Tag: Laser Cutter

HLP-200B Laser Power Meter: Mirror Losses

With the manual laser pulse button in place, I measured the beam power at the entry and exit planes of Mirror 1 and Mirror 2, with the differences indicating something about the reflectivity (or lack thereof) of the molybdenum mirrors. Given that the losses are on the order of a few percent, tops, I expected this to be below the repeatability of the measurements.

The Mirror 1 entry point is basically the same as the laser tube exit:

HLP-200B – Laser tube exit

The Mirror 1 exit plane is perpendicular to that, just behind the mirror, but there is no way I can get a picture of the arrangement. Suffice it to say I do not want to ever put any body parts that close to an operating laser tube again.

The HLP-200B meter turned out to be exactly the right length to stand on its own in front of Mirror 2, although I needed a few test shots to figure out the lateral positioning:

HLP-200B Mirror 2 entry check

The Mirror 2 exit measurements were hand-held, with the meter braced against the mirror mount brackets on the gantry:

HLP-200B Mirror 2 exit

Without further ado, the results:

M1 Entry M1 Exit M2 Entry M2 Exit
35.5 31.2 30.3 32.9
28.3 30.6 29.1 32.6
31.8 22.8 27.8 28.9
30.3 29.0 29.4 28.5
26.9 28.4 28.7 27.0
31.1 31.7 28.6 26.9
30.7 29.0 29.0 29.5
2.99 3.27 0.84 2.67

The bold line gives the average of the six measurements at each position, with the sample standard deviation below that.

As expected, the pulse-to-pulse variations swamp any actual differences between the entry and exit power levels; Mirror 2 does not have a net power gain. A 2% loss in the mirror is 0.6 W at 30 W, obviously far too small for the HLP-200B meter to resolve.

I must once again set up the photocell to measure the stray IR scattered around the beam, measure the actual tube current, then see if the two vary as much as the HLP-200B says the beam power does.

2025-01-21
Stack Light: Controller Wiring
A stack light above the laser cutter makes the controller’s input and output status easily visible:

Stack Light – all on

Which will be especially valuable while I’m bypassing safety interlocks and poking around inside the cabinet.

The light is unavoidably upside-down from the industrial standard, because I ~~can’t~~ don’t want to mount it on the laser cabinet, and my use of color does not match the industrial convention. Neither of which matter for my simple needs.

In order from top to bottom:
- White = high flow assist air turned on
- Blue = chiller running, water flow / temperature good
- Green = controller running a job
- Orange = lid down
- Red = laser beam active
The blue and orange lights turn on when their inputs are active, so they positively show sensor satisfaction, rather than laser-disabling dissatisfaction. The entire stack lights up while the controller runs a job with assist air turned on, which is usually the case.

(See below for a slipstream update.)

The wiring diagram on the case is the only documentation enclosed with the stack light:

Stack Light – label diagram

Any power supply between 12 VDC and 24 VDC will work and, contrary to the label, the COM lead can be either polarity: the light works in either common-anode or common-cathode configuration. Because the laser controller inputs and outputs are all low-active, I wired the COM terminal to +24 V, so pulling the other leads to GND turns on their lights.

The overall connection diagram, in order from easy to hard:

Stack Light – wiring diagram

Some of the details behind the diagram explain what’s going on.

Stack Light – water protect wiring diagram

The water flow sensor is wired in series with the chiller, with a GND connection on the far end pulling the WP controller terminal low when both sensors are happy; the switches can handle another 50 mA of LED current with no problem.

Stack Light – L-ON wiring diagram

The HV power supply has an internal pullup to +5 V on its L terminal, which means the L-ON output terminal sits at +5 V when the laser tube is off. Connecting the stack light directly to the L-ON terminal dumps the LED current into the 5 V supply through the pullup resistor, producing a somewhat weak glow in the LED when it should be off.

Running the optoisolator input from 5 V solves that problem, as its diode will be off when the L-ON output is high. When it’s low, the diode turns on, the isolator’s output transistors conduct, and the stack light gets the full 24 V it expects.

Stack Light – lid sensor wiring diagram

The lid sensor normally goes only to the IntLock controller terminal, but I also ran it to the otherwise unused P terminal on the HV power supply, in the possibly misguided belief it would prevent the supply from firing with the lid up if it failed like the first one. Those two inputs have 5 V pullups, so the optoisolator handles the stack light’s 24 V supply.

Stack Light – status and assist air wiring diagram

When I added the dual-path air assist plumbing, diode D1 turned on the air pump when either the Status or the AuxAir output turned on. When the job calls for assist air, the AuxAir output opens a valve to increase the air flow.

The Status output is active when the controller is running a job and that’s generally the only time the AuxAir output will be active, but the machine console has an Air button that manually activates it, so diode D2 isolates the Status output in that unusual situation.

Slipstream update: I realized swapping the green & orange lights would make more sense:
- White = high flow assist air turned on
- Blue = chiller running, water flow / temperature good
- Green = lid down
- Orange = controller running a job
- Red = laser beam active
Done!
2025-01-15

Stack Light: EL817 Optoisolator Case

Rather than let the boosted optoisolators flop around:

Stack Light - controller hairball wiring — Stack Light – controller hairball wiring

A small case seemed like a Good Idea™:

Optoisolator Case - OpenSCAD — Optoisolator Case – OpenSCAD

The little hex standoffs have M3 threads, although 6 mm screws are about as much as they’ll take. The recesses have clearance for the boost transistor underneath the PCB, but it’s your responsibility to not let random wires get in trouble with the exposed circuitry:

A strip of good foam tape sticks it to the controller:

Stack Light - controller wiring — Stack Light – controller wiring

Admittedly, the stack light wiring remains something of a hairball, but it’s in a good cause.

The OpenSCAD code can build as many cavities as you need:

Optoisolator Case - x5 - OpenSCAD — Optoisolator Case – x5 – OpenSCAD

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// Optoisolator case
	// Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU
	// 2025-01-09

	include <BOSL2/std.scad>
	include <BOSL2/threading.scad>

	// Number of isolator mounts
	NumMounts = 2;

	/* [Hidden] */

	Protrusion = 0.1;

	PCB = [40.5,15.5,1.6]; // optoisolator PCB

	LipWidth = 0.8; // support lip under PCB

	Margin = [8.0,3.0,4.5]; // clearance around PCB

	BaseThick = 3.0; // underneath

	Block = PCB + [2Margin.x, 2Margin.y, (Margin.z + BaseThick)];
	echo(Block = Block);

	HolesOC = [9.5,10.0]; // M3 mounting holes (upper left / lower right)

	$fn = 3*4;

	//———-
	// Construct one mount

	module Mount() {

	union() {
	difference() {
	cube(Block,anchor=BOTTOM);

	up(Block.z – PCB.z)
	cube(PCB + [0,0,Protrusion],anchor=BOTTOM);

	up(BaseThick)
	cube(PCB – 2*[LipWidth,LipWidth,0] + [0,0,Block.z],anchor=BOTTOM);
	}

	for (i=[-1,1])
	translate([iHolesOC.x/2,-iHolesOC.y/2,BaseThick])
	threaded_nut(5.0,3.1,Margin.z,0.5, // flat size, root dia, height, pitch
	bevel=false,ibevel=false,anchor=BOTTOM);

	}

	}


	//———-
	// Mash together as many mounts as needed

	union()
	for (j=[0:(NumMounts – 1)])
	back(j*(Block.y – Margin.y))
	Mount();

view raw Optoisolator Case.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2025-01-14

Stack Light: Optoisolator Boost Transistor
The LEDs in each stack light layer require a current sink handling about 50 mA, far above the ability of cheap optoisolators based on the EL817 photocoupler:

Optoisolator – OEM schematic

I’ll go into the motivation for optocouplers along with the laser controller wiring details.

As delivered, the PCB has:
- R1 = 1 kΩ (a convenient 1 V/mA current sense)
- R2 = 10 kΩ (a rather high-value pullup)
The idea is to add an able-bodied transistor to the output in a Darlington configuration:

Optoisolator – Darlington output

Some rummaging produced a small bag of 2N3904 transistors, although nearly any small NPN transistor will suffice. Removing R2 cleared the field for modification:

Optoisolator modification – top

The 2N3904 transistor (with the usual EBC pinout) fits face-down under the PCB:

Stack Light – optoisolator transistor

The cross-legged layout conceals the emitter and base leads being soldered snugly to the former OUT and GND terminals, respectively, with the collector going to the VCC terminal. The terminals thus become:
- VCC → Collector
- OUT → Emitter
- GND→ X (no connection)
Although I have little reason to believe the EL817 chips are anything other than what they claim to be, their topmarks seemed rather casual:

EL817 optocoupler – top view

The other four chips carried C333 rank + date codes.

The datasheet says the C means the Current Transfer Ratio is 200% to 400%: the output current should be 2× to 4× the diode current. The test condition are 5 mA into the diode and 5 V across the transistor terminals. A quick test:
- 2 mA → 4 mA = 2×
- 5 mA → 15 mA = 3×
- 10 mA → 35 mA = 3.5×
- 12 mA → 40 mA = 3.3×
The output transistor is rated only to 50 mA, so I stopped at 40 mA. The CTR is between 200% and 350% over that range, suggesting the parts are really real.

The 2N3904 should have an h_FE above 60 in that current range and multiply the EL817 gain by about that amount. Another quick test in the Darlington configuration, now with the 5 V supply across the 2N3904:
- 100 µA → 8.1 mA = 81×
- 250 µA → 43 mA = 172×
- 500 µA → 83 mA = 166×
The overall current gain is 40× to 50×, less than the estimate, but plenty high enough for my purposes. If you cared deeply, you’d run a circuit simulation to see what’s going on.

Knowing I needed only 50-ish mA, stopping with the transistor burning half a watt (because V_CE is held at 5 V) seemed reasonable. In actual use, V_CE will be on the order of 1 V and the dissipation will be under 100 mW.

A quick test shows they work as intended:

Stack Light – controller hairball wiring

But, yeah, talk about hairballs. Those things cry for little housings to keep them out of trouble.

The chonky lumps with orange stripes are Wago Lever-Nut connectors: highly recommended.
2025-01-13

Stack Light Base

Having external indications for the laser cutter’s internal status signals seemed like a good idea and, rather than build the whole thing, I got a five-layer stack light:

Stack Light - disassembly — Stack Light – disassembly

It arrives sans instructions, apart from the data plate / wiring diagram label on the housing, so the first puzzle involves taking it apart to see what’s inside. My motivation came from a tiny chip of blue plastic on the kitchen table where I’d opened the unpadded bag. Apparently, a mighty force had whacked the equally unpadded box with enough force to crack the blue lens, but I have no idea how the sliver escaped the still-assembled stack.

Anyhow, hold the blue/green lenses in one hand and twist the red/yellow lenses counterclockwise as seen looking at the cap over the red layer. Apply more force than you think appropriate and the latches will reluctantly give way. Do the same to adjacent layers all the way down, then glue the blue chip in place while contemplating other matters.

A switch on each layer selects either steady (the default and what I wanted) or blinking (too exciting for my needs). Reassemble in reverse order.

A Stack Light generally mounts on a production-line machine which might have a suitable cutout for exactly that purpose. I have no such machine and entirely too much clutter for a lamp, so I screwed it to a floor joist over the laser:

Stack Light - installed — Stack Light – installed

The tidy blue PETG-CF base started as a scan of the lamp’s base to serve as a dimension reference:

Stack Light - base scan — Stack Light – base scan

Import into LightBurn:

Draw a 70 mm square centered on the workspace
Round the corners until they match the 13 mm radius
Draw one 5.6 mm circle at the origin
Move the circle 52/2 mm left-and-down
Turn it into a 4 element array on 52 mm centers
Verify everything matches the image
Export as SVG

Import into Inkscape:

Put the perimeter on one layer
Put the four holes on another
Center around an alignment mark at a known coordinate
Save as an Inkscape SVG

Import into OpenSCAD, extrude into a solid model, and punch the holes:

Stack Light Mount base - solid model — Stack Light Mount base – solid model

The lip around the inner edge aligns the lamp base.

If I ever make another one, I’ll add pillars in the corners to put the threaded brass inserts close to the top for 10 mm screws instead of the awkward 30 mm screws in this one. More than a single screw hole in the bottom would align it on whatever you’re indicating.

Now, to wire the thing up …

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

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view raw Stack Light – base layout.svg hosted with ❤ by GitHub

	// Stack Light mount
	// Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU
	// 2025-01-03

	include <BOSL2/std.scad>

	/* [Hidden] */

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	BaseCenter = [100,100,0];

	Base = [70,70]; // nominal, for figuring holes

	Insert = [4.9,5.9,6.0];

	PlateThick = Insert[LENGTH];

	HolderTall = 24.0;

	WallThick = 2.7; // outer wall of light base

	LipThick = 1.5; // alignment lip inside light base
	LipTall = 0.75;

	CableOD = 5.0;

	Protrusion = 0.1;

	difference() {

	translate(-BaseCenter)
	linear_extrude(height=HolderTall + LipTall)
	import("Stack Light – base layout.svg",layer="Base Perimeter");

	up(Insert[LENGTH])
	translate(-BaseCenter)
	linear_extrude(height=HolderTall – LipTall)
	offset(delta=-(WallThick + LipThick))
	import("Stack Light – base layout.svg",layer="Base Perimeter");

	up(HolderTall)
	linear_extrude(height=HolderTall,convexity=5)
	translate(-BaseCenter)
	difference() {
	offset(delta=WallThick) // avoid glitches on perimeter edge
	import("Stack Light – base layout.svg",layer="Base Perimeter");
	offset(delta=-WallThick)
	import("Stack Light – base layout.svg",layer="Base Perimeter");
	}

	down(Protrusion)
	translate(-BaseCenter)
	linear_extrude(height=2*HolderTall,convexity=5)
	import("Stack Light – base layout.svg",layer="Base Holes");

	up(HolderTall/2)
	yrot(90) zrot(180/6)
	cylinder(d=CableOD,h=Base.x,$fn=6);
	}

view raw Stack Light Mount.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2025-01-10

Laser-Engraved PETG / PETG-CF

Prompted by scruss’s report of successfully “engraving” PLA, I had to try this:

Laser engraved PETG-CF

It’s blue PETG-CF from the scrap box, done at 500 mm/s and 20% of a 60 W laser and came out looking really nice.

I did a pass at 10%, low enough that the laser barely fired, and the mark was, correspondingly, barely visible: no color change and only a slight depth. Obviously, you’d want to tune for best picture depending on whatever you were trying to achieve.

The results on black PETG, also from the scrap box, were somewhat less attractive:

Laser engraved PETG – bottom surface

That’s at 500 mm/s with power at 10% and 20, so the outcome definitely depends on the material. That surface was against the platform when it was printed on the Makergear M2, explaining the glossy smooth threads.

The other side was rougher and needed more power to punch a visible result into the plastic:

Laser engraved PETG – top surface

All in all, the PETG-CF result looks usable, particularly for small-ish annotations on a flat surface where full-on multimaterial printing would take forever without adding much value.

2025-01-07
HLP-200B Laser Power Meter: Variation Across the Platform

It’s generally accepted that laser cutter performance varies across the platform due to differences in path length, with (in my OMTech 60 W machine) the rear left corner having more power because it’s closest to the laser tube and the front right corner having less power because it’s farthest away.

Having measured the path lengths, set the laser pulse power to 25%, then plotted the power measurements against path length:

HLP-200B Laser Power Meter – 60 W across platform measurements

I was mildly surprised at the minimal path length difference between the two corners and the center, but it’s due to the meter case reducing the distance along the X axis without a similar change along Y. In real life, you’d snuggle the HLP-200B sensor against the boundaries of the platform and measure the corresponding distances.

Given the size of the standard deviation bars, you can surely draw different conclusions, but the linear fit suggests the beam loses 3.5 W per meter of path length: 3.9 W from left rear to right front. Using meters for the distance multiplies the coefficient by 1000 and brings the digits up out of the noise; don’t believe more than two digits.

Although the beam diverges, the HLP-200B sensor is much larger than the beam and captures all the energy even in the front right corner, so beam divergence doesn’t matter and any square-law effect doesn’t apply.

If I had measured the power at the tube exit, it would be around 34 W and the error bars would surely justify that expectation, too.

Assuming the path loss in watts is proportional to the tube exit beam power, calling it 10% would be about right. That would definitely reduce the cutting performance in the front right corner if the power setting was barely adequate elsewhere on the platform.

2025-01-06

M1 Entry	M1 Exit	M2 Entry	M2 Exit
35.5	31.2	30.3	32.9
28.3	30.6	29.1	32.6
31.8	22.8	27.8	28.9
30.3	29.0	29.4	28.5
26.9	28.4	28.7	27.0
31.1	31.7	28.6	26.9

30.7	29.0	29.0	29.5
2.99	3.27	0.84	2.67

Tag: Laser Cutter

HLP-200B Laser Power Meter: Mirror Losses

Stack Light: Controller Wiring

Stack Light: EL817 Optoisolator Case

Stack Light: Optoisolator Boost Transistor

Stack Light Base

Laser-Engraved PETG / PETG-CF

HLP-200B Laser Power Meter: Variation Across the Platform