Even bigger laser - rebuild and commissioning

[Sean-anotherone]

The "even bigger laser" remains a doorstop and would be a useful addition to the DoES portfolio.

Discrete tasks in order would be :

a) location and orientation to be determined / agreed b) bulk relocation & reassembly c) re-commission the machine, including replacing control electronics as necessary (tbc)

[Sean-anotherone]

I shall open the bidding by suggesting it trades places with the woodworking bench. I would go further and propose that woodworking and CNC could both live in the CNC room, this would keep all the dust-raising and swarfy things in one place and as it is adjacent to the (tbc) laser room, the extract system (when sorted out) could be branched to provide a depression, keeping all dust under control.

[DoESsean]

Would the massive laser fit where the woodworking bench is? I've not measured, so could be very wrong, but it looks like it would be too big, especially for all three lasers to be in simultaneous use comfortably.

On Fri, Oct 26, 2018 at 3:25 PM, Sean Jarman notifications@github.com wrote:

I shall open the bidding by suggesting it trades places with the woodworking bench. I would go further and propose that woodworking and CNC could both live in the CNC room, this would keep all the dust-raising and swarfy things in one place and as it is adjacent to the (tbc) laser room, the extract system (when sorted out) could be branched to provide a depression, keeping all dust under control.

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[Sean-anotherone]

Physically it will fit, but it "sticks out" quite a bit so would likely foul the opening of the large sheet-materials drawers, the solution being to swap the central bench and the drawers (with sophia sat on) first, that way everything would remain fully openable. If I remember to bring graph paper next thurs I'll cut out some scale shapes and test some layouts.

It just seems a shame that such an asset is out of use - the lasers get well used and raise income, bringing morris the monster online could surely only help with that?

[johnmckerrell]

We definitely want to get it going and appreciate any help in doing this! Are the measurements of it somewhere online? Someone handy with Inkscape could also have a go.

-- Sent from my mobile phone hence brevity and errors

On 30 Oct 2018, at 17:33, Sean Jarman notifications@github.com wrote:

Physically it will fit, but it "sticks out" quite a bit so would likely foul the opening of the large sheet-materials drawers, the solution being to swap the central bench and the drawers (with sophia sat on) first, that way everything would remain fully openable. If I remember to bring graph paper next thurs I'll cut out some scale shapes and test some layouts.

It just seems a shame that such an asset is out of use - the lasers get well used and raise income, bringing morris the monster online could surely only help with that?

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[magman2112]

As I expect I will be involved quite a bit in getting this laser back together again, then hopefully working, I have assigned myself to this issue as well.

[Sean-anotherone]

:)

  From: Mike Gorman <notifications@github.com>

To: DoESLiverpool/somebody-should somebody-should@noreply.github.com Cc: Sean Jarman sean.jarman@yahoo.co.uk; Assign assign@noreply.github.com Sent: Saturday, 3 November 2018, 17:52 Subject: Re: [DoESLiverpool/somebody-should] Even bigger laser - rebuild and commissioning (#955)

As I expect I will be involved quite a bit in getting this laser bag together again, then hopefully working, I have assigned myself to this issue as well.— You are receiving this because you were assigned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or mute the thread.

[MatthewCroughan]

As requested by @Sean-anotherone here is the layout, as drawn by him. I've also created this over on nextcloud with draw.io so we can all collaborate and submit changes.

https://nextcloud.matthewcroughan.co.uk/index.php/s/Pm7oFEMNL2FRZDX

[Robotorium]

How wide will the aisles be?

Op ma 5 nov. 2018 02:46 schreef MatthewCroughan <notifications@github.com:

As requested by @Sean-anotherone https://github.com/Sean-anotherone here is the layout, as drawn by him. I've also created this over on nextcloud with draw.io so we can all collaborate and submit changes.

https://nextcloud.matthewcroughan.co.uk/index.php/s/Pm7oFEMNL2FRZDX

[image: image] https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/26458780/47975259-ff764700-e0a4-11e8-9c48-4ef11556285c.png

[image: img_20181101_224028] https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/26458780/47975233-e5d4ff80-e0a4-11e8-80bf-7c1da1dd00f6.jpg

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[MatthewCroughan]

No decision yet, morris isn't going to be sitting in the center of the room, that's just a placeholder to show how large it is until we all decide. Though I'd assume we don't want a cramped space of any kind.

[johnmckerrell]

The entrance on that diagram looks a bit big? The photo looks more reasonable but would mean people couldn’t leave piles of wood in there any more (yay!)

-- Sent from my mobile phone hence brevity and errors

On 5 Nov 2018, at 08:40, MatthewCroughan notifications@github.com wrote:

No decision yet, morris isn't going to be sitting in the center of the room, that's just a placeholder to show how large it is until we all decide.

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[Sean-anotherone]

How wide will the aisles be?

MUST be at least 0.8M (same as the door)

[Sean-anotherone]

Made a good start on this over the weekend with @magman2112. The woodwork bench and associated dust-raising machinery is all relocated into the CNC room, revealing a that is big enough to get the big laser re-assembled (first) and then explored for functionality and a shopping/wish list raised to get it commissioned.

We also discovered that the machine does not use a large semiconductor laser as thought, it is a 50W CO2 laser, but an air cooled (possibly RF excited) version - this would likely be expensive to replace if it's dead, but they can be regassed and UK suppliers seem to offer this service.

The next step is to tidy up the stack of wood and sheet material in the laser room and then physically relocate the machine - help will be required as it is HEAVY !

It will likely be necessary to move Gerald to the other end of the room for a few minutes while feeding the bigger machine through the doorway, plus, @magman2112 and I are proposing rotating Gerald by 90° left, making the entrance to the room wider (and no more or less congested than it already is).

[magman2112]

It appears that this issue has not been raised with all of the members of the laser maintenance team, so HI Folks @DoESLiverpool/laser-maintenance

We are planning a Laser Maintenance day this coming Saturday, where we will attempt to play Musical Laser cutters and get Morris moved into it's hopefully permanent home. This will need a fair few people as this beast is heavy. We will also need to move some stuff out of the room for a while to give us some working room.

It may also be possible to line all three of the laser cutters up on the window side of the room, this is to be confirmed on the day.

I will raise a call on the DoES Google Group as well, so that we get enough people in to make this move hopefully.

[johnmckerrell]

I spotted this was in the calendar for 2nd March, guessing that’s not right?

On 29 Jan 2019, at 16:04, Mike Gorman notifications@github.com wrote:

It appears that this issue has not been raised with all of the members of the laser maintenance team, so HI Folks @DoESLiverpool/laser-maintenance https://github.com/orgs/DoESLiverpool/teams/laser-maintenance We are planning a Laser Maintenance day this coming Saturday, where we will attempt to play Musical Laser cutters and get Morris moved into it's hopefully permanent home. This will need a fair few people as this beast is heavy. We will also need to move some stuff out of the room for a while to give us some working room.

It may also be possible to line all three of the laser cutters up on the window side of the room, this is to be confirmed on the day.

I will raise a call on the DoES Google Group as well, so that we get enough people in to make this move hopefully.

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[magman2112]

Hi John,

I asked Jackie to book this out on Sunday for me (as I don’t have access to this calendar as yet). I guess she accidently picked the wrong month.

Could you possibly move this to this Saturday please?

Regards

Mike

[johnmckerrell]

Done

On 29 Jan 2019, at 16:10, Mike Gorman notifications@github.com wrote:

Hi John,

I asked Jackie to book this out on Sunday for me (as I don’t have access to this calendar as yet). I guess she accidently picked the wrong month.

Could you possibly move this to this Saturday please?

Regards

Mike

From: John McKerrell [mailto:notifications@github.com] Sent: 29 January 2019 16:07 To: DoESLiverpool/somebody-should somebody-should@noreply.github.com Cc: Mike Gorman mikegorman@btinternet.com; Mention mention@noreply.github.com Subject: Re: [DoESLiverpool/somebody-should] Even bigger laser - rebuild and commissioning (#955)

I spotted this was in the calendar for 2nd March, guessing that’s not right?

On 29 Jan 2019, at 16:04, Mike Gorman <notifications@github.com mailto:notifications@github.com > wrote:

It appears that this issue has not been raised with all of the members of the laser maintenance team, so HI Folks @DoESLiverpool/laser-maintenance https://github.com/orgs/DoESLiverpool/teams/laser-maintenance We are planning a Laser Maintenance day this coming Saturday, where we will attempt to play Musical Laser cutters and get Morris moved into it's hopefully permanent home. This will need a fair few people as this beast is heavy. We will also need to move some stuff out of the room for a while to give us some working room.

It may also be possible to line all three of the laser cutters up on the window side of the room, this is to be confirmed on the day.

I will raise a call on the DoES Google Group as well, so that we get enough people in to make this move hopefully.

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[KarlDunkerley]

I can definitely do Saturday but not sunday. What time do we need to assemble?

[magman2112]

I was thinking from about 10 to 10:30, though I am open to suggestions if people want to meet earlier or later.

There will be plenty to do with clearing and cleaning tasks anyway, before we need the key group of people to help with the heavy lifting though, so we can be reasonably flexible with timings methinks.

[KarlDunkerley]

In my diary. See you then.

[Sean-anotherone]

I'll be having both kids this weekend so I'm out.

[zarino]

@magman2112 It looks like I’m free this Saturday, so count me in 👍

[magman2112]

Morris was successfully moved into the laser room on Saturday and largely re-assembled. There are still a few parts of the structure to be refitted, then we can start looking at some basic tests, such as whether the laser is working for example.

[magman2112]

Most of the parts have now been fitted to Morris and initial test have shown that the laser is working and the machine is able to cut test patterns using the built in firmware.

There appears to be a missing joint from the extraction system at the moment though, so there is still some work to be done to make this aspect work.

Discussions about the software and controller issues are in thread #607.

[magman2112]

With the new laser controller here, the electronics side is now progressing.

On the rebuild side, some work is needed on the lid for the laser, as this is quite badly scratched. possibly t-cutting or finding some perspex polish would be a good start.

[MatthewCroughan]

Do you think this can get done on the hack the space day 29/12/2019? @magman2112 If all that remains is the software and wiring issues, we can aim for it.

[magman2112]

@Sean-anotherone and I have identified some issues with one of the servo motors which we haven’t found a solution for so far, so this is a bottleneck to getting this machine working.

I suspect that there will be other priorities on the hack the space day, but this still might be worth looking at.

[amcewen]

You are allowed to share the problems you've hit here, y'know ;-) You never know what knowledge/experience there is to tap into to help...

[Sean-anotherone]

The servo drives in one direction without control input, even with the controller disconnected.  Next step is to apply external power to the encoder and scope the output to see if it is providing spurious signals.   The odd thing is that the servo movement is intermittent stop/start but always in the same direction.  It is the y servo, X works fine, we have already eliminated the controller by substitution, issue is with the encoder or cabling.  Y servo is currently part dismantled.

Other issue with the machine is that the 4 A breaker on the 24 v supplies is fragile, needs a 6 type c.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Fri, 27 Dec 2019 at 11:42, Adrian McEwennotifications@github.com wrote:
You are allowed to share the problems you've hit here, y'know ;-) You never know what knowledge/experience there is to tap into to help...

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[magman2112]

Latest update.

The problematic servo drive has now been rewired. Initially we had a similar problem as before the rewire, but when we broke the common screen, the servo started to behave itself.

@Sean-anotherone then did a bit of tuning on the servo drives and both axes are now moving in reasonable order.

We then downloaded the Laser Burn trial software and successfully controlled the laser with the software over the USB connection. We had a bit of fun getting it to talk to the PC for Gerald, so we have only tested using my laptop at the moment.

Next we checked the accuracy of movement on the laser access using a dial gauge the Sean brought in. with a bit of adjustment, bit axes are now calibrated for correct movement.

Finally, we worked to get control of the laser from the new controller. After quite a bit of work, Sean managed to get this working and successfully cut a hexagon in paper - the first output of the new machine configuration. Further testing though found that the laser is considerably down on power - not being able to cut 3mm ply wood on full power.

So basically, the laser is working but is down on power.

We still need to fit limit switches to the axes though (for homing as well) and the extract system needs to be linked up - which we plan to start on next Maker Night.

[magman2112]

I spoke to Paul Mason at Millenium Laser Ltd on Thursday about the possibility of re-gassing the laser for Monty.

I was informed that it would likely cost £1400 to re-gas the Universal Laser laser tube for Monty. This is obviously too much for us to spend at present, but I appear to have made a reasonable contact should we look to replace the current laser with an alternate - such as a tube similar to Sophia's in the future.

In the short term, I think we should investigate of Monty is OK to use for engraving or paper cutting using it's current power level. Then we can evaluate the demand and whether it is worth getting the current laser re-gassed.

For the record, here are the specific details for the current laser in Monty.

Universal Laser UL-50-OEM Serial Number OEM#: RP-10,562C Date: March 2008.

[KarlDunkerley]

Do you know the spec of the tube? I have a spare one for mine. Only 50W but working. Might be showhornable. Welcome to use it until can get a proper one. Also seems v high price. There is a chap in North Wales who can do it I believe. Lost his details but he was on Facebook.

On Thursday, 16 January 2020, 15:45:17 GMT, Mike Gorman <notifications@github.com> wrote:  

I spoke to Paul Mason at Millenium Laser Ltd on Thursday about the possibility of re-gassing the laser for Monty.

I was informed that it would likely cost £1400 to re-gas the Universal Laser laser tube for Monty. This is obviously too much for us to spend at present, but I appear to have made a reasonable contact should we look to replace the current laser with an alternate - such as a tube similar to Sophia's in the future.

In the short term, I think we should investigate of Monty is OK to use for engraving or paper cutting using it's current power level. Then we can evaluate the demand and whether it is worth getting the current laser re-gassed.

For the record, here are the specific details for the current laser in Monty.

Universal Laser UL-50-OEM Serial Number OEM#: RP-10,562C Date: March 2008.

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[KarlDunkerley]

I think his name was Richard Butler. On Thursday, 16 January 2020, 15:45:17 GMT, Mike Gorman notifications@github.com wrote:

I spoke to Paul Mason at Millenium Laser Ltd on Thursday about the possibility of re-gassing the laser for Monty.

I was informed that it would likely cost £1400 to re-gas the Universal Laser laser tube for Monty. This is obviously too much for us to spend at present, but I appear to have made a reasonable contact should we look to replace the current laser with an alternate - such as a tube similar to Sophia's in the future.

In the short term, I think we should investigate of Monty is OK to use for engraving or paper cutting using it's current power level. Then we can evaluate the demand and whether it is worth getting the current laser re-gassed.

For the record, here are the specific details for the current laser in Monty.

Universal Laser UL-50-OEM Serial Number OEM#: RP-10,562C Date: March 2008.

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[KarlDunkerley]

info@rtbtech.co.uk

On Thursday, 16 January 2020, 15:45:17 GMT, Mike Gorman <notifications@github.com> wrote:  

I spoke to Paul Mason at Millenium Laser Ltd on Thursday about the possibility of re-gassing the laser for Monty.

I was informed that it would likely cost £1400 to re-gas the Universal Laser laser tube for Monty. This is obviously too much for us to spend at present, but I appear to have made a reasonable contact should we look to replace the current laser with an alternate - such as a tube similar to Sophia's in the future.

In the short term, I think we should investigate of Monty is OK to use for engraving or paper cutting using it's current power level. Then we can evaluate the demand and whether it is worth getting the current laser re-gassed.

For the record, here are the specific details for the current laser in Monty.

Universal Laser UL-50-OEM Serial Number OEM#: RP-10,562C Date: March 2008.

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[Sean-anotherone]

Good summary from Mike.

The comments from Karl are also valid - I think there is a spare / repairable laser PSU about the place, and even a new sophia-sized tube is not too expensive, so backfitting a HV tube laser would be very doable and would give a very-large-bed 50W machine that would allow either Sophia or Gerald to be taken offline for their (well overdue) essential maintenance.

Or, possibly a bit contentiously, we could "sacrifice" Sophia (temporarily?) and fit that tube/PSU/chiller on Monty - it would still be the same power & cost to run, but advantaging the large bed, top quality optical path* and new software & controller.  Sophia could then get overhauled in slow time to fix all the sloppy axis issues.

Sean-anotherone

(*) The mirrors on Monty are not 100%, but the quality of the mounts is WAAAYYYY better than either of the other machines.

On 16/01/2020 15:39, Mike Gorman wrote:

Latest update.

The problematic servo drive has now been rewired. Initially we had a similar problem as before the rewire, but when we broke the common screen, the servo started to behave itself.

@Sean-anotherone https://github.com/Sean-anotherone then did a bit of tuning on the servo drives and both axes are now moving in reasonable order.

We then downloaded the Laser Burn trial software and successfully controlled the laser with the software over the USB connection. We had a bit of fun getting it to talk to the PC for Gerald, so we have only tested using my laptop at the moment.

Next we checked the accuracy of movement on the laser access using a dial gauge the Sean brought in. with a bit of adjustment, bit axes are now calibrated for correct movement.

Finally, we worked to get control of the laser from the new controller. After quite a bit of work, Sean managed to get this working and successfully cut a hexagon in paper - the first output of the new machine configuration. Further testing though found that the laser is considerably down on power - not being able to cut 3mm ply wood on full power.

So basically, the laser is working but is down on power.

We still need to fit limit switches to the axes though (for homing as well) and the extract system needs to be linked up - which we plan to start on next Maker Night.

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[Sean-anotherone]

As requested - the prices of a few options

1. Regas the RF laser - £1400

2. Find a buyer for the (working but low on power) RF laser, they are £8000 new, so it should be worth >£1000, especially in parts credit. Retrofit a tube laser like the list below.

3. Just buy and fit a tube laser:

60W tube ebay (cannot be more than 1M long) - £92 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ridgeyard-60W-CO2-Laser-Tube-Length-1000mm-for-60W-Laser-Engraver-Cutter-Machine/113982815223?hash=item1a89e7bbf7:g:RNYAAOSwl2Bd16L5

60WPSU ebay - £75 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ridgeyard-60W-CO2-Laser-Tube-Length-1000mm-for-60W-Laser-Engraver-Cutter-Machine/113982815223?hash=item1a89e7bbf7:g:RNYAAOSwl2Bd16L5

And a chiller - ebay £100 for a fan box, (£300 for an actual chilly chiller)

Ie- ~£270 plus odds & sods (like mounts, tubing etc.)

might do better with a bit of shopping around. The biggest tube we could easily fit is about 1M

[Sean-anotherone]

Following some words of wisdom from @goatchurchprime, @magman2112 and I got both axes on Monty behaving properly, but the calibration needs to be repeated. (I'll bring the gauge this week)

The latest odd behaviour relates to the machine engraving (weakly but) well, with pwm greyscale, but not giving any laser output in line/cut mode???????

Very odd, and confusing. Will be prodding it with oscilloscope on Thurs to see if the pwm has the expected w.

[KarlDunkerley]

My spare 50w is available for testing purposes if you need it. Will be in on Thursday night. Can bring it in. Let me know asap. On Monday, 27 January 2020, 18:19:59 GMT, Sean Jarman notifications@github.com wrote:

Following some words of wisdom from @goatchurchprime, @magman2112 and I got both axes on Monty behaving properly, but the calibration needs to be repeated. (I'll bring the gauge this week)

The latest odd behaviour relates to the machine engraving (weakly but) well, with pwm greyscale, but not giving any laser output in line/cut mode???????

Very odd, and confusing. Will be prodding it with oscilloscope on Thurs to see if the pwm has the expected w.

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[Sean-anotherone]

Hi Karl, not needed for now thanks, the machine has an RF laser currently so the supply etc would all need changing.  Options still being explored before going down the retrofit route.

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On Tue, 28 Jan 2020 at 13:11, KarlDunkerleynotifications@github.com wrote: My spare 50w is available for testing purposes if you need it. Will be in on Thursday night. Can bring it in. Let me know asap. On Monday, 27 January 2020, 18:19:59 GMT, Sean Jarman notifications@github.com wrote:

Following some words of wisdom from @goatchurchprime, @magman2112 and I got both axes on Monty behaving properly, but the calibration needs to be repeated. (I'll bring the gauge this week)

The latest odd behaviour relates to the machine engraving (weakly but) well, with pwm greyscale, but not giving any laser output in line/cut mode???????

Very odd, and confusing. Will be prodding it with oscilloscope on Thurs to see if the pwm has the expected w.

— You are receiving this because you are on a team that was mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.

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[magman2112]

Latest tests on Thursday showed that the current laser is worse than we thought.

First, on a positive note, @Sean-anotherone adjusted the servo drive for the X-axis and we are now getting square cuts and engraving, not trapezoid as we were getting before.

The main outstanding problem though is with the laser output power. Running line cut tests showed that the laser will only cut for a few seconds at 100%, before the power fades away. It will also cut at lower power settings, but again power tails off the longer the laser is cutting. This would seem to suggest a more significant fault with the laser - but could still be down to just needing re-gassing. This does remind me of similar issues with Gerald and Sophia when the laser tube got close to end of life.

So it looks like a test with a Sophia type laser tube is the likely way forward with Monty at present. So @KarlDunkerley, we will take you up on your offer to borrow your spare laser tube. We do have a couple of spare laser power supplies at present, but one is definitely in need of repair and the other looks used so needs to be tested. We will also have to improvise some cooling for the laser tube and make new mounting brackets for the tube.

So currently one step forward and a couple backwards unfortunately.

[amcewen]

Bummer about the laser, but thanks for the continued work on it and also for the updates here @Sean-anotherone and @magman2112

[KarlDunkerley]

No problem. How soon do you need it? Should be in later this week to work on the heat press but waiting for an oversized dye sub print to arrive. Alternatively, if you need it sooner I can meet up with Mike G somewhere or drop it off at your house. Let me know.

On Monday, 3 February 2020, 11:47:08 GMT, Mike Gorman <notifications@github.com> wrote:  

Latest tests on Thursday showed that the current laser is worse than we thought.

First, on a positive note, @Sean-anotherone adjusted the servo drive for the X-axis and we are now getting square cuts and engraving, not trapezoid as we were getting before.

The main outstanding problem though is with the laser output power. Running line cut tests showed that the laser will only cut for a few seconds at 100%, before the power fades away. It will also cut at lower power settings, but again power tails off the longer the laser is cutting. This would seem to suggest a more significant fault with the laser - but could still be down to just needing re-gassing. This does remind me of similar issues with Gerald and Sophia when the laser tube got close to end of life.

So it looks like a test with a Sophia type laser tube is the likely way forward with Monty at present. So @KarlDunkerley, we will take you up on your offer to borrow your spare laser tube. We do have a couple of spare laser power supplies at present, but one is definitely in need of repair and the other looks used so needs to be tested. We will also have to improvise some cooling for the laser tube and make new mounting brackets for the tube.

So currently one step forward and a couple backwards unfortunately.

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[Sean-anotherone]

Jackie asked for an update on the latest position in time for the meeting this weekend, so here it is:

1. The "machine" is working very well in terms of motors, axes, mirrors etc. The servos have been calibrated as well as we can without being able to cut test shapes and seem to be good to within about 0.02mm.
2. The laser continues to behave exactly as described above by Mike , a couple of minutes of low power, followed by fade-out to zero power.

Options :

a) backfit a CO2 tube laser - medium costs, limitations on lifetime but would then be the best machine available (within the power of the tube). It may be possible to re-engineer the machine to take a Gerald-sized tube, but that would be much more work.

b) get the RF laser refurbed - £1400 if it works (it might not be repairable) but it would last a long long time.

c) strip the whole machine for parts and upgrade Gerald ( this would take several days of effort)

d) Attempt a fix on the RF laser - there is a possibility that it has been knocked out of alignment. This would involve careful adjustments to the back mirror of the resonator, it might work, or it might end in a laser that can't even be sold-on for store credit - I would be prepared to have a go at this but only with a very clear mandate that the risk is accepted. Given that the laser was lying about for 2 years and that it drifts off as it warms up, a bit of misalignment that worsens as the metal expands is not an unreasonable diagnosis. Or I might destroy the optical resonator completely, hard to tell without trying.

e) try to trade-in the RF laser for the parts needed to pursue option (a), someone would need to take a day-trip to South Wales. (fuel probably cheaper than the postage would be !)

Apart from the laser, and some further reassembly, all that is needed to finish month is a few O-rings for the mirror adjusters a PC to drive it from ad some operator training (the software is very intuitive so conversion would not take long). Future work would include making and fitting limit and home switches, but we live without these on Gerald, so not urgent.

Recommendations - in order of my personal preference :

(e) (a) (d) (b) (c)

[JackiePease]

Thanks @Sean-anotheronehttps://github.com/Sean-anotherone !

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---

From: Sean Jarman notifications@github.com Sent: Saturday, February 8, 2020 10:31:13 AM To: DoESLiverpool/somebody-should somebody-should@noreply.github.com Cc: Jackie Pease jackiepease@hotmail.com; Team mention team_mention@noreply.github.com Subject: Re: [DoESLiverpool/somebody-should] Even bigger laser - rebuild and commissioning (#955)

Jackie asked for an update on the latest position in time for the meeting this weekend, so here it is:

1. The "machine" is working very well in terms of motors, axes, mirrors etc. The servos have been calibrated as well as we can without being able to cut test shapes and seem to be good to within about 0.02mm.
2. The laser continues to behave exactly as described above by Mike , a couple of minutes of low power, followed by fade-out to zero power.

Options :

a) backfit a CO2 tube laser - medium costs, limitations on lifetime but would then be the best machine available (within the power of the tube). It may be possible to re-engineer the machine to take a Gerald-sized tube, but that would be much more work.

b) get the RF laser refurbed - £1400 if it works (it might not be repairable) but it would last a long long time.

c) strip the whole machine for parts and upgrade Gerald ( this would take several days of effort)

d) Attempt a fix on the RF laser - there is a possibility that it has been knocked out of alignment. This would involve careful adjustments to the back mirror of the resonator, it might work, or it might end in a laser that can't even be sold-on for store credit - I would be prepared to have a go at this but only with a very clear mandate that the risk is accepted. Given that the laser was lying about for 2 years and that it drifts off as it warms up, a bit of misalignment that worsens as the metal expands is not an unreasonable diagnosis. Or I might destroy the optical resonator completely, hard to tell without trying.

e) try to trade-in the RF laser for the parts needed to pursue option (a), someone would need to take a day-trip to South Wales. (fuel probably cheaper than the postage would be !)

Apart from the laser, and some further reassembly, all that is needed to finish month is a few O-rings for the mirror adjusters a PC to drive it from ad some operator training (the software is very intuitive so conversion would not take long). Future work would include making and fitting limit and home switches, but we live without these on Gerald, so not urgent.

Recommendations - in order of my personal preference :

(e) (a) (d) (b) (c)

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[KarlDunkerley]

I'm going to pass my spare CO2 tube on to Mike G to see if that works. Hopefully that will inform the way forward. Just don't blow it up LOL

[johnmckerrell]

FYI I think the guy we're talking about in Wales is actually North Wales, Prestatyn. At least if we're talking about the same person:

Richard Butler

RTBTech ltd www.rtbtech.co.uk

Last time we talked to him he said:

Our callout fee to Liverpool is £380 including servicing one machine, we then charge an additional £180 for an other machines.

[amcewen]

I've pinged Keith from Leather Satchel company to see who he uses for servicing (as he's got one of those laser-cutters)

[johnmckerrell]

Discussed in the directors meeting and we're tending towards getting the RF laser re-gassed, assuming it’s around the cost we’ve been discussing so far.

[JackiePease]

I've emailed Jan at Hope Uni to ask who they get to service their similar laser cutters

[KarlDunkerley]

Is it worth brining in my CO2 tube in that case? Seem to think it would mean some re-engineering so is it better to wait until decision made? Karl On Sunday, 9 February 2020, 12:47:24 GMT, John McKerrell notifications@github.com wrote:

Discussed in the directors meeting and we're tending towards getting the RF laser re-gassed, assuming it’s around the cost we’ve been discussing so far.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.

[amcewen]

Keith does most of the maintenance in house, but for a regas would talk to GS Lasers (the manufacturer). So we could ask them for a regas quote (and see if RTBTech deal with this sort of laser too, as it doesn't look like we've got a regas quote from them either?)