Common issues that could indicate your CO2 laser needs cleaning
Sometimes performance of your laser can decrease at such a slow rate that we hardly notice it on a daily basis, but over time, those tiny incremental changes can add up to a seriously unsatisfactory cutting experience.
“Performance” can mean many things, including cut precision, kerf width, power output, smoke and charring, chatter around the edges of acrylic, temperature regulation, consistency, and more.
Sometimes your laser issue may indicate a more serious system failure. More often than not, however, all your laser is telling you is that something needs cleaning.
Here are the top issues that we see that can be signs your laser needs a good cleaning:
Excessive smoke and residue when cutting: When cutting materials such as wood or even MDF, too much smoke and charring can indicate a buildup of debris and waste in your exhaust system or vents.
Inconsistent cutting performance: Working correctly, your laser should cut the same path exactly the same every time under the same settings and materials variables. If your laser is giving you uneven or incomplete cuts, this could indicate a build-up of grime, oil, or even damage to the mirrors or lenses.
Engravings appear fuzzy no matter how many times you focus: Dirty mirrors and lenses can scatter the laser beam. This can cause reduced clarity and sharpness in your engravings
Overheating: If your laser’s cooling system, fans, or chiller have too much build-up or debris caught inside, this can cause your laser tube to overheat and even shatter.
Unsettling noises and sounds coming from gantries, pulleys, and rails: Debris and small pieces of cut material can find their way into your gantry or belts and wreak havoc on your laser head’s travel. A sudden or new noise when moving your laser head around the bed can indicate something has recently gotten stuck in the belts somewhere.
Misaligned laser beam: Often, when a lens or mirror is dirty, it scatters the beam and creates bad cuts/engraves. You may try to troubleshoot this by making micro-adjustments to the alignment/beam direction. However, because the dirty lens or mirror may scatter the beam differently each time, your repeated micro-adjustments may turn into a beam that is wildly off of the perfect alignment needed. This same issue can happen from a dirty nose cone as well. Getting all the optic components and laser head cleaned and then performing a full re-alignment of the beam and laser path will save you headaches in the long run.
Reduced laser power: Does it seem like a specific material you used to be able to cut at one setting now requires much more power or slower speed settings? Reduced power output may be caused by buildup on the laser and its optics.