Minor Beam Alignment (Venus)

Material Needed

To do a minor beam alignment, you are going to need the following items.

• 1 90° ratcheting screwdriver
• 1 roll of masking tape or some thermal paper
• 1 regular flat tipped screwdriver
• 1 regular Phillips head screwdriver

IMPORTANT – PUT LASER LID UP: Anytime you are not firing the laser the lid of the laser should be up. When the lid of the laser is up the laser will not fire. While you are adjusting the mirrors you will not be firing the laser, make sure the lid is UP.

Inspect Alignment

To find out the extent to which your laser is out of alignment…

• Turn off Laser.
• Hold the start/stop button and pause button while you turn the machine back on.
• Continue to hold the start/stop button and pause button for 10 seconds then release.
• The display should read, “To start hardware test, use Function key.”
• Push the Function key.
• On the display it should say Check X Axis Sensor; press your Right arrow key until you get to the menu option that says Check Laser Source.
• Once there you will hit the Enter key.
• You will adjust your power level from 50% to 10% with the down arrow.
• Once at 10% power, you move the head of your laser to the bottom right hand corner of the table.
  • This puts the head at the furthest point
  • Once it is aligned here, it will be aligned for the whole table.
• Place a strip of masking tape over the hole on the left hand side of the head where the laser beam and
  red beam pass though. This will allow you to see the red beam on the masking tape.
• Make sure you DO NOT put the tape on the mirror.
• Close the lid of your laser.
• Push the Enter button to fire the laser until you see the masking being marked by the laser.
  • Usually you will see smoke – when you do, stop pushing the Enter button.
• Raise the lid of your laser. You will see where your red beam is and there will be a burnt spot showing you where the laser is hitting.

Correct the Alignment

The next task is to align the red beam with the visible burn spot left on the masking tape. You will need assistance form another person.

• The Red Beam mirror is the square mirror located to the left of mirror #1 down by the laser tube.
• There are 5 screws located on the back of the red beam mirror. The Allen head screw is NOT to be touched at all. You will use the 90° ratcheting screwdriver to make the adjustments.
• You will adjust one screw at a time, about 1/8th of a turn. Start turning it 1/8 of a turn clockwise.
• Ask the person assisting if you are getting the red beam closer to the burn mark or not.
  • If it is getting closer, do another 1/8 turn clockwise.
  • If not, go 1/8 of a turn counter-clockwise and then another 1/8 of a turn counter-clockwise.
  • See if that helps.
    • If it doesn’t, move it back 1/8 of a turn clockwise. Then adjust one of the other screws.
• Follow this procedure for each of the screws until the red beam is in the center of the burn mark.
• Now that the red beam and the laser are aligned together at the head. If if we adjust any of the mirrors, it will move both the laser and the red beam together.
• We will now need to adjust Mirror #3 on the left hand side of the rail.
  • To access this, you will lift the top of your machine.
  • On the left and on the right hand side of the laser, there are 3 screws.
  • Remove the two bottom ones, and lift up on the top of the machine like a hood of a car.
  • There will be a screw hole right next to the top screw that you left in.
  • Put the screw in about 3/4 of the way in and let the top of the machine rest on the screw.
• Adjust mirror #3 like you did the red beam mirror.
  • When you adjust this mirror, it will move both the red beam and the laser at the same time.
• Put a new piece of masking tape over the hole on the left hand side of the laser head.
• Adjust mirror #3 until the red beam is right in the center of the hole on the left side of the head.
  • The more centered it is the more aligned it is.
• Once it is adjusted, put the top back on the machine.
• Fire the laser again, by pushing the enter key until the tape burns and smokes.
• If the red beam and the laser are not together and right in the center of the hole, follow the procedure again.
• Once the red beam and the burn mark are in the center of the hole on the left hand side of the head of the laser, it will be aligned.

You can redo the 4 Square cut test. The squares should cut evenly.