Tools/laser

Pirahna 1060 Laser Cutter

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This tool requires induction

Owing to it's dangerous nature, delicate nature, or expense, this tool requires that you be inducted on it's proper handling before use.

Introduction

The laser cutter is one of our most heavily used tools, it's a 90W CO2 laser system with a 1000mm x 600mm bed. At the moment we limit the power output of the laser to 68W in order to extend the life of the laser tube as that's the most expensive consumable part of the laser system. At this setting it's able to cut a variety of materials including Acrylic (up to 18mm thick), MDF (up to 14mm thick) and Plywood (up to 16mm thick), pine board (up to 18mm thick) and can be used to make a huge range of items from light fittings to jigsaws. Owing to it's expense and delicacy the laser cutter requires members to have an induction before they can use it.

Current Status

Date	Status	Comment
2nd April 2019	Fully Operational	The laser is functioning normally but limited to 75% power to preserve tube life

Laser Troubleshooting

Here's some common issues that crop up on the laser and how to fix them

Symptom	Cause	Fix
RDWorks is coming up in hieroglyphics	Usually means it has managed to crash, and had defaulted back to it's out of the box setup - which is Chinese!	To reset it, go to the Help Menu - then to the Language and pick English.
RDWorks isn't talking to the laser	RDWorks has crashed and defaulted back to it's out of the box setup	At the bottom right, press the what looks like a button, where it says "USB: Auto" then change it to "web", and an IP address of 172.16.0.100
RDWorks isn't talking to the laser	RDWorks version 8 or later has been installed	The laser will not work with any version of RDWorks after version 7, make sure you're running the right one
Bed won't rise high enough	The head has been knocked and moved upwards, preventing it from focusing properly on thin sheets	To fix it home the laser both in the XY and the Z modes, place the 6mm focus block under the head while at the home position, and then turn the knurled ring on the red tube to release the head, make sure to be holding it so it doesn't drop out! Set the head height so that it's just touching the focus block while in that position and tighten up the knurled ring again, you'll now have the head in the proper focus position and can cut using normal procedure.

Planned Upgrades

Parts and upgrades that are planned/Budgeted/Purchased for in the near future

Add dynamic auto-focus system apparently supported by controller
Create long-focus lens system for deeper cutting

Pirahna 1060 Caretakers

Inductions

The following people are able to provide inductions on the Pirahna 1060

Name/Contact	Notes
Tony-S
James-M
Steve-R

Maintainers

These are the people who look after and repair the Pirahna 1060, they're the ones to contact if there's any problems with it

Name	Notes
Steve-R	In reading around 50% of the time, fast response if in reading
Richard-I
Rupert-E

Recent Changes

If you make any non-trivial changes to the Pirahna 1060 or perform maintenance please note it here, delete records older than 1 yr

Water changed again and new water filter installed to hopefully keep biofilms at bay. Aiming laser aligned and made functional. Main beam alignment checked, slightly out but will not be adjusted yet to allow for frame settling. Stever (talk) 18:33, 12 April 2019 (UTC)
New tube fitted and aligned, coolant replaced and cooling system cleaned, aiming laser installed, desk modified, laser feet fully deployed Stever (talk) 02:34, 3 April 2019 (UTC)
Optical Path clean and re-aligned, tube is starting to show signs of age, at next re-aligment carefully check beam roundness at all points. Stever (talk) 07:57, 17 February 2019 (UTC)
The entire optical path has been thoroughly cleaned and re-aligned. Stever (talk) 17:43, 17 November 2018 (UTC)
Ethernet port has been relocated to the back panel and fitted with industrial connector Stever (talk) 18:06, 14 November 2018 (UTC)
3 redundant switches on the right side of the laser have been removed and blanked off, sockets on the back of the laser are now permanently live. Stever (talk) 11:25, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
Current control dial has been relocated to inside the laser and locked at maximum since it wasn't being used and provided an opportunity for things to go wrong if mis-set Stever (talk) 16:16, 21 October 2018 (UTC)
PC power supply went "pop" and blew fuse - Thorough cleaning restored function. Stever (talk) 07:10, 21 September 2018 (UTC)

Image Gallery

Pirahna 1060 Laser Cutter/Engraver
The "Scary Chinese lady"

The "Scary Chinese lady"
Laser cutting head
The main wiring bay (not showing the HV power supply)
Our new laser tube under test