Tony vs the Flaming Laser Cutter ;)

[jes...@gmail.com]

Popped down the Hackspace for the first time in a while Monday evening to try laser cutting some wooden keyrings, and Tony deserves a large THANK YOU on two fronts:

1) It's been a while since my laser cutter induction, and he spent a good amount of time helping me get back up to speed and also showing me some of his tips and tricks for maximising performance amd getting the end results I was after

2) When we started cutting, the laser was frequently flaming quite intensely during the cut, and not operating at anywhere near it's usual performance level (even second re-cuts weren't working, costing me half a sheet of wasted oak plank).  Tony suspected it was in need of a good clean and set to work.  Half an hour later, this was the result (well, part of it, there was more in the bin):

He also cleaned out parts of the laser head that were partially blocked with residue, and fixed the airflow feed which wasn't working (for similar reasons, I think).

So consider me well educated in the importance of cleaning the laser cutter after use to avoid fire risk, particularly as Tony had cleaned it just as thoroughly at the weekend so all this lot had been deposited in around 24 hours.  Nothing like first hand experience to drive a lesson home!

And thanks again to Tony for all his help tonight, pics of the keyrings will follow when they are finished :)

~Jes

[mikethebee]

Well done Tony, I don't use the BigL much, but I wouldn't have the thought to 'clean' it in those important little places before use when I do. I would assume the previous user has not left it in such a state. Maybe cleaning protocol needs to highlighted. I Dyson it out, but checking for soot and such is something new. I will catch up with you for more info. 

And thx to Jess for the documentary. 

-Mike

[Tara Martel]

Obviously I hoover it out but I also sometimes give the lense thingy a quick wipe too but that's as far as it goes for me. Perhaps we should have a little workshop on first line maintenance.

[jes...@gmail.com]

I'd second that - I know to hoover and to also wipe if cutting something messy/resin-y (a lot of the brown gunk from this clearout was in that category), but not how to sort the cutting head.