the nozzle…

I’d start at the head and ensure everything is good and snug… Don’t crank down on this stuff like a gorilla…

I’d check grub screws next, since belts are next. These are what usually locks the pulley to the motors shaft. These being lose causes some really strange issues as they can make a groove in the shaft and everything just shifts, kind of randomly.

The next item would be belts and tension… There is no way to tell you what a good tension is until you tweak these a number of times. They are, in actuality timing belts for automotive use and have little stretch. They should be snug but not like a guitar string…

I doubt there are grooves, but it’s not really too uncommon to have then not tight when they assemble the machine.

My machine from OMTech was setup for twice the motors rated current. So I ended up changing the machine to 1/2 current. You should not really get burnt touching a motor, very warm but not burning hot…

Might not be a bad idea to send a note to the vendor and see if they have any suggestions…

@ednisley is good with these also… maybe he’ll drop in with some other suggestions.

Good luck… there’s plenty of us here to help, so shout out if you need a hand…

:smile_cat:

5

Before tearing the thing apart, I’d send those pix to OMTech and get their opinion, because their test card is not working on their machine configuration, as delivered to you.

They may not get you very far along the way to solving the problem, but you want to establish that a problem exists, right now, before anything else happens.

Something is definitely wrong, but I’m not convinced it’s mechanical.

6

Thanks. I’ve reached out to them. Hopefully they are responsive.

7

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