[phylo]

I have finally been able to get going with my laser and just set up a job to test our some engraving on acrylic. It was running just fine for about 5 minutes then the servo motors/belt made a weird noise and when I checked on the machine and the engraving the entire engraving job had shifted about 6 to 7 inches over.



Settings are Speed 600 power 40


The second issue is that the laser power suddenly spiked (or maybe this is the place the belt skipped or something??? Not sure)


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Phil

[epilotdk]

Speed too high? Steppers make a wierd noise when the are run too fast and start to lose steps.

[Exsecratio]

The belt has jumped Phil, check belt tension and check for any jams or crud on the slideways.

600 is a bit on the fast side for engraving, it can get out of sync on big items.

best wishes

Dave

[phylo]

I was beginning to think that the speed was too high myself.. I checked the belts and they are clear and appear to be tensioned properly.

Is there a way to increase the max safe speed of these larger lasers?? I have heard that Hurricane Lasers has managed to do this...

[phylo]

Oh I have a Gweike LC1290 by the way.

[epilotdk]

Price tends to go up drastically if you want to increase speed. Effectively you need more power which means beefier structures which is counterprodcutive to some extent due to inertia.

[Exsecratio]

Tougher steppers but past that not too much can change the laws of physics.

A moving object has inertial energy, to reverse that energy when it gets to the end of the cut takes power.

In general twice the speed = 4 x the mass (weight x acceleration)

In a perfect world going from 300 to 600 speed makes the gantry weigh 4 times as much. (ignore the mean peak , time factors , drag etc)

best wishes

Dave

[phylo]

Lucy over at Gweike offered a potential solution that I will be trying tomorrow which is as easy as a flip of the dip switches on the driver for the stepper motor.... Ill let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Phil

[epilotdk]

That increases the current limit. Just check the stepper don't start to get hot. You will experience rapid belt wear if you do a lot of engraving at that kind of speed to keep a spare set handy.

[phylo]

That increases the current limit. Just check the stepper don't start to get hot. You will experience rapid belt wear if you do a lot of engraving at that kind of speed to keep a spare set handy.

Ahh ok that makes sense.. I do have spare servo's and belts on hand just in case.. I guess Ill try it and see, but Im guessing Ill slow it back down to keep from wearing components out as fast.

Thanks
Phil

[TLHarrell]

With the motors unlocked, run the head back and forth quickly a few times by hand while watching the belt a the Y axis motor. If it's lifting off the pulley, then try changing your tension.

The higher current setting will increase torque and holding power of the motors. Remember that when the motors are locked and not running, the coils are all energized at the current. At some point, that setting will start to make them heat up. In the case of the smaller motors, they will heat up fast. If they do, turn it back down or try making sure they're unlocked between running jobs.