FIRE in the machine!

[jball44]

Hi there,

I am a technician at a school and we have a LS1290 in our department. Over the past 2 years the machine has had a considerable amount of issues from the laser tube (which was replaced only 8 months ago) to the mirrors to the power supply blowing the fuse.

I have spent the last 4 weeks constantly realigning the mirrors as they readjust with the slightest movement of the machine- which has been a nightmare as you can probably understand. I have been trying to work out why the machine is cutting so inconsistently and hadn't noticed a loose cable at the back. We then plugged this back in and the fuse blew- can you tell me what this cable is for (shown in the picture)?

Also on Friday a problem occurred that had never been an issue before. Another loose cable on the right hand side of the machine got caught on the gantry as the laser was in motion, even though we cannot see a problem with the wire the machine is now catching fire in the back right corner (as shown in the pictures).

Please can someone shed some light on this situation? It is driving me up the wall and we need the machine to work properly before the students have to start their projects.

Thanks

[Daven]

I would recommend having a visit by HPC ASAP - they can carry out safety checks before anyone uses it. Not sure what the black cable is, could be the red dot led which is low voltage.

Get HPC to check it over ASAP and do not use it until then!

Best
Dave

[jball44]

The black cable is connected to the magnet which tells the machine the lid is closed. We will try not to use it but charging £800 to get an engineer out is very steep and we cannot afford it at the moment, especially as that does not include repair.

Could it be that the laser is so beaming past the laser head into the back wall?

I can't even test the alignment anymore as I am worried the machine will catch fire.

Are there any cheaper alternatives to fix this issue?

Thanks

[Daven]

All the cables should be tied up out of the way - sounds like someone has messed around with it! The door catch wire has no voltage as it is just a switch but the wire should be up out the way.

It sounds like the alignment could be the issue - on the control panel turn the power down to 15% (there are two levels on the menu - do it on both menu levels). That will mean you can text at a low power. Put back to 100% when re aligned.

Use 5mm thick acrylic between the head and the 2nd mirror to see where the beam is going - just do a quick burst using the laser button on the control panel.

To be honest £800 is cheaper than an insurance claim

I would lock the machine down so no one can fiddle with it (if that is the case) I only have two of us using my machines and I have not had the touch the alignment from the last time I put a tube in (well over a year ago one one machine) and they are used daily!

Best
Dave

[HPC]

Hi -

One cable is the connection for the cabinet light. If plugging this has caused the fuse to blow, then you probably require a replacement light fitting.

The other cable, as you have stated, is for the magnetic sensor for the main lid. That is normally fastened to the roof of the cabinet, but it looks like the fastening has come loose, which is why it is hanging down like that.

From the description of the problem, you are probably correct in thinking that the laser is misaligned to the point where it has directed the laser beam to the back corner. One of the adjustment screws has likely been turned too far. If it is missing the mirror and hitting something at the back, that could explain the fire.

If the alignment is so far out that it is missing the mirror on the laser head, before you can correct it you would need to determine where it is going. As Dave has said, if you position something - for example, a piece of acrylic or a piece of card - over the mirror on the laser head, and test fire the laser at intervals moving the laser head from left to right across the bed, then you should be able to determine where it is going. Using a larger piece of material you can cover a wider area, so even if the beam is missing the mirror, you will still be able to see where it is.

That being said, if you are really struggling with this, I would recommend arranging for an engineer call out. They would be able to take a look at the alignment, and assess whether anything has been damaged by the potentially misaligned beam. They could also replace the cabinet light at the same time.

There does appear to be some confusion regarding the engineer costs though. I have looked at our recent e-mail correspondence, and the quote that has been provided by ourselves was considerably lower than the £800 you have mentioned, so I am not sure where this figure has come from.

If you wish to arrange for an engineer, please do not hesitate to get in touch via e-mail at logistics@hpclaser.co.uk. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact support@hpclaser.co.uk.

Kind regards,

HPC Laser