LS6840 low on power

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davehills
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LS6840 low on power

Post by davehills »

All,

My LS6840 appears to be getting low on power..it's not cutting 6mm MDF as well as it should.

I have replaced all the mirrors, the lens, checked the focus, alignment of mirrors and it still seems slightly low on power. We have a number of identical machines and they'll cut 6mm MDF on a speed setting of 6; this machine struggles on 4 with the same MDF.

Is this a sign of a failing laser tube or some other issue?

Dave
Daven
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Re: LS6840 low on power

Post by Daven »

Hi Dave,
If the output coupler lens is clean (clean very carefully) and the water flow is good and cold then yes it does sound like the tube is on it's way out especially if it has done a lot of hours.

Best
Dave
Using two LS3060's and an ex 3020 user
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
davehills
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Re: LS6840 low on power

Post by davehills »

All the machines were bought in 2013 at the same time and suspect we're getting close to the lower limit of 1000 hours.

Is there any way of testing the tube or other way of verifying it's near the end of its lifespan?
Daven
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Re: LS6840 low on power

Post by Daven »

Not without buying a meter that is quite expensive.

3 years is good for a tube in my experience - I replace mine when the power starts to drop (and I have checked everything else) and that can be around 1 a year at 1 to 2k hours on average.

Best
Dave
Using two LS3060's and an ex 3020 user
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Tom
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Re: LS6840 low on power

Post by Tom »

I would say 99% yes if every thing as been checked and clean
Lightnin
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Re: LS6840 low on power

Post by Lightnin »

as Daven said .. 3 yrs is good going . Even if they have not been used, they have a shelf life.

The other thing to check is all the wiring connections are good and tight.

As you have several machines , you could swap tubes .. but that can be a PITA, if you are pretty sure it's on it's way out anyway.

You can bump up the power a bit to squeeze the last of the tube life out, but once they start going, they go quite quickly in my experience.
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