monkeysarefun Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Cheeky cherubs! All those EB2 buyers, you really do need the air assist. If you haven't included it its not too late to get it, here the bottom K was done with air assist, the top one with it off (because my air pump died..) (The other lasered thing is meant to be 2 hearts - not a pair of bottoms.) And you need to clean the lens pretty well after an hour of laser cutting. But you get the free lens cleaning kit at least - eventually ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 More good new folks...... I was thinking in bed this morning, as you do......... thinking that the G7 lens may not have quite the same optical/beam characteristics as the original lens, and that it may be possible to get even more from it. Hoping, but not actually expecting - I tested my theory, and lowered the laser from the 1.5mm (supplied gauge) down to 0.8mm ('cos that's what I had to hand...) and cut the same item in 2mm MDF as I did the other day. The last time, with the G7 lens, the first pass cut 90% through, so I could just see it from the reverse side, but needed a second pass to cut it free. today, dropping the laser down, My E1 cut straight through 2mm MDF in a single pass, cleanly, with no nasty charring, and no increase in kerf. I'm a happy chap. Not only this - but if the lens is so much more efficient, then surely there must be less heat build-up within the laser, which must also be good for it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 (edited) That is good news Giles. .Similarly Darklylabs are continually refining the Z axis height that you need to enter into laserweb at the start of a job. It was originally the thickness of the material, but their latest iteration of the material database that you use with laserweb has that distance at half the material thickness. If that makes any sense. I think they are still learning, along with us and are getting more knowleadgable about the lasers beam shape and where its best focal point is. (And when I started railway modelling back in the 70's, with my humbrol knife and a metal ruler stolen from dads toolbox I never expected I'd be writing that sentence!) Edited July 23, 2017 by monkeysarefun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 At the risk of you thinking my dad runs this company, which he doesn't. so I'm not just making this up, but I emailed darklylabs about my emblaser 1 issue, where the laser only goes to full power if I take the laser guard off and hold the button down. Domenic replied saying that it was a weird one but they are sending me a complete set of all the electronics, so I can swap them all out in turn until I find the faulty bit and then send back the others. All free of charge, which is amazing since I bought the EB1 in February 2016, so 17 months ago. Who else does that? Definitely not @#$*#@ Samsung , they'll happily let your house burn down! ( - my house didn't burn down but it took a lot of convincing to get them to admit a fault with their #$%$ washing machines before I got a replacement ) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted July 26, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2017 excellent service, I revisited the G7 lens issue on Sunday and wasted the day no improvement at all and results frankly cr$p. Given the reults others have got, I think the lens is damaged on that bases and its only the cost of couple of pints reordered another, I will keep you advised Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 excellent service, I revisited the G7 lens issue on Sunday and wasted the day no improvement at all and results frankly cr$p. Given the reults others have got, I think the lens is damaged on that bases and its only the cost of couple of pints reordered another, I will keep you advised Nick My new lens is in an envelope somewhere waiting for me to sort out the EB1's problem.. I'm looking forward to giving it a go against the Emblaser 2.I it probably doesn't have the depth of cut of the Embaser 2 ( the Emblaser 2 lens is about 3 times as big for a start)) but based on Giles results it should cut lighter material much quicker. Hopefully you get it working for you Nick! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted August 6, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 6, 2017 makes me wonder if I ordered the wrong lens ? for interest which one did you order just checked it was the G7 I ordered perhaps I should try again ? Nick today I got round to try the replacement lens Mk2 which has been siting on my desk for a week. Staggered at the results the nasty 1mm card I use cuts on the original lens in 8 passes the replacement lens cut in 4 passes. Encouraged I tried some nasty 3mm mdf coated on one face it was close but not enough, far from despondent I tried some 4mm indoor ply, this cut through at 10mm 20 passes with minimal scorching . All in all most satisfactory should speed up normal work a lot I can only conclude the original replacement lens was faulty Nick 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Excellent..... It is astonishing what a 4w diode laser can achieve! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 1/2d Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I had heard about the chlorine thing with styrene, but doing some research, it seems that polystyrene is hydrogen and carbon, and burning it creates carbon dioxide and water. Er, kind-of ! That's mostly carbon dioxide and water (as in the Hitchhiker's Guide barbed entry about Planet Earth: Mostly Harmless). But like many other seemingly placid hydrocarbons, alcohol for example, haphazard burning can also create literally dozens and dozens of other by-products, many of which are Exceeding Nasty. The soot mentioned is simple proof that incomplete combustion is going on. Also, the stuff has toxic plasticisers in it as well as hydrocarbon. Here's a good reference video for anyone using laser cutters It's based on low power CO2 machines like those used in schools with air extraction, but a lot of it is still relevant to little diode cutters too. And it doesn't take long to view at double speed :-) It covers the three classic laser cutting mechanisms (melting, vaporisation and burning) explaining why Acrylics (including Trotec / Romark and Perspex) are fundamentally different from other plastics, and the only ones we ought to be considering without serious forced air extraction. It also explains why a metal base plate beggars the back of your sheet, at least on a CO2 laser. (I'm currently using a school CO2 cutter which, since the kids hammer it 5 days a week as the main machine tool in the school, is rarely in fine fettle and gives desperately inconsistent results. So I'm window-shopping for an affordable desktop.) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 David, I purchased a Chinese K40 second hand, and am making progress in converting the motion controller to a Smoothieboard. You can follow the story on my CO2 laser thread, link below. There are several new ones on eBay at £300 or thereabouts. The software is horrid (well, mine was, I understand they haven't been much improved) and the Smoothieboard is around £150. The story needs updating, but I am making progress! Hth Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted August 8, 2017 Author Share Posted August 8, 2017 David, I purchased a Chinese K40 second hand, and am making progress in converting the motion controller to a Smoothieboard. You can follow the story on my CO2 laser thread, link below. There are several new ones on eBay at £300 or thereabouts. The software is horrid (well, mine was, I understand they haven't been much improved) and the Smoothieboard is around £150. The story needs updating, but I am making progress! Hth Simon Hi Simon, If you are still having SW issues, it might be worth checking out laserweb. Its opensource, apparently smoothieboard friendly and is in constant development. There is a link to the latest version on the darklylabs site, though not sure if that is the generic version or pimped up for the Emblaser 2 specifically: https://darklylabs.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003971327-Emblaser-2-Laserweb-Software Otherwise it is available elsewhere out there. Here's the doco: http://cncpro.co/index.php/22-documentation/1-laserweb-4-0-documentation I was not a fan of it at first, but that was coming from the Vectric product that the Emblaser 1 uses which is very polished and feature rich in comparison. I am however coming around to it, basically it'll take .svg or .dxf vector files or .png, .jpg or .bmp raster files, convert them to gcode and send them to the cutter. Nothing fancy but it works ok. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 1/2d Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 David, I purchased a Chinese K40 second hand, and am making progress in converting the motion controller to a Smoothieboard. You can follow the story on my CO2 laser thread, link below. There are several new ones on eBay at £300 or thereabouts. The software is horrid (well, mine was, I understand they haven't been much improved) and the Smoothieboard is around £150. The story needs updating, but I am making progress! Hth Simon Thanks, Simon :-) IIRC I recognise your pink shirt from WTF: I'm on its G1/32 forum. My word, you've had a struggle. Already! For my first wagon plate job, back in 1981, I CAD'd the drawings full-size at Derby and sent the resulting giant roll of wallpaper by train to Shildon Works. They simply sticky-taped it to the steel, and an automatic flame cutter followed the outlines to hack out pieces ready for weld-prep. Piece-o'-cake compared with today's palaver! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Thanks both. Will try to sort the alignment this evening. Will report further, along with some photos. yes, the pink polo shirt, figured it was a good way of meeting people from the fora at the various shows. I don't usually bring the cat... best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 For my first wagon plate job, back in 1981, I CAD'd the drawings full-size at Derby and sent the resulting giant roll of wallpaper by train to Shildon Works. They simply sticky-taped it to the steel, and an automatic flame cutter followed the outlines to hack out pieces ready for weld-prep. Piece-o'-cake compared with today's palaver! David Line following seems to be no problem for a cheap Chinese Arduino with an even cheaper IR sensor. You could probably build one to add to your laser cutter for a couple of quid!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Just had a brief look at Laserweb, seems similar to Visicut. A useful alternative, which I will play with in due course thanks! Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted August 13, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 13, 2017 further news on the G7 lens Mrs B has been cutting these today in 3mm perspex ! I fear a influx of pink earrings now something to do with pink day Nick 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Oh dear..... How many passes did that take? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted August 13, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 13, 2017 (edited) not to bad 8 x 1mm I suspect and will test eventual darker perspex which should cut easier Mrs B ended up with these any takers a £1 a pair to pink day Nick Edited August 13, 2017 by nick_bastable 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) Well I've had a weird saga with the Emblaser 1. I would send a file to it from Cut2dlaser but it would not make any mark on the material. The laser would be glowing, but not as brightly as expected so I thought it might be the microswitch or similar. Domenic sent a complete replacement set of everything - the two little boards on the laser unit, the ribbon cable, the laser unit and the main PCB board. Plan was to swap each one over one by one and retry untill I found the problem and then send back the surplus parts. I started with the small boards on the laser unit - no change. Then the laser unit, no change. Added the ribbon cable, no change. Finally the main PCB. At this point everything was new but still - no mark on the material... That made no sense at all, so just on the offchance I tried using the old version of Cut2D, and it worked! If I compare the two different gcode files from each version for a straight line at 100% 10mm/sec I can see the new version has set the laser power to 0. Have no idea why this happens or what made it start to do it. I DID add some extra post processor files that are needed to use cut2dlaser files with the Emblaser 2 but it was working after I added them. I guess I'll try uninstalling and re-installing cut2Dlaser (latest version). Now I've got to take my laser all apart again and send the bits back.. Edited August 14, 2017 by monkeysarefun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 You're lucky, you seem to have disproved "Simon's first law of Engineering", which is based on many years of careful observation. It states that Mechanical problems have Electronic solutions, Electronic problems are fixed in Software, and coding problems are resolved by hardware modifications. I suspect there is a "Spam's corollary" which involves steelwork, concrete & vast quantities of earthworks, but I'm not civil so I don't know the rules. Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David 1/2d Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 "Mechanical problems have Electronic solutions, Electronic problems are fixed in Software, and coding problems are resolved by hardware modifications." Well, software can always blame hardware, which is powerless to Tweet back. 35 years ago, when primordial laser printers were the size of small washing machines, one of mine, like monkeysarefun's Emblaser, still failed to print even after every single module had been swopped. I ordered a new empty case for it, re-installed all the original modules and, somehow, all was well again. David 1/2d Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 Finally swapped my Emblaser 1 back to using my original parts and fitted the G7 lens, which was the original reason for fiddling around with it. It certainly does make a difference, 3mm ply in 3 passes instead of 6. Thats pretty much on par with the Emblaser 2 so is a major improvement. My only issue with it now is that the laser head slides a little too easily up and down so can drop slightly and foul the material as its moving around. A ratchet thingy would be good, similar to say the focus on a microscope. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 Hi Chris - glad your G7 makes a difference! You can always laser cut a rack and pinion! Or stick some Blu-tack to the side! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 (edited) Thanks Giles, its nice to think that my Emblaser 1 will still be able to hold its own, rather than just get used for sentimental reasons! Reading Domenic's' progress update posted on Friday it looks like things are at last progressing with the European compliance stuff. It sure does seem like a whole lot of nonsense to have to go through, in the good old days when we were one happy empire, they'd have only had to screw on a different plug and ship them over by wool clipper. Weirdly, those old days are coming back to haunt us here at the moment, since some sh*t stirrer dusted off our constitution and pointed out that many Australian born politicians have parents born in the UK and elsewhere, which makes them dual citizens by descent and thus potentially ineligible to sit in our parliament. So its swings and roundabouts I guess - what you lose out on by not getting Emblaser 2 imports, we gain by getting rid of some pollies (pending High Court ruling). Edited August 20, 2017 by monkeysarefun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriss76 Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 hello I just bought emblaser 1 4 watts A3. I would like to ask You if its possible to cut for example pvc plate (from 0,25mm to 2mm). And one more question about setting GRLB paramaters. How can I change it to make a more precise cutting. thanks best regards chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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