Laser Focusing

[sschwarzman]

I have looked at the previous postings, and the owner's manual for the laser that Axiom is selling--- there is no statement about "focusing" the laser.  It seems that some of the users have some pretty good results with their laser--- mine are not so great.  I know that there are different results based on speed and material type/quality.  With that said, I'm wondering if focusing is necessary--- Jtech has a lot of information about the process of focusing but the Axiom manual says nothing.   Can those of you that have experience tell me if you have had to focus the laser?

Thanks in advance.

[gerry]

My laser document says to focus the bottom of the shield at 1/8" from object. I use the shank of a 1/8" bit for a gauge. It works great for me.

I'm going to have to rework the length of the skirt, though. They are so safety conscious that you can only laser things that are within 1/8" of bottom of skirt. That makes it realllllyyyy hard to laser in a pocket, etc. Along with the fact that Vectric is coming out with their laser add-on module to Vcarve & Aspire that will allow the lasering on top of 3D carvings, you need to be able to have more than 1/8" clearance and, hopefully, power control.

All-in-all the Axiom laser is a piece of junk. NO POWER CONTROL. Terrible build quality. Their 'mount' is 3D printed. They sent me three mount brackets to see which one fits 'best' after I complained about the mount accuracy. Come on.....'best fit' from a plastic mount. They try to cover it up with "It's only an engraving laser".

I think my best solution is to entirely replace their electronics. At least then I would have spindle speed control, a usable rotary (only the one they sell works on an Axiom), and a much better laser system that can be mounted at the same time as the spindle.

(RANT OFF)

[sschwarzman]

Rant or No Rant--- I appreciate your feedback.  I'm hoping that Axiom will weigh in on this as well.  I'll be doing a review on the laser in about a week and hope to be able to give some positive information as opposed to being negative.  

I just did a first try at the Aztec Calendar and the results are not good to say the least.

Stuart

Jul 4, 2020 14:48:42 GMT -5 gerry said:

My laser document says to focus the bottom of the shield at 1/8" from object. I use the shank of a 1/8" bit for a gauge. It works great for me.

I'm going to have to rework the length of the skirt, though. They are so safety conscious that you can only laser things that are within 1/8" of bottom of skirt. That makes it realllllyyyy hard to laser in a pocket, etc. Along with the fact that Vectric is coming out with their laser add-on module to Vcarve & Aspire that will allow the lasering on top of 3D carvings, you need to be able to have more than 1/8" clearance and, hopefully, power control.

All-in-all the Axiom laser is a piece of junk. NO POWER CONTROL. Terrible build quality. Their 'mount' is 3D printed. They sent me three mount brackets to see which one fits 'best' after I complained about the mount accuracy. Come on.....'best fit' from a plastic mount. They try to cover it up with "It's only an engraving laser".

I think my best solution is to entirely replace their electronics. At least then I would have spindle speed control, a usable rotary (only the one they sell works on an Axiom), and a much better laser system that can be mounted at the same time as the spindle.

(RANT OFF)

[loren]

Do the Elite models have spindle speed control?

That seems like a prerequisite for laser power modulation.

[Axiom Tool Group]

To begin...when you refer to focusing, I'm assuming you mean focusing the laser itself...much like a flashlight, adjusting the beam? In which case, we would expect that JTech has this all calibrated as they assemble and test each laser before sending them to us.

It's safe to assume that if any focus adjustment was needed, details would be included in their manual.


Presently, the focal distance is set so that you simply programmed the Z-0 location at approx. 3mm or 1/8" above the material.


Regarding Laser mounts fitting poorly...these are 3D printed, largely I assume to keep costs down and provide a laser for this retail price point. I can't say for certain as we do not manufacture these components ourselves. However, I'm not familiar with any of the component having fitment issues beyond that first run...of which JTech was happy to provide replacement parts for.

In the years since the release of this item, the mount and laser body/shroud have changed. Early modification to the laser included magnetic mounting so the mounting plate could remain in place...most recently the shroud and body where modified to allow easier us in dished and pocketed areas.

The laser can of course be used at a higher elevation for these pocketed and curved areas, but it can effect the beam width slightly as it changes the focal distance.


It is true that the JTech Laser used with our Axiom machines does not allow power fluctuations.

This was one of the first add on lasers for CNC released and the original machine design never took a laser add on into account...and the control system does not really allow for a way to easily adjust laser power. (We are working on a modification which we have hopes for)....


Presently, the Vectric Laser module does not work with our laser or control system.

Vectric had modified our post processor for testing, but the new module does not allow for laser operation the same way as our current hardware. The laser is setup to allow for ON/OFF switching between moves where as the module only allows for varying degrees of power. With luck we will have a solution soon....but must rely of collaborated efforts between our team and the control manufacturers.

[sschwarzman]

Thanks for the response--- my confusion comes from information on JTech's web page that eludes to focusing the laser. On their web page they talk about "focusing" the laser--- but never state that it doesn't apply to the one Axiom is selling. If we could just get some guidance as to what to do and what not to do that would be great. JTech needs to understand that we/I am going to their site and they need to be a bit better at segregating the information for us Axiom users? Believe me they confusion goes way beyond focus--- such as spindle speed settings, etc.

[lestes]

I am also trying to set up my 4.2 laser. Way more confusion than answers.
I just tried to run a tool path using the laser tool as Axion shows it setup. I have the laser pp installed. When I run an engrave tool path with all the suggested settings, choose the laser pp, and calculate I am not able to see a preview and when I go back to the tool path the pp has changed back to the standard Axiom carving tool path.
I am confused and am afraid to try to run a program until I fully understand that I have everything set up properly.

[gerry]

In the Preview Toolpaths, set the toolpath color to something like Black. It probably cutting, cut it's very shallow, so you can't see it. Are you setting up the laser as a mill?

[lestes]

I set my tool to the exact specs as you show and ran the test again. I have the tool path set to black. Still same results and pp reverts back to carving pp when I return to the engrave setup.

[sschwarzman]

did you ever get this figured out?

[johnniegonzales]

Has there been an update to the shroud for the laser that can be adjusted to the AR16 Elite machines? there is about 4in of distance from the bottom of the shroud to my spoil board and my Z axis is bottomed out. I don't work with anything over an inch of thickness.

( I did talk to support last year and, was told this issue was known and the only thing they could offer is for me to build something to put my work on, to get it up to the laser. I just stopped messing with it. Now I'm thinking of machining an adjustable bracket...)

also, there really should be a disclaimer or something stating that this will be an issue when you purchase a laser for the elite.

[Axiom Tool Group]

Aug 26, 2020 21:14:28 GMT -5 johnniegonzales said:

Has there been an update to the shroud for the laser that can be adjusted to the AR16 Elite machines? there is about 4in of distance from the bottom of the shroud to my spoil board and my Z axis is bottomed out. I don't work with anything over an inch of thickness.

( I did talk to support last year and, was told this issue was known and the only thing they could offer is for me to build something to put my work on, to get it up to the laser. I just stopped messing with it. Now I'm thinking of machining an adjustable bracket...)

also, there really should be a disclaimer or something stating that this will be an issue when you purchase a laser for the elite.

John, the Elite machines have approx 2" of additional height over the Pro series machines which the laser was originally designed to fit.

While both machine utilize the same spindle mount...allowing the laser to work on either.


Unfortunately, this would require either a new bracket that lowers the laser mount the added distance...or raising of the material slightly.


JTech has provided these lowering brackets in the past, however, lowering the laser beyond the spindle mount that much farther does increase the risk of unwanted vibration to the laser when the machine is rapidly engraving or rastering an area.


The best recommendation has remained raising the material if possible...however, if you prefer to lower the laser a bracket can be found through JTech Photonics.

[jimmylater]

Jul 4, 2020 14:48:42 GMT -5 gerry said:

My laser document says to focus the bottom of the shield at 1/8" from object. I use the shank of a 1/8" bit for a gauge. It works great for me.

I'm going to have to rework the length of the skirt, though. They are so safety conscious that you can only laser things that are within 1/8" of bottom of skirt. That makes it realllllyyyy hard to laser in a pocket, etc. Along with the fact that Vectric is coming out with their laser add-on module to Vcarve & Aspire that will allow the lasering on top of 3D carvings, you need to be able to have more than 1/8" clearance and, hopefully, power control.

All-in-all the Axiom laser is a piece of junk. NO POWER CONTROL. Terrible build quality. Their 'mount' is 3D printed. They sent me three mount brackets to see which one fits 'best' after I complained about the mount accuracy. Come on.....'best fit' from a plastic mount. They try to cover it up with "It's only an engraving laser".

I think my best solution is to entirely replace their electronics. At least then I would have spindle speed control, a usable rotary (only the one they sell works on an Axiom), and a much better laser system that can be mounted at the same time as the spindle.

(RANT OFF)

Thanks for just a good info