"engraving" paper? (And some tube life info)

Everything Else
21

On the conservative side of your estimate, (6 hours ) almost 25,000 hours!
Must be that mothering instinct. Hug and bathe your laser regularly!

I presume running it at 100% power would yield a shorter life than at an intermittent lower %?
Thanks!

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22

Apples and Oranges. Glass CO2 tubes vs metal tubes. Very, very different life times. At least according to my maintenance techs. Have had the luxury of not having to worry about whether it will work when I get there.

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23

So when a tube goes does it just stop or slowly putter out? (I know the power goes down as its used)

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Wonder what accounts for the difference between the two?
Glass is a thermal insulator while metal is a conductor…

25

I am under the impression that it goes like a lightbulb, but someone with real experience can feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

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Been told by “the guys” (all gender) that the answer is “yes”. Goes out in different ways, slowly and/or instantly for either.

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27

Haha, okay cool. Thank you.

28

http://www.checkmatelasers.com/QA-Whats-the-difference-between-glass-and-metal-laser-tubes.cfm

That is the definitely the difference between glass and metal tubes. Metal tubes cost way more than the whole glow forge does.

The glass tubes are one of my larger concerns with the Glowforge, we struggle to get 10 tubes through without failure and GF are having 1000s custom made in a bit of a rush.

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Linking back to previous topic on life expectancy of tube. I really appreciate the knowledge from experience that has been shared. Thanks @m_raynsford and @rpegg. Life Expectancy of Laser

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30

I use it mainly to cut polyester film (mylar) so its low power

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Thanks for digging up that link.
Interesting, informative comparison.

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32

Well, now I am thinking my bad memory is up to normal hijinx. Dropping or adding a 0 is quite an easy thing for me to do on accident. A quick google search doesn’t show any reliable rule of thumbs, and looking around my office I cannot find the documentation from when I got the tubes I have now.

So… I would be quite willing to say I am off by a factor of 10 to get closer to alignment with your actual experience.

@smcgathyfay & @printolaser bring up a valid point about power levels. The tube I have is a 60W glass CO2 from China.

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I don’t remember when I had to admit my memory was fallible… around 35 I think.
Disturbing it was.
That’s when I understood that “truth” was relative. If that’s the way you remember it - it’s real to you, whether or not it is accurate.:no_mouth:

34

we pay a great deal more than industry standard. When you get it, you’ll be able to eyeball it and see - it has more in common with $500+ higher end tubes than it does with the K40 specials.

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35

sounds like something you pick up at the corner gas station haha

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36

Since you are a regular laser user - can you SCORE materials like chipboard or standard corrugated cardboard? Thinking about using GF to make packaging prototypes, cutting the profile + scoring the folds out of flat stock…

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37

Absolutely. Its just a vector cut at lower power so it doesn’t go all the way through your material.

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Yes - there’s some old pictures of a mask that @dean made by scoring and cutting cardboard on here somewhere.

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39

Here’s the link!

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40

Thanks for the link Sir!