Luigi is not home incorrectly. It keeps grinding as it moves to the back right. I was also told the focus might be out on it. @jameslancaster @xrunner Who is the best to trouble shoot this?
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I would start by hitting the Escape key on the laser’s keypad to see if it stops. If it does, then I’d manually try to move the head to the back-right corner and then hit the Origin key. Then shut the laser down and start it back up again.
I could try and come in tomorrow (Monday) to take a look if no one posts that it’s working again before then.
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The escape button actually is the workaround on that. I used Luigi early this morning and noticed that the tip was very sooty. It may just need cleaned. As far as the homing issue, it is actually well beyond just a homing issue. It seems to not know where its limits are at all. Every single file I run from light burn complains about it being too large for the bed. I don’t think it understands anything other than its x/y position. It doesn’t seem to know it’s x/y maximums.
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For the file it was complaining this morning. It was like .75”W x 1.5”H.
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I’m going to be down there in the evening, and I should be able to look at it if @xrunner doesn’t beat me to it.
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There’s a few things going on.
- The lens is most likely dirty, if not completely screwed. Couldn’t cuss it off but at least got some of the deposit started to be cleaned off. Someone’s been cutting something they’re not supposed to.
- Possibly related to 1, there’s some super crispy leather on top of Luigi, ironically of Mario.
- It thinks there’s an extra 10000 mm in the x and y axes, which is why it fails to home.
- If the air assist works like Mario it’s not working.
If something like the laser cutter isn’t working, please do not try “workarounds”.
Also tagging @kim because she’s supposed to have a class tonight.
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We have it back up and running and are going to order a part for it. @xrunner you do not need to come in. Thank you.
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Sorry I wasn’t able to get there today. I’ve spent my day working on washing machine and fireplace repairs. I’m glad the rest of you were able to look into the issues.
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That was a leather scrap that came out funky when I worked with it that morning. Attempting to use scrap leather to figure out settings for a laser engraving project. Leather is on the permitted materials list and is pretty frequently used in the space especially by the people who do book binding and handbag making hobbies.
Two things to note:
- I noticed for quite a while that the tip needed cleaning bad; but, I wasn’t sure who to even ask about maintenance because the people who used to do that aren’t active anymore. The tip was already very sooty before I started 3-4 laser projects ago.
- If it involves Mario (the character and not the machine), there is a decent probability that it is mine. My primary special interest (I am Autistic) is Mario.
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The fact that the x/y maximums that were set in the controller were way too large explains a lot.
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I don’t even know where that would even be set. That is a strange issue; but, it makes sense.
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This is normal if it hasn’t homed yet. After homing the axis length will be set to the correct size. You should see the same behavior on the other laser which is (presumably) not having homing issues.
It should be on if the machine is on, it is not controllable in software. Sometimes it is unplugged, or the air hose disconnects.
The lens will get dirty very quickly if the air assist is not running. A dirty lens is Bad Thing TM .
I don’t think there is any check specifically for absolute size, just whether the job will run off the edge of the work area based on the current starting point. If the machine is not homed properly it’s harder to know where it thinks the edges of the bed are.
Cleaning the end of the nozzle is pretty simple, just wipe it down with a damp cloth or brush. If there is caked on junk it can be removed with a metal scraper or wire brush. The nozzle should be clean before focusing, since the touch-off blocks use the nozzle as a reference. Too much gunk will cause the focal point to be wrong, causing more burning and accumulation of gunk.
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I brought over some shop towels and some disposable rags (never used) left over from the letterpress area purchased from my budget when I was letterpress lead. The disposable rags feel like cotton t-shirt scraps. Are those suitable for this use case?
I wasn’t taught any of this when I took Kim’s laser class back in December or January of last year (24).
That is why I never cleaned the tip as that was not taught, in fact, we were taught to not do any maintenance of any kind including cleaning the tip to my recollection.
I am asking these questions now for the sake of process improvement.
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Morning friends!
Andy, James and I worked on it last night. The X axis proximity sensor is cracked below a screw hole. It’s getting bumped out of place pretty easily, the screws can’t holding it firmly anymore, every time we moved it back the machined homed okay a few times but not for long. So Andy is ordering a new sensor.
I kinda mention that “maintenance happens” in my class and the thing to do is always email fablab at makeict - but I’ve also found that if the tip looks like a sooty hot mess the lens and mirrors aren’t pretty either, so we kind of just want to know and take that all apart.
Last year we had at least one “let’s all clean laser parts” kinds of meetups for more people to learn about maintenance and we can repeat that, it’s not particularly tricky just a bit much for the basic authorization classes.
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