[John-INTENSE]

I could use some advice from those that have more experience with engravers.

Bought a used ULS C-200 engraver a few years ago from a neighbor that ran it a few days over the prior 10 years as a backup for their epilog. Has 30W CO2 tube, 16x12 tray, made in 2001. Got it to mark logos and legends on anodized aluminum parts that I make in my shop, and have used it a handful of times in the last few years. Tend to turn the laser on every couple of months to run a small job for a day, otherwise it sits in a quiet corner of the shop.

In early 2017 I was engraving and cutting some thin plywood for gifts and the beam would run with modest power on startup, then sputter, die down and quit entirely a minute or so into the job. Based on some research at the time I figured the tube needed to be re-gassed. Photovac is local to me here in Columbus, so took it to them, they re-gassed it and I was good for a a job or two over a few more months. Same symptoms then happened again, so I took it back for a warranty re-gas and back in business. In December it happened again, and Photovac re-gassed a third time under warranty.

Went to run a job today and back completely dead beam aside from intermittent sputtering at the ends of a vector line. Seemed kinda weak when I used it last month to ablate paint from aluminum last month too.

I really appreciate Photovac's customer service in this, but am wondering if it's time to abandon this older 30W cartridge or try to re-gas again with them or ULS directly? Anyone encountered a laser that leaks down this quickly?

When I was testing things out today, I did notice that the cooling fan RPM for the laser source slows when the laser source should be on (had my exhaust fan off so could hear it). Wondering if there's an issue with the power supply moreso than the gas mixture.

And if anyone has suggestions on how old is too old for a laser I'm all ears. With my very low usage frequency and modest needs I'm not interested in spending a bunch of money on a tricked-out machine, and I hate to give up on this since the transport, optics, and system boards all seem fine. But I also understand that supporting a machine approaching 20 years old gets unreasonably expensive at some point.

Thanks!
John

[PoriAir]

A tough question.
How about just change the tube?

[cinematic2]

When I was testing things out today, I did notice that the cooling fan RPM for the laser source slows when the laser source should be on (had my exhaust fan off so could hear it). Wondering if there's an issue with the power supply moreso than the gas mixture.

Overheating may cause such a problem but there is no info how long it worked, what power, what was the laser temperature.
It should be as cold as possible but not to cold to avoid water condensation. Best is close to 20 deg C.

[John-INTENSE]

A tough question.
How about just change the tube?

Took the cartridge to Photovac again today, they tested it, and sure enough it had gassed out again. We were talking about the fan sound and thinking it was loading down the power supply trying to get it to fire, hence the slow fan.

Current plan of action is to use a different cartridge at this point-- something weird in the old one is making it gas out every 3-4 months.

Really happy about the great customer service at Photovac, and that they're only 30 mins away.

Thanks!
John