Hello. I am on my 3rd machine and it now doesn’t work. Support is suggesting that I pay $1,600 for another refurbished machine because this one has no other solution to get it working (no idea why they’re saying it’s $1,600 now though I paid $1,1000 for the initial refurbished machine).
*I paid $1,100 for my 1st refurbished machine after my initial machine stopped working after ~4 years of use last August. The initial refurbished machine was a complete lemon and stopped working after 3 days of use so I had to return that machine and get the next machine at no cost - and that machine is the one I’ve been using for ~9 months. It arrived with coolant spilled all over it but they said it was fine to try it out and if it works just go ahead and keep that machine. I downloaded the error logs and found that there were immediate coolant errors on the day I turned it on, but the machine ultimately seemed to work normally for me (though the noise of the machine seemed way louder than my last machine while it was on). The same coolant errors are showing on the log now, and the app either shows that there is a temperature issue (despite the room being a cool 72 degrees at all times) or it just stays on ‘focusing’ with no movement from the laser head/arm.
Does anyone have another solution by chance? Any ideas on how to fix the machine? I have DEEEP cleaned it and vacuumed out the exhaust fan/cleared the air intake area & done all troubleshooting options that I’ve found anywhere on the site. I am very handy and can install any parts that may be faulty, though it’s hard to know if it’s a coolant pump issue or a laser head issue.
I’m obviously just a bit frustrated after using this machine for 9 months to have it crap out on me and it’s hard not to think that the coolant spillage has something to do with this machine.
If it lasted the first week it was not likely a loss of coolant problem. If you do not see bubbles in the laser tube after the first few minutes it is not about coolant issues. If it is overheating, it will pause, leaving the fans still running, and say it is cooling, and put a message at the bottom line in the GFUI. If it is in a space where the ambient air is above 80F, it will likely overheat even if everything is perfect otherwise. It is the temp in the laser head that is measured so even if the room is near but not above the maximum, it could still be an issue. Any CO2 laser will need such temperature considerations as it is in the nature of such a mechanism.
The yellow light by itself without saying it is overheating is a more generic error and the line of text at the bottom of the GFUI will give a clue. It certainly had me pulling my hair out till I discovered that a magnetic field messed with the carriage fan.
Thank you for your input. The log errors are all coolant temperature monitor issues and the room is at a constant 68-72 degrees though?
But yeah it’s hard to pinpoint the exact issue, as the display on the app does not always display a temperature issue (the last attempt to troubleshoot it just stayed on ‘focusing’ with no movement from the laser head/arm).
The “focusing” issue is often solved by turning the machine off, and moving the head to right under the lid camera. The only times I have had that problem I have found that the lid camera was much improved by a Zeiss wipe and worked well after that. There is also a red laser and camera at the bottom of the head that precisely measures the distance from the head to the material and those also can get smudged.
Over cleaning is often the cause of problems as wiping the ribbon out to that lens can cause it to mess up a connection and have the same issue as the machine gets the image through that cable. This is true in many places as any wetness in the wrong place can release the magic smoke that keeps the machine running.
Thus not only the sensors, but their connection to the main board that can have issues, sometimes minor and sometimes not.
You can make more coolant by mixing 8 oz of Glycol with 17 oz of distilled water. You can then use test strips to verify that the result is a 30% solution.