Questions about proper Laser Setup
How can I know that the Laser is working as it should.
Somehow I am having troubles cuttig plywood with the Laser. I do have the Lens from the Kickstarter Auction installed, but I am not sure if I got the right side up & down. Tried both but the Results are very similar.
Engravings work, except that they always burn very deep into the plywood, but I am not able to cut the Plywood within 1 go. Even hitting the Laser with 30amps and a travel speed of only 800, the plywood isn't really getting cut. The Plywood is about 4mm thick. The Gaps of the Cut are also quite thick when hitting the Plywood with >20 amp
What would I have to check, as cutting plywood looks easy in youtube.
Cutting plywood can be easy but there are many different grades of plywood. Also the glue between the layers makes a huge difference. Baltic birch or airplane plywood is the type of plywood you should look for. Also the tube's and mirror's condition is important. My first tube did not cut at all because the first mirror had glue on it that came out because of the heat from the laser beam. Note : never run you laser at full capacity since it limits the laser tube life span (from 1000 hours to say 10 hours).
The lens installation is demonstrated in my video (on the installation page for the drag chain/lens install). It's very easy, the concave side should be facing up (in coming beam) while the flat side should be facing down to the workpiece e.g. plywood (outgoing beam)