State of Lasers - June 2023

Laser
#1

Warning, I’m writing this at like 1:30 a.m. so a bit rough around the edges, I’ll clean it up soon :tm:

Posting this thread to track maintenance efforts for the laser committee area, and post updates on new recorded issues.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS THREAD REPORTING ISSUES.

Issues should be reported as normally within their own tickets, once I’ve triaged them (or some other maintainer), this thread will be updated.

(If you post a reply on this thread complaining about an issue, and there is not a recent post for it, I’ll ignore it, please remember that all our time is equally as valuable.)

As of today, June 6:

  • Fusion: seems to be in perfect working condition
  • Donner: working pretty well, does need a new lens soon and some other minor stuff. Currently the best condition of the three Thunder lasers.
  • Blitzen: is in working order, lenses and mirrors are clean/ in decent condition. The rear alignment mirror is a little bit off, and so there is a little bit of shadowing/drift in alignment as the head moves from back to front.
  • Big Thunder: I’m pretty sure the rear mirror is either cracked or damaged, it does not seem to be focusing the laser light out properly. Big Thunder is still usable, but only in the left rear quadrant for the most part. Otherwise lense and mirrors are in decent shape.

A couple of days ago went through and cleaned/oiled the machines pretty thoroughly and movement is a bit smoother. If people are interested in helping maintaining the lasers, please DM me here or on Discord and I’ll work out a time to 1:1 teach/show you the basic maintenance steps at least.

Goals for the next week or so:

  • If we have some lenses available, I’d like to swap out one or two that seem slightly scratched.
  • Figure out the issue Big Thunder is having with alignment, pretty sure this is just going to be a mirror replacement but haven’t confirmed yet.
  • Fix the alignment of Blitzen (this isn’t too difficult, just requires two people)
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#2

Thanks for all your hard work. If you need help aligning Blitzen, I can help with that.

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#3
#4

Couple quick updates:

  • Thanks to Thunder USAs donation, we have a new bed for big thunder as well as some new lenses/mirrors/etc.
  • Big Thunder is working again, although due to a slight alignment issue, you do get less power in the right/ lower area. Hoping to get this fixed within the next couple days.
  • Blitzen is completely down for now, seems like there’s a sensor error which is causing the head to slam into the side forcefully. I have not yet verified if this is just a loose cable or an actual sensor replacement needed case.
  • Donner is in fine working order.

As a reminder, please make sure to fully clean up after yourself and put away parts/clean up the lasers when done. This includes removing any rotary attachments, turning off the laser, etc with the fusion, and reverting any settings you may have changed for the thunders.

I know not everyone is trained in maintenance of the machines, but remember that a quick vacuum and/or a gentle wipe down with a towel can go a long ways to helping keep the laser online.

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#5

Wow! That’s really great of them to do this! And whoever managed it from DMS side, as well. :clap: :clap: :clap:

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#6

On which specific parts?

#7

Of pretty much whatever. Because of our location relative to the wood shop, and also the materials cut in the lasers, everything is always covered in dust…from the glass to view into the laser, to the tracks the laser runs on, to the computers that are used there.

There’s a lot of junk that falls down below the bed, which requires a key to get into, but if you’re one of the lucky ones, who knows what you’re doing, getting some of that stuff vacuumed out every now and then helps a lot. If not, there’s plenty of little chips that end up all around the lasers, and computers and so on.

I think I’ve mentioned above, but for people that are interested in helping maintain the lasers, I’m happy to teach you one-on-one over some basic stuff. I haven’t scheduled anything with people yet, still trying to put together some maintenance docs from Thunder and the like, but should be soon.

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#8

I wanted to confirm that you are including lenses and mirrors in that list that should be toweled off.

EDIT: FWIW, every time I use the lasers I use a camera lens cleaning bulb to blow dust out of the computers. It’s obviously a weak stream of air but a huge cloud of dust always releases.

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#9

If you are comfortable/know how to properly clean the lenses, feel free. For typical members if they don’t know how to do this… this was more a reminder that helping starts even on the outside of the machine.

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#10

I suspected you meant the bed/outside and wanted to confirm that you weren’t encouraging “typical members” to take a towel to the optical train! Thanks for the clarification.

#11

Question about cleaning - The pieces I’m cutting have some 6mm holes, and some of the plugs fall through the bed when I remove the finished item. Do I need to do anything to clean that up?

#12

There ‘should’ be recurring monthly ‘Laser Maintenance’ days (usually immediately following monthly Laser Committee meetings).

I recommend getting involved with the Laser Committee, and attending one of these monthly committee meetings/clean-up and maintenance days. That is the best way to learn more about how to maintain the lasers (including how to clean up those pesky small pieces that fall through the laser beds). Messaging @Team_Laser is the first step to learn about upcoming Laser maintenance and committee meetings, and getting actively involved in the care and feeding of the lasers.

#13

Thanx - did exactly that tonight!

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