12 Tips to Regular Maintenance of Laser Cutting

Daily Inspection And Maintenance of Laser Cutting Machine

Before starting up every day, carefully check the pressure of the laser working gas and cutting gas. If the gas pressure is not enough, replace it in time.
Check whether the buttons of X-axis zero point, Y-axis zero point, Z-axis zero point, laser preparation status, etc. are damaged, (check indicator light).
Check whether the zero point of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, the limit switch and the mounting screw of the striker are loose, and whether the limit switch of each axis is sensitive.
Check whether the circulating water level in the chiller is sufficient, if not enough, it must be added in time.
Check whether there is any leakage in the external optical circuit circulating water, and the leakage must be dealt with in time, otherwise the life of the optical lens will be affected.
After cutting every day, check the focus lens for damage.
Check whether the telescopic cavity of the outer optical path is burned or damaged.
After the daily work is completed, timely clean up the cutting waste, clean the work site, and keep the work site tidy and clean. At the same time, do a good job of cleaning the equipment to ensure that all parts of the equipment are clean and free of stains, and no debris can be placed on all parts of the equipment.
After the daily work is completed, open the drain valve of the air storage cylinder at the bottom of the air compressor to drain, and close the drain valve after the waste water is drained.
After the daily work is completed, shut down according to the shutdown procedure, and then turn off the total power supply of the entire machine tool.

Weekly And Irregular Maintenance of Laser Cutting Machine

Regularly clean up the debris at the exhaust vent to ensure the exhaust effect.
Regularly check the filter in the air path, and remove the water and debris in the filter in time.
Regularly check whether the screws of the limit switch bracket and the striker bracket are loose.
Clean the dust on the ventilation fan filter of the electric control cabinet in time to ensure good ventilation to facilitate the heat dissipation of the internal electrical components.
Clean up the sundries in the protective skin cavity of the guide rails in time to avoid damaging the guide rails and prolong the service life of the guide rails.
After the machine tool is installed and used for a period of time, the level of the machine tool should be readjusted to ensure the cutting accuracy of the machine tool
Every other week, the X-axis guide rail and lead screw, Y-axis guide rail and lead screw, Z-axis guide rail and lead screw must be checked for lubricating oil filling, to maintain the lubrication of all moving parts, and to extend the X, Y, and Z-axis guide rails and screws. The service life of the bar.
According to the environment of the workshop, check the contamination of the reflector and focusing mirror surface irregularly (at least once within a month), and clean the optical lens in time to ensure its service life.

Maintenance of The Optical Lens in The External Optical Path of Laser Cutting Machine

Do not touch the surface of the optical lens (reflector, focusing lens, etc.) directly with your hands, as this will easily cause scratches on the mirror surface. If there is oil or dust on the lens surface, it will seriously affect the use of the lens, and the lens should be cleaned in time.
It is strictly forbidden to use water, detergent, etc. to clean the optical lens. The surface of the lens is coated with a special film. If you use these to clean the lens, it will damage the surface of the lens.
Do not place the lens in a dark and humid place, as this will cause the surface of the lens to age.
The surface of the lens is stained with dust, dirt, or water vapor, which can easily absorb the laser and cause damage to the coating of the lens; in the slightest, it will affect the quality of the laser beam, and in the worst case, no laser beam will be produced.
When the lens is damaged, you should contact the HARSLE laser after-sales service department for repair in time. Try not to use the damaged lens, otherwise it will accelerate the damage to the repairable lens.
When installing or replacing the reflector or focusing lens, do not use too much pressure, otherwise it will cause the deformation of the lens and affect the quality of the beam.

How to Install or Replace The Optical Lens

1. Before installing the optical lens, please pay attention: wear clean, clean your hands with soap or detergent, and wear white clean and light gloves; it is strictly forbidden to touch the lens with any part of your hand; when taking the lens, you should wear gloves and Take the side of the lens and do not directly touch the coating surface of the lens.

2. When assembling the lens, do not blow into the lens with your mouth; the lens should be placed on a clean table stably with a few pieces of lens paper underneath. When taking the lens, you should be careful to prevent bumps and falls, and do not apply any force on the coating surface of the lens; the lens holder where the lens is installed should be clean, and a clean air spray gun should be used to clean the dust and dirt in the lens holder Then, take out the lens and gently put it into the lens holder.

3. When installing the lens to the lens holder, do not use too much force to fix the lens, so as not to deform the lens and affect the quality of the beam.

4. Precautions when replacing the optical lens: Take care when removing the lens from the packaging box to prevent damage to the lens; do not apply any pressure on the lens before the packaging paper is opened; take out the mirror and focus from the packaging box When taking the lens, wear clean gloves and take it from the side of the lens;

5. When removing the backing paper from the lens, avoid dust and other things falling on the lens; after taking out the lens, use a spray gun to remove the dust on the lens surface, and then put the lens on the optical lens special paper; remove the dust and dirt on the lens support frame and the fixing frame, and avoid other foreign objects falling on the lens during assembly; when installing the lens on the lens holder, do not use excessive force to prevent the lens from deforming; After the assembly is completed, use a clean air spray gun to remove dust and foreign objects on the lens again.

Steps to Clean The Lens

Different lenses have different cleaning methods. When the mirror surface is flat and there is no lens holder, use lens paper to clean, such as cleaning the mirror; when the mirror surface is curved or the mirror surface has a lens holder, you should use a cotton swab to clean, such as cleaning the focusing lens.

1. Steps to clean the lens with lens paper: Use a blowing balloon to blow off the dust on the surface of the lens; clean the surface of the lens with alcohol or lens paper. Do not use dry lens paper to drag directly on the lens surface, but place the lens paper flat. Put 2 to 3 drops of high-purity alcohol or high-purity acetone on the surface of the lens, and slowly pull out the lens paper horizontally toward the operator. Repeat the above actions several times until the lens surface is clean; if the lens surface is very dirty, Fold the lens paper in half 2 to 3 times and repeat the above steps until the mirror surface is clean.

2. Steps to clean the lens with a cotton swab: first use a spray gun to blow off the dust on the mirror surface; then use a clean cotton swab to remove the dirt; use a new cotton swab moistened with high-purity alcohol or acetone to move in a circular motion from the center of the lens to scrub the lens. After wiping for a week, change to another clean cotton swab and repeat the above operation until the lens is clean. Do not use cotton swabs that have been used for operation; clean the lens with a clean cloth to remove the residual marks on the mirror surface, and be careful not to Scratch the mirror surface; take the cleaned lens to a place with sufficient light to observe.

If the reflection of the lens is good, it indicates that the lens has been cleaned. If the reflection of the lens is not good, continue to clean the lens; remove the cleaned lens ，According to the method described above, place the lens on the lens holder.

Daily Maintenance of The Laser Generator

The laser should be maintained before starting daily.

Inspection of laser working gas and cutting gas: check the gas cylinder of laser working gas
Check that the cooling water pressure is maintained between 3.5 and 5 Bar.
Check the temperature of the cooling water, the temperature of the water required by the selected laser is better.
Check the oil level in the laser vacuum pump. If it is not enough, add it.
Check whether the laser oil circuit, water circuit, and gas circuit are leaking, and whether the pneumatic components and pipe joints of the vacuum pump and resonant cavity are leaking.

Weekly Maintenance of The Laser Generator

Check whether there is oil or water in the gas mixing unit of the laser, and clean it in time if there is any.
Check the laser gas drying filter, if more than 1/4 of the color becomes red or white, it needs to be replaced, and its normal color is blue.
Check the oil level of the vacuum pump and ROTZER pump. If it is not enough, add it.
Check the filter of the chiller for impurities.
Check for impurities in the laser cooling water circuit.
Check the condensate water level in the compressed air separator (located in the air supply unit). Check the oil level of the vacuum pump (located under the air supply unit). When the pump is in cold state, the oil level should be between +5mm-0mm of the middle line of the oil window, and refuel when necessary.

Maintenance of the Laser Generator Every 6 Months (or After 2000 Hours of Operation)

Check whether there is corrosion in the cooling water pipeline of the laser head of the laser. If there is any corrosion, deal with it or replace the pipeline in time.
Check whether the fuel tank of the excitation power supply is leaking.
Check whether the high-voltage cable is damaged.
Check and clean the inside of the laser cavity and all lenses, including front window mirrors, tail mirrors, reflectors, etc.
After the internal lens of the laser is cleaned up, the light output mode of the laser should be re-adjusted until the correct mode is reached.
Replace the vacuum pump oil.
Replace the Roots pump oil.
Tighten all screw plugs carefully to ensure the air tightness of the Roots pump.
There is a white plastic plug on the gas manifold at the gas outlet of the Roots pump. Clean the plug and coat the inner surface with silicone grease. The purpose of this silicone grease is to absorb and capture physical impurities in the circulating gas of the laser. (Only use silicone-free high vacuum grease and apply it very thinly).

Maintenance of Chillers

The chiller should be regularly maintained to ensure that the machine is in good condition

When working in the state, if you encounter a problem, you should ask professional technicians to repair it, and do not disassemble the machine by yourself.

The daily maintenance of the chiller should pay attention to the following aspects:

Clean the heat sink regularly. The cleaning method is: carefully brush the heat sink with a brush, and then blow it clean with compressed air. If necessary, clean and rinse with water and a special air-conditioning fin cleaner (common name polyester dust).
Clean the condenser regularly (the method is the same as above).
Regularly check the water level in the water tank of the chiller. If the water level is too low, add pure water or deionized water in time.
Regularly check the electrical wiring terminals and remove dust (to be done after power off).
Regularly check whether the joints in the water system are leaking, whether the pipeline is aging, and if there is water leakage, the relevant components should be replaced in time.
Regularly check the water quality in the water tank of the chiller. If the quality of the cooling water becomes poor, turbid, and its transparency decreases, all the degraded cooling water should be discharged in time and replaced with new cooling water.
Clean the impurities on the filter element regularly. If the filter element is damaged, it should be replaced in time. The replaced filter element must use the standard filter element required by the manufacturer.

Maintenance of Air Compressor

Before all maintenance operations, the air compressor must be turned off and the compressed air in the air tank must be drained;
Drain 3-8 times a day (depending on the air humidity), and drain the air and water in the air storage tank after get off work;
Clean the air filter every half month (the cleaning cycle should be shortened if the working environment is bad);
The filter element should be replaced every 1200 hours of work, all parts should be checked and cleaned, and the valve disc should be replaced if necessary.
Oil-free air compressors need to add grease to the crankshaft bearing in the compressor head every 1000 hours of operation;
Clean the air filter every half month (the cleaning cycle should be shortened if the working environment is bad);
Refer to the air compressor manual.

Maintenance of Refrigeration Dryer

Drain 3-8 times a day (depending on the air humidity), and drain the air and water in the machine after get off work;
Clean the air filter element once a month;
Dust and clean the condenser fins once a month; 4) Replace the air filter element every six months.

Maintenance of Regulated Power Supply

After the new stabilized power supply has been running for one month, cut off the main power supply and re-tighten all the connecting terminals in the stabilizer, especially the main circuit;
Check the elasticity of the sliding carbon brush every three months, and use dry compressed air to blow away the carbon powder and dust adhering to the components in the regulator.