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Author Topic: Material not cutting.  (Read 903 times)

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Material not cutting.
« on: August 17, 2020, 02:02:55 PM »
Even after 4 passes my 3mm plywood has not been cut through. Laser power is set to 45%  Mach4 wont allow me to set the laser higher than 45% the file runs ok but the laser does not turn on!  Laser draws 4.5 at 3.5Amps feed was varied between 100 and 1000mm with the same result. Can anyone help please.

10Watt+ Endurance laser.


(Start of GCode for simple box)
G01 X0 Y0 Z1 F250
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_PWM_PERCENTAGE=45)
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_FREQUENCY=20000)
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_GATE_DELAY=0.5)
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_GATE_DURATION=0.5)
m2004 (This will Enable the Vector Laser)
G01 X1 Y1 Z1
M62 P20   (This will turn ON the Laser Gate and PWM with the next motion command)
G01 X25 Y1
G01 X25 Y25
G01 X1 Y25
G01 X1 Y1
G01 X25 Y1
G01 X25 Y25
G01 X1 Y25
G01 X1 Y1
G01 X25 Y1
G01 X25 Y25
G01 X1 Y25
G01 X1 Y1
G01 X25 Y1
G01 X25 Y25
G01 X1 Y25
G01 X1 Y1
M63 P20   (This will turn OFF the Laser Gate and PWM with the next motion command)
(Move to the next position, and then start a new laser cut if desired...)
One step at a time!

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: Material not cutting.
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2020, 04:29:59 AM »
I think there are a couple of factors that need to be considered here…

Plywood is not always easy to cut as the layer bonding adhesive may not be susceptible to the wavelength of the laser beam and in addition the carbonization of the wood may, to a large extent, block the laser beam. To overcome this, or at least to partially overcome this, reasonable high pressure ‘air-assist’ is generally required to keep the kerf free from the carbon deposits (and the adhesive).
Although I have never tried it there is a laser-friendly plywood available from some suppliers and it is claimed that this cuts much easier and quicker than conventional ply. If you have not already tried it then perhaps ‘laser-ply’ is the way to go.

I am not certain just why you can only get 45% laser power, however, the Mach4 / ESS Laser combination is still in the development stages with bug-fixes and updates being made on a regular basis. Although progress has been painfully slow over the last couple of years it will get there in the end and the results that can be achieved using Mach4 and the ESS can only get better.

Tweakie.
PEACE
Re: Material not cutting.
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2020, 12:48:51 PM »
Well Tweekie, I persevered and did manage to cut successfully clean through some 3mm Plywood. I was dead dead chuffed. I also did a wee bit of test engraving to see how things came out. I'm quite pleased with the result. Your PP works great, I modify feed rate and laser power and add the 5 M200 macro's.  You set it up for Port1 so I have to change that also. Maybe I can edit your PP to do all this automatically.

Couldn't have done it without yours and everyone else's help. Many thanks

George
One step at a time!
Re: Material not cutting.
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2020, 04:18:38 PM »
Hi Tweekie, I attempted to modify your PP to add

G01 X0 Y0 Z1 F250
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_PWM_PERCENTAGE=45)
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_FREQUENCY=20000)
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_GATE_DELAY=0.5)
m2003 (LASER_VECTOR_GATE_DURATION=0.5)
m2004 (This will Enable the Vector Laser)
G01 X1 Y1 Z1
M62 P20   (This will turn ON the Laser Gate and PWM with the next motion command)

And also need to change all M62 and M63 to P20

Can you help

I'm getting the message
Expected 'Begin section' or 'End Section' to terminate current section on line 72 of the file.
C:\users\My modified pp location.
M2003 ( Laser-vector-PWM-Percentage =75)
One step at a time!

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: Material not cutting.
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2020, 01:57:02 AM »
Hi George,

Excellent work with that engraving, looks like you are well on your way now  ;)

Sorry but I can't help with the Post Processor as I no longer use Mach4 and could not test any modifications made.

Tweakie.
PEACE