Stumbling Blocks (Almost) Overcome!
almost 9 years ago
– Thu, Jan 28, 2016 at 11:06:24 PM
As you all know, the Laser arrived on November 9. The tech arrived to test the laser, align the beam and set-up the program for the run. Unfortunately, the temperature was around 0 Celsius. Apparently, the laser is required to be kept at a constant 15 C. So a whole laundry list of things was required to bring the shop up to speed. So, here is what has been happening since then.
First the area for the laser had to be isolated, so I built an insulated wall, with a separate access door, and insulated the overhead door.
Then I needed to do some gas fitting to bring natural gas into the shop for heat.
Buy and install a 30,000 BTU gas heater.
I know... why didn't you use electric?
Because the laser requires 30 AMP @ 240V, plus a 15 AMP Blower, a 15 AMP 110V Extraction fan, etc. etc.... so: I needed to run 240V 30AMP from the subpanel 20 feet away into the new workspace. Simply put... I didn't have the circuits for electric heat.
Instead of spending in excess of $2,500USD on an extraction fan and 'scrubber', I 'built' one for around $400. Gotta love You Tube.
Okay, so here is a shot of the completed shop.
So, all ready, right? Not quite. The tech showed up yesterday morning and everything was great! I had the old PC running XP as requested. Purchased second hand. Now, I'm a Mac guy, and apparently I was sold a dog. After 3 hours of setting up software and linking to the Laser, it died. Not before we realized that James assumed, and I didn't know, that the Ethernet cable that joined the two units had to be a 'crossover' cable. Well, those are very hard to come by these days because all new tech is 'auto switching'. So off the the computer store to get a 'network switch'.
Got it installed, and the computer recognized the Laser as the 'Legacy 32EX Printer'... then it just shut off. Nothing we did could get it running. So James is coming back on Tuesday morning and I will have a 'NEW' computer, all pre-loaded with the required software, drivers, etc.
Then, we can run a full set test and determine the effective cutting dimensions of the table. While it says it is 32" x 20", that is not necessarily the 'effective area' but the table size. When that is determined, Kevin and I can begin to cut up the 32 sheets of acrylic in the shop.
When that is done, we can finally begin production. How long will it take? Not sure at this point until we can actually run a full set test. This is because the CO2 laser tube is determined to be at about 60% power. I can recharge it, but it is $2,500USD, so we need to wait until this thing starts to make us some money.
So... big question... when?
Tuesday we do the final set-up, determine effective cutting size, program tile locations for the engraving and cutting, cut a trial piece, run the program and time it. From that I can extrapolate the total running time/set for engraving and cutting and give you a more accurate timeline. All of the materials are here and waiting to be used. So, Look for an update next Tuesday evening or Wednesday, assuming ll goes as planned!
Regards,
Andrew and the Team (which is now just Andrew and Kevin...)