X Axis Drag

[twehr]

After some recent upgrades I found the engraving quality was not acceptable.

After a few hours of work, I discovered the problem - the laser head just did not move freely.

You can see a video and read a full explanation here.

[baccus61]

Welcome to MY world, Tim.
Mwahahahhaaaaarrrrr.

Been there, done that 20 times....

Although, it's probably one of the better things about building your own table in that you can pull it apart and actually find out what is wrong without going through a warranty claim and it taking weeks to fix.

There is a certain amount of satisfaction you get from it and because you share your hard earned knowledge others can benefit from it without having to go to university to work things out for themselves.

Maybe you should swap out the bearings with sealed ones from VXB instead of the shielded ones.

It might help in the long run.

You should see what vinyl plastic sheeting does to the steel mechanisms. The acid attacks everything. I didn't know what it was until about 10 cuts into the job (500 snowflakes 6" big). I had cut plastic before and I use a carbon activated face mask when doing it but this stuff was yellow and thick and after 2 days my Bright new linear rails were rusted.

I won't make that mistake again.

There is so much to be on the lookout for when doing this type of work that sometimes you take things for granted.

Be well.
Rich.

[twehr]

There is a certain amount of satisfaction you get from it and because you share your hard earned knowledge others can benefit from it without having to go to university to work things out for themselves.

As my friend Bart (BuildLog.net) says: "If you didn't build it, you can never own it."

Maybe you should swap out the bearings with sealed ones from VXB instead of the shielded ones.

I may look into that.

I had cut plastic before and I use a carbon activated face mask when doing it but this stuff was yellow and thick and after 2 days my Bright new linear rails were rusted.

I will be upgrading my laser to use the new MakerSlides, which is an integrated v-rail/aluminum extrusion. I am already using Delrin v wheels, so no rust there. Just need to keep the crud out of the bearings.

[baccus61]

Well, My old friend "Automate set cut direction" came back which caused the foul cut path to happen again.

I haven't checked that setting for ages as it was the culprit the first time I had erratic problems and have never tried to set it again. I don't know why it ended up being set 2 days ago. It really has set me back 2 days out of my holidays but at least I now know where to look. I can't wait for the new manuals to come out that might explain the reasoning behind some of these bizarre setting.

I wonder what it is actually for and whether it really does work as intended. It never has for what I cut!

I must stop crying "Wolf" every time some little thing grinds me to a halt.

I must be more objective in my approach.!

I go to the buildlog.net site a bit now and there is some really good stuff there but I think it needs a bit of an overhaul so the items are a bit more structured and easier to find. Ha! Listen to me! I can't even build a web site.

Richard.

[twehr]

Well, My old friend "Automate set cut direction" came back which caused the foul cut path to happen again.

I haven't checked that setting for ages as it was the culprit the first time I had erratic problems and have never tried to set it again. I don't know why it ended up being set 2 days ago. It really has set me back 2 days out of my holidays but at least I now know where to look. I can't wait for the new manuals to come out that might explain the reasoning behind some of these bizarre setting.

I wonder what it is actually for and whether it really does work as intended. It never has for what I cut!

I must stop crying "Wolf" every time some little thing grinds me to a halt.

I must be more objective in my approach.!

I go to the buildlog.com site a bit now and there is some really good stuff there but I think it needs a bit of an overhaul so the items are a bit more structured and easier to find. Ha! Listen to me! I can't even build a web site.

Richard.

Rich,

The automate cut path is intended, I believe, to provide a higher efficiency processing path. Using it, I have seen it do PART of an engraved image, move to doing PART of a vector cut, and return to finish the engraving and then finishing the vectors. In theory, it is good. The reality is that it causes more issues than it solves. I occasionally find that mine is reset as well, so I try to remember to check when I download the job.

BTW - it is BuildLog.net (not .com) - correction for anyone wanting to visit one of the best DIY sites on the web.