[moti666]

Hello,

I have recently purchased a chinese Laser CNC with a "150W" RECI tube. (150W in chinese means 130W nominal power with 149 peak power)

All was ok until a few days ago when I noticed a sudden loss in the current drawn by the tube.
If until know I was running the machine at 60% (at 28mA) now I have only 14mA or so at the same 60% and the cutting is poor.

The water temp is 18degC at first then it goes up to 20degC.
If I let the machine off for a few hours and then start it again I have the power restored but only to lose it after 5-10 min.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thank you,

[moti666]

Recent update...
Lost almost all power even at cold start.
Ameter shows 28mA but beam only scratches the surface.

[ArtHeatSign]

Hi there,

There could have been a small or slow leak in the tube causing the release of CO2 gas. The power supply could have also suffered from an electrical issue.

You can check the in-going power and make sure that you have a good neutral connection.

From experience, the issue is not the power supply but the power coming into the power supply that causes the problem. There is a chance that the power coming in is good, but there is a loose neutral connection. This is the neutral connection that runs all the way back to the panel in your home/workshop.

Try this trouble shoot and let me know how it worked.

[moti666]

Hi, thank you for your reply,

The problem seem to be fixed now, not sure what mattered.
I have cleaned and reinstalled the tube (it was dusty)
I have changed the water in the cooler.
Realigned and cleaned the mirrors
Tought of installing a UPS

It runs ok now, the water temperature is not an issue anymore.

The neutral is ok-ish i think. Good to know though.

A thing I have discovered and it took me a while to figure it out:
When running at 10mm/s and lower The laser is running at the MinPower setting whatever the MaxPower is.
I was running it with 20% Min and 60% Max so it seemed to draw only 10mA (normal for 20%) at 60%.

Thank you again

[co2lasertube]

If you need replacement can contact me skype:jason1982918 or [email protected]