Co2 Gas Leakage

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Knight
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:27 pm
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Co2 Gas Leakage

Post by Knight »

Hi All,
I have a question regarding the Co2 gas in laser tubes.
My laser cutter has a RECI 100 Watt tube fitted.
The Production date on the tube is 26/10/2015. This means that it is just on 13 months old.

My normal cutting process has been to cut at the lowest speed and the lowest power setting that produces an acceptable cut. I decided that this would allow the tube to be active for a longer period of time. I considered at the time that the lower power setting would help the tube to last longer. A bit like keeping your foot lighter on the accelerator will use less petrol when driving.

I normally cut 3mm MDF at 35% power and 15mm/sec. I did a test yesterday and I find I can cut 3mm MDF at a 60% power setting at 40mm/sec and the cut appears better. (less burning).

I am now thinking that the power setting is less important in terms of tube longevity than time is.

So my question is:
Does the Co2 in the tube get used according to the power setting, thus reducing the tube capability and eventual failure of the tube, or,
is it simply the Co2 leakage that causes the reduction in power and eventual failure of the tube?

Or is a combination of both?

Given that my tube is now 13 months old, can I expect a sudden failure or do the Chinese tubes die slowly?
Should I start using a higher power/speed ratio per cut before it suddenly dies?

I should add that I don't own a Power meter so I have no idea what the actual power output is now. I would buy a Meter but they are expensive. I don't know of anyone locally who might use their Meter to test my power output.

The previous tube was a 100 Watt American tube, The production date on it was January 2001 and it was still cutting well when I purchased the laser cutter in 2015. The cutter is Taiwanese manufacture and was very expensive in 2001. Apparently the tubes they used did not leak, hence the 14 odd years of use.

Unfortunately the original tube cracked one morning due to a water switch failure.

Hope someone can offer some advice.

Thanks,
Regards,
Albert.
SWMS
Posts: 158
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2014 4:28 am
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Re: Co2 Gas Leakage

Post by SWMS »

I believe you are right about them leaking. I have no idea if you use co2 the harder you push the laser. I wouldn't have thought so because the power comes from the voltage, somewhere in the region of 23Kv :D and 0.23 amps. Lasers are pretty inefficient as that's roughly what a 60 watt runs at.

Tubes are generally given an expected life when you buy them. So many thousands of hours of use or years of ownership. Whichever comes first.
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