So we have finally replaced our ailing laser tube with the new one, but the unit is still not functional. This is because the power supply that was originally installed within the system was not able to supply enough voltage to the new tube to excite the laser beam.
We have tested the new tube with a power supply from a different unit, and we have been successful in creating a laser beam. However, the power supply is physically too large for the unit to be safely installed, and until such a time that we source a new unit the laser cutter is out of action.
In addition, we have a new system that was kindly donated to us by @VitaminJ that will be the new computer to operate the laser cutter. Given that we will need to create new profiles for the laser cutter due to its increased capacity, it was determined that we will retire the old computer and start with a clean slate.
The laser cutter has a new 60W PSU installed and the optics have been realigned, so the machine is now fully operational again.
As the new tube/PSU combination is much more powerful than the old one, all the Visicut profiles are no longer correct. So make sure to adjust power down or speed up as required.
We haven’t even put the new lens in or calibrated the PSU yet (which is underdriving the tube by about 5mA) so it’ll get a bit more powerful again once that’s done.