Regular cleaning of our laser engraving machines can greatly extend the machine's life. Machine breakdown may cost you a fortune. So to make sure your Co₂ Laser Engraving Machine can keep working all year round efficiently, we need to machine maintain it regularly. You can also check the gweikecloud user manual, which has detailed information about the maintenance of each machine part. Machine maintenance is mainly for the following parts.

• Workbench and honeycomb panels
• Drawers
• Focus lenses and reflectors
• Water cooling system
• Fan
• Guide rail and machine lubrication

How often to maintain the CO2 laser cutting machine

How often is the most appropriate time for us to maintain the machine? Here are my recommendations for the laser maintenance to gweike cloud. Other brands can also refer to the following suggestions. And the following recommendations are the maintenance frequency you will use the machine every day. If you only use it once in a long time, You can extend the time of co2 laser maintenance appropriately.

Daily:

Workbench, honeycomb board, drawer cleaning
Check the focus mirror and reflector for dirt
Check whether the cooling system water flow/impurities

Weekly:

Focusing mirror, reflector calibration, and cleaning
Check whether the wiring is connected properly and whether there is damage to the housing

Biweekly:

Lubricate machine guides and bed

Monthly:

Clean/check air assist system

Workbench/honeycomb panel - laser maintenance

The laser engraving/cutting process will produce a lot of smoke or debris, so after the cutting is finished, we need to tap the honeycomb board by hand to take out its residual material for reuse or pour it out directly. At the same time, we need to pour out the impurities that fall into the drawer.

Note: We should clean the workbench after each carving

Focusing Mirror - laser maintenance

The principle of laser cutting is to converge the light beam through the lens into a small point to achieve fast cutting. So keep the focusing mirror clean. Tiny dirt may affect the intensity of the laser beam. And the lens is very thin. We have to be extra careful in the wiping process. It is recommended to prepare the following tools.

Alcohol (or isopropyl alcohol), wiping paper (or soft wiping towel), cleaning solution (the lens is cleaner and can not be prepared)

The steps to cleaning the laser focus mirror

1. Remove the laser head nozzle
2. Unscrew the laser focusing lens fixing ring, and then remove the lens
3. Moisten the focusing lens with alcohol, then gently make circular movements on the lens
4. Do not touch the lens with your fingers during the wiping process until the lens is clear and clean
5. Then assemble the focusing lens and laser head back in order

Note:

1. The lens must be correct during installation (you should be able to see your reflection in the lens after installing the focusing lens)
2. The fixing ring should not be too tight. It will cause the lens to break
3. The wiping process must be very careful. The lens movement may lead to a poor laser focusing effect. After the installation is complete, you need to check the focus of the laser beam (the specific operation can go to the website online consultation)

Cleaning Laser Cutting Machine - water cooling system

The cooling water system helps to protect the laser tube from rupture during the working process due to overheating. So it is important to ensure that the liquid inside the water-cooled tank is clean during the operation of the machine.
I suggest you clean the water pump system regularly once a month, even if there are no obvious impurities in the tank. At the same time, we can all clean off the water tank, the laser tube, and other dirt that can be seen around us.

However, different brands of laser cutting machines are supported by other cleaning methods, the specific reference to their own machine's user manual.

The steps to cleaning the cooling water system

First, drain all the water from the pump.

Then, take out the pump from the bucket and clean the pump and the pump pipe with distilled water.

If the pump pipe is not cleaned with distilled water, it is recommended to replace it.

Then fill the bucket with distilled water and replace the lid and hose.

Notes:

Check whether the water in the tank flows after the installation.
Check whether there are bubbles in the laser tube. Repeatedly opening and closing, the air pump still has bubbles after the need to move the tank higher.

Cleaning Laser Cutting Machine - Fan

The fan absorbs the fumes generated during the cutting process, so it is the most likely of all machine parts to accumulate dust. Regular cleaning can improve its efficiency in absorbing smoke.

We need to wipe its surface with a cleaning towel and then use a brush to clean it slowly inside. If the fan stains are difficult to clean or have become so serious that they affect their everyday use, you need to buy a new one.

Laser cutting machine lubrication

If you need to use the machine every day, it is recommended that you lubricate the guides and the bed twice a month. This will reduce the friction between the machines.

Steps for applying oil to the machine

1. Use a rag to lubricate the machine's linear guide, Y-axis guide, and 4 bed screws
2. Every 2 weeks, OMTech recommends that you clean and re-lubricate the X-axis guideway, Y-axis guideway, and 4 bed screws.

FAQ

The role of each part of the CO2 laser cutting machine

1. Fan
   When cutting wood, MDF, and other materials, smoke or fine chips are easily generated. If not sucked out in time, debris accumulation will seriously affect machine parts' use. So we must maintain the fan regularly, and we put the fan impeller on the dust and debris we must clean up on time.
2. Air-assisted compressor
   This is a part we should have mentioned above in the daily maintenance. Its location is next to the water tank. The main purpose is to collect air and supply it to the nozzle next to the cutting head. This can reduce the risk of fire during the cutting process. However, it may affect the engraving paste.
3. Lubrication
   This is mainly to ensure that the track and the bed can run smoothly to reduce friction.
4. Optics
   A fouled laser reflector and focusing mirror can cause the laser beam to weaken and not be more efficient at engraving and cutting. Also, dirt can cause the lenses to burn or break, so it is recommended that they be cleaned every 30 hours of accumulated use.
5. Water Chiller
   The main function is to cool the co2 glass tube to prevent the glass tube from overheating and exploding. Also, the coolant contains an antifreeze reagent. Even at zero, it will not freeze immediately. However, the machine is recommended to be used at an ambient temperature between 0-25°C. Too large a change in temperature will cause the machine to fail to operate or even be damaged.

Conclusion

Our regular maintenance of co2 laser cutting machines can greatly extend the machine's life. We can save a lot of money on maintenance by simply cleaning them. So why not?

Maintaining the machine will be a good thing for you. The first cleaning may take you more time, but as the number of operations increases, you will spend less and less time maintaining the machine each time.

You can also check the machine's wiring together during maintenance in addition to the parts that need to be cleaned regularly, as mentioned above, to prevent them from deteriorating and loosening or breaking.