 We have been manufacturing CNC machines since 2003 and during this time we have identified the most common mistakes that beginners and sometimes even experienced users make when working with fiber optic metal laser machines. This is Watson and we have prepared this video to help you avoid these mistakes. Violation of safety rules. Please observe the safety precautions when working with a laser machine. In particular use safety goggles. Do not leave the machine unattended. Do not stand in the way of moving parts of the machine and never touch the working head or material while the machine is operating. Detailed safety, operation and maintenance recommendations can be found in the machine's data sheet. But if you are interested, let us know in the comments and we will make a separate video. Now on to the next mistake. Incorrect settings. A metal laser machine can produce a perfectly straight edge. But if the wrong settings are used, especially focus and pressure, the result will be like this. All the parameters are set according to the type of material, its thickness, the gas used, the size of the nozzle and the power of the emitter. There is a table of recommended parameters that we provide to all our metal laser machine customers. It is a mistake to choose parameters at random because if you apply too much pressure, for example, the valves or pressure regulator may fail and don't mix up the oxygen and nitrogen lines as this can also lead to malfunctions. Not monitoring the gas level. If you work with separate cylinders of auxiliary gas, be it nitrogen or oxygen, it can suddenly run out and there is a risk of rejects. The same applies to air if the compressor does not have enough storage volume. You can check the availability of gas by using a pressure gauge. But this is not efficient enough as single cylinders run out quickly. So it is better to use a bundle. For more details on the choice of auxiliary gas for laser metal cutting and the nuances of working with it. See the separate video on our channel. The next point is layout issues. Layout issues. There can be many types of errors, but let's look at the most common ones. The first is a dimensional error where there are slight differences between the layout and the actual part. Watson metal lasers have a positioning accuracy of 0.02 millimeters. If the dimensional deviation is greater than this, check the cut thickness compensation and the gear ratios. A more complicated case is if the mechanics of the machine are broken, which is rare. For example, if someone accidentally drives a forklift into the machine. It's important to get the cutting priorities right. Cut all the inner parts first and then the outer parts. If you do the opposite, the outer part may fall out and you won't be able to make a good cut inside it. Or it may even fall out between the blades. Not using the full functionality of the machine's software is also a common mistake. For example, the nesting function can be used to allocate parts to the sheet in the most economical way. This can be done in a few clicks, whereas doing it manually could take half an hour to an hour. If you require full training when you purchase your machine, please contact our managers and we will help you arrange this. Next, if you do not set the piercing zones, you can end up with a part like this and it's a reject. The piercing zones allow the machine to first pierce the metal outside the main contour of the part and then cut it out. Remember the bridges too, so that the part does not fall out or get caught on an edge during cutting. Otherwise, the laser head could hit the metal. Laser head has hit metal. If the laser head has touched metal, stop work and check the integrity of the mechanics. Paying particular attention to the nozzle and the ceramic ring. It is also worth checking the alignment of the beam, which can be done using a normal piece of adhesive tape. Also, to avoid collision of the laser head with foreign objects, do not leave anything unnecessary on the work table. The next most common mistake made when cutting thick metals is overheating the material. This is a problem for inexperienced laser machine operators. To avoid this, spread out the cutting sequence so that the laser cuts parts one after the other in different areas of the sheet of material. Also, use the pre-pierce and path cool functions to improve the quality work on thick materials. The next mistake is cutting through rust. We don't recommend cutting through rust, but if for some reason you have to, here's a tip. Use the D-Film function to remove rust deposits or traces of rust from the cut areas. Yes, it takes extra time, but you can be sure of a quality cut later on. Watson guarantees its customers a lifetime of free information support. The last mistake we want to highlight in this video is not following maintenance recommendations. Neglecting maintenance. Regular maintenance is the key to long machine life. Check the lubrication, optics, guides, cooling system, and other parts of the machine. The workshop should always have a scheduled maintenance chart that shows when each item needs to be checked or serviced. This information can also be found in the machine datasheet. We hope you have found this video useful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and see you in future videos.