 Top 15 Mistakes on a Laser Machine Hello everyone, this is Watson, and in this video we'll tell you about the most common mistakes when working on a laser machine. There are the obvious and serious ones, but also the silly and ridiculous. This video will be useful for both professionals and those just starting to use our laser machines. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any new videos. 15. Safety Hazards The most important thing when working on a laser machine is accidents prevention. Safety hazards can lead to injuries, skin and lung burns, arc eyes, damage of the machine or its components, and fire. The main things to pay attention to are grounding, fume extraction, a voltage regulator, and processing the right materials. It is not recommended to cut PVC, thick rubber, and Teflon on CO2 laser machines. As the vapors occurring during cutting, these materials are toxic. Be aware of the laser beam path and do not fall its way. The path of the beam is not visible and you need a clear understanding of the dangerous area. It's recommended to always work with a lid closed. Watson machines have protection against opening during operation. The machine stops when the lid is open. If you regularly look at the laser while it is running, you can quickly damage your eyesight. Use safety glasses. Important. Never leave a running machine unattended as most force-major events can be dealt with in the first few minutes. 14. Improper Alignment Alignment is the adjustment of the position of the mirrors to ensure the correct beam transfer from the emitter to the material. This is one of the most important aspects. Improper or misaligned alignment causes distortion in the layout. Poor cutting. Reduced power, split beam, thick or black cuts. As soon as there are any cutting problems, the first thing to do is to check the alignment. We have already prepared a detailed video on how to do the alignment. So please subscribe to the Watson Channel and the Watson Technical Channel to learn more about the maintenance of our equipment. The next point is 13. No Air Compressor An air compressor is used to cool the lens and blow the combustion products out of the cutting zone. The stronger the airflow, the cleaner the cut, and the faster the machining speed can be achieved. Without an air compressor, the combustion products get on the lens, accumulate on it. The laser beam heats up the dirt and dust on the lens, and the lens fails sooner. It overheats and breaks. The compressor not only provides blowing, but also prevents certain materials from catching fire. Monitor the operation of the compressor. 12. Operation without cooling It is impossible to work without any cooling system. If the tube overheats, microcracks occur, and the tube loses power and fails prematurely. For a more comfortable operating process, it is recommended to buy a chiller. For example, CW5000. And you will not have to think about laser tube heating too much. The chiller has a closed circuit, and the water in it is not in contact with the outside environment. However, do not forget to switch it on before you start. 11. Laser tube current is not set correctly If the current is too high, the electrodes of the laser tube overheats. The power subsides, and the tube fails after about three months. And if the current is too low, you will not use the power resource built into the tube. For more details, see one of our videos. The link is in the description below this video. 10. Wrong focal length setting Results in a loss of power, skewed edges, or an indistinct pattern. Adjustment is carried out by moving the nozzle with a focusing lens up and down. This can also be done by raising or lowering the table, if your table is equipped with a necessary mechanism. Our machines are always equipped with a piece of acrylic with the set focal length. On Watson Technical, you can find the video on how to set the correct focal length when starting the machine for the first time. 9. Over-under-tightened belts It's always better to under-tighten the belts than over-tighten them. If the belts are too tight, there is a risk of increased wear, jerky cuts in corners, creaking, and in particularly difficult cases, skipping steps. Too loose belts can cause incorrect workpiece geometry and poor engraving quality. The belts should not sag, but at the same time, you should be able to move the working head by hand without much effort. If this is difficult, loosen the belts a little. 8. Poorly fixed lens Sometimes it happens that the lens is not properly fixed when cleaning or replacing it. Then, during operation, when the laser head moves, the lens vibrates, which results in uneven cutting. 7. Wrongly prepared cutting file The most common mistakes are overlapping lines. The machine cuts the same area twice. The cutting file is divided into hundreds of segments. This can happen when exporting files from engineering programs like AutoCAD incorrectly. The machine will cut jerkily and jump from segment to segment in a chaotic order. Instead of smooth curves, there will be broken and uneven segments. Wrong Scale Remember that the scale should be one to one. 6. Unoptimized cutting process Optimization of the cutting process determines which lines and in what sequence the machine will cut. If you want to cut a pattern inside a circle, you must first cut the pattern and then the circle. If you do not adjust the optimization and cut the circle first, it will fall off and the cuts inside will not match. Also, sometimes some tasks take hours to process. Although with proper optimization, the processing time can be reduced by several times. 5. Wrong parameters in the control system These are power, speed, acceleration, and step width when engraving. Wrong parameters can lead to rejects. CO2 laser operators often neglect the so-called angular or minimum power. When a particular cutting speed is set, the machine moves at a changing speed and has both accelerations and decelerations at corners and turns. If the power is constant, the laser will burn the material at the points where the movement changes. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to set the minimum or so-called angular power, which will change in proportion to the speed. 4. Working on materials Without a pre-test, you have to allow for sample and reject material, which is about 10-15% of the total volume. There might be knots in plywood or an operator's mistake when the material is accidentally shifted. In both cases, the product will be ruined. Now, let's talk about the top three mistakes. 3. No machine maintenance Dust and dirt are electrically conductive, so if there is a small contact breakdown somewhere, that means electricity dissipates through that dust and dirt. By wiping the dust and dirt off the machine and the laser tube, you prolong their service life. Also, dust can cause short circuits or overheating of the equipment. Wiping down the lens at the end of your working day will prolong its service life and reduce the number of rejects. 2. Docking point set incorrectly Sometimes owners of CO2 laser machines click all the checkboxes without reading the instructions and not understanding how the program works. The Watson CO2 laser machines have a special function called docking point. This is the position to which the machine moves after the layout is finished. This is convenient for changing material after the current job is completed. If this position is set outside of the work table coordinates, when the layout is complete, the laser head will try to arrive there, ignoring the end sensors and work table dimensions. 1. Machine does not turn on The most common malfunction is due to operator inattention. 1. Power supply not switched on 2. Machine lid open 3. Unlocked key 4. Disconnected USB cable and others These seemingly obvious points are often confusing to inexperienced users. Be careful and cautious when working with machines. Read the instructions and follow the recommendations. Write in the comments what errors you have encountered. Please like this video if it is useful. See you in the next video. Bye!