How To Use The Fiber Laser Cutting Machine& How To Maintain It?

How to use the fiber laser cutting machine? How to maintain the fiber laser cutting machine ?

Using a laser cutting machine well can achieve twice the result with half the effort, while maintaining a laser cutting machine well can save costs to the maximum extent. Since the price of a laser cutting machine ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions.

Although high-quality after-sales service can provide some basic guarantees, regular and comprehensive maintenance is the top priority to truly extend the service life of the laser cutting machine, thereby achieving low investment and high returns in the true sense. So how can we properly maintain the laser cutting machine? The following five tips will help you clear all maintenance problems.

1. Cleaning of components of the laser cutting machine 

In order to ensure that the laser is always in normal working condition, after working continuously for two weeks or stopping use for a period of time, the components in the optical path such as the laser lens should be checked before starting the machine to ensure that the optical components are free of dust pollution, mildew and other abnormal phenomena. If there are any abnormal phenomena, they should be cleaned and cleaned in time to ensure that the optical components will not be damaged under strong laser irradiation. (If the equipment is used in a relatively clean environment, the above inspection can be extended to one month or even longer)

Specifically include:

1. Replacement of circulating water and cleaning of water tank of the laser cutting machine:

Before the machine works, it is necessary to ensure that the laser tube is filled with circulating water. The water quality and water temperature of the circulating water directly affect the service life of the laser tube, so the circulating water should be replaced regularly and the water tank should be cleaned. It is best to clean it once a week.

After long-term use, white scale will appear in the tube. At this time, a small amount of vinegar should be added to the circulating water. After the scale is removed, the laser tube should be flushed with pure water, which will also extend the life of the laser tube.

The purity of cooling water is also the key to ensuring the laser output efficiency and the life of the laser focusing cavity components. During use, the conductivity of the internal circulating water should be checked once a week to ensure that its conductivity is 30.5MW·cm. It is best to replace the deionized water in the internal circulation once a month, and the conductivity of the newly injected pure water should be 32MW·cm. At the same time, you should always pay attention to the color changes of the ion exchange column in the cooling system. If you find that the color of the resin in the exchange column has changed to dark brown or even black, you should replace the resin immediately.

It is worth noting that in a high temperature or humid environment, the laser should also be operated at any time to observe whether there is "condensation" caused by low water temperature on the cooling water circulation pipe or laser focusing cavity. The "condensation" phenomenon will cause damage to the end face of the YAG crystal, resulting in a decrease in output power or even failure to emit light. If "condensation" occurs, the use of the laser welding machine should be stopped immediately. After the moisture on the surface of the focusing cavity dries naturally, recheck the condition of the YAG optical surface to determine whether to clean the YAG rod. Only when everything is normal can the machine be turned on again. Before turning on the machine, pay attention to appropriately adjust the lower limit setting temperature of the thermostat.

2. Fan cleaning of the laser cutting machine :

During the long-term use of the fan in the machine, a lot of solid dust will accumulate in the fan, causing the fan to produce a lot of noise, which is not conducive to exhaust and deodorization. Dust will also cause the insulation performance of electrical components to deteriorate and cause electrical breakdown, aggravate the wear of the motion system and reduce the accuracy, and make the light output of the optical path system weaker or even unable to output light. When the fan has insufficient suction and smoke exhaust is not smooth, it is necessary to clean the fan. You can use a rag to clean the surface of the equipment, and use a long-bristled brush and a high-pressure air gun to flush the inside of the equipment.

3. Lens cleaning:

The reflector and focusing lens on the machine are easily contaminated with dust or other pollutants, which will affect the engraving and cutting depth, and will also affect the engraving and cutting accuracy, causing laser loss or lens damage. Generally, it is necessary to wipe the three reflectors and one focusing lens carefully with anhydrous alcohol in about a week (depending on the frequency of use of the laser cutting machine).

When cleaning, pay attention to the following:

(1) The lens should be wiped gently without damaging the surface coating;

(2) The wiping process should be handled with care to prevent falling;

(3) When installing the focusing lens, please be sure to keep the concave surface downward.

4. Guide rail cleaning:

Guide rails and linear axes are one of the core components of the equipment. In order to ensure that the machine has a high processing accuracy, its guide rails and linear axes are required to have high guiding accuracy and good movement stability. During the operation of the equipment, a large amount of corrosive dust and smoke will be generated by the processed parts, and these smoke and dust will be deposited on the surface of the guide rails and linear shafts for a long time, which will have many adverse effects on the processing accuracy of the equipment, and will form corrosion points on the surface of the guide rails and linear shafts, shortening the service life of the equipment. The machine guide rails should be cleaned every half a month, and the machine should be turned off before cleaning.

2. Tightening and lubrication of screws and couplings

After the motion system has been working for a period of time, the screws and couplings at the motion connection will become loose, which will affect the stability of the mechanical movement. During the operation of the machine, it is necessary to always observe whether there are abnormal sounds or abnormal phenomena in the transmission parts, and tighten the screws one by one with tools after a period of time. The first tightening should be about one month after the equipment is used.

Since the cutting machine is particularly sensitive to vibration, its working environment should be selected away from places with vibration sources such as punching machines and heavy object handling. Anti-vibration pads can be installed to avoid the impact of the environment on the machine. In addition, there are several synchronous belts in the transmission system of the laser cutting machine. If the synchronous belt is too loose, the engraved font will appear ghosting. If the synchronous belt is too tight, it will cause synchronous belt wear. After using it for a period of time, the tension screw of the synchronous belt should be properly adjusted until the engraved text does not have a ghost image.

In addition to tightening the adjustment screws, some bearings of the laser cutting machine need to be regularly refueled (except for oil-containing bearings). You can use a clean soft cloth to wipe off the loose soil on the bearing, use a needle to suck the oil into the needle, and then slowly inject the bearing with a needle. Slowly rotate the bearing while filling the oil.

3. Check the optical path

The optical path system of the machine is completed by the reflection of the reflector and the focusing of the focusing mirror. Although the focusing mirror will not be offset in the optical path under normal circumstances, it is recommended that users must check whether the optical path is normal before each work. The X-axis guide rail and lead screw, Y-axis guide rail and lead screw, and Z-axis guide rail and lead screw lubricating oil filling should be checked every other week to keep the lubrication of each moving part and extend the service life of the X, Y, and Z-axis guide rails and lead screws.

Equipment operators can also frequently use black photo paper to check the laser output spot. Once the spot is uneven or the energy is reduced, the laser resonant cavity should be adjusted in time to ensure the quality of the laser output beam.

4. Heat protection and heat removal

The increase in temperature will reduce the insulation performance of the equipment and the parameters of the components. It is usually stipulated that the working environment of the cutting machine should not exceed 40℃, and 20~25℃ is most suitable.

V. Precautions during daily maintenance of the fiber laser cutting machine 

1. The installation fulcrum of the laser tube of the laser cutting machine should be reasonable. The fulcrum should be at one-fourth of the total length of the laser tube, otherwise the laser tube spot pattern will deteriorate, causing the laser power to drop and fail to meet the requirements;

2. The suction device should be checked and cleaned regularly, and the fan duct should be cleaned, otherwise the dust will quickly contaminate the lens and laser tube, causing the mechanical and electronic components to oxidize easily and cause poor contact;

3. The power of the power grid must match the equipment itself;

4. The working current of the laser tube must be reasonable, and it cannot be kept working at full power for a long time. The power of the laser equipment should be adjusted to 50%-60% of the total power when it is working. The laser should be used reasonably and the laser energy should be saved. The optical path system should also be cleaned regularly, otherwise it will cause premature aging and rupture of the laser tube;

5. Dirt and dust on the machine body, cutting head, sensor and other parts should be removed in time to keep the appearance of the machine clean;

6. Inflammable materials (such as gloves and rags, etc.) in the machine should be cleaned in time to prevent fire during cutting;

7. Iron slag on the funnel waste car should be cleaned in time to ensure that the cutting waste can fall smoothly;

8. Before the machine is jammed every day, the pressure of the working gas and the working of the reducing valve should be carefully checked to avoid insufficient air pressure, which will affect the quality of the cutting section;

9. Before use, the connection of each gas pipe of the cutting head should be checked to determine whether the cooling water has leaked to ensure the normal supply of gas and cooling water;

10. During the debugging process, a piece of black metal material with good absorption performance should be placed on the optical path of the laser output as a beam terminator to prevent fire accidents.

Only by correctly mastering these five tips for maintaining the laser cutting machine can the laser cutting machine have a longer life, thus truly achieving low cost and high return.