Originally Posted by
robertk925
Ok, lots of things to check. To answer your specific questions:
a. Not sure if I am visualizing what you are describing, but assuming you didn't make any adjustments to the tube then it shouldn't make any difference.
b. I don't think tap water would immediately affect things unless you have a lot of minerals in the water, and even then it would take a lot of time unless it is somehow causing the laser to "arc".
c. The height of the nozzle doesn't make any difference, assuming the beam is not hitting the nozzle. It does affect the air assist however.
d. A water temperature of 35C seems really high. Not sure if would permanently damage the tube, but it will definitely affect the power output. I usually keep my water temp at 19-20C.
e. Did you perhaps bend the rail? If so, it may be subtly changing the distance from the laser head to the table.
Power loss comes down to 7 primary things, in order of ease of checking/correcting:
1. Incorrect lens focus (i.e. wrong distance from lens to material, table not parallel to X/Y axes, and/or warped material)
2. Water temp
3. Dirty lens
4. Dirty mirrors
5. Mirror alignment
6. Tube failure
7. Power supply failure
I would start with #1 and work your way down the list. On item 5, if your mirror alignment is off then the beam may be hitting the nozzle, which will definitely affect the power.