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Mirror Alignment
Your laser was aligned during assembly and testing in Las Vegas—the CO2 beam and Alignment
Laser beams were matched to follow the same path through the mirrors and fire down the center of
the focusing head. However, shipping is a highvibration environment and it is sometimes
necessary to realign mirrors. Before we go through a full realignment process, let’s check and
see what the current alignment is:
ALIGNMENT TEST
STEPS:
1. Open Safety Lid.
You will need to access the interior of the machine.
2. Place Thermal Paper.
Take a piece of thermal paper (I) and place it above the lens on the
focusing head, covering the aperture. Tape two edges so that the paper will stay relatively
taut over the hole. Press your finger firmly along the edge of the aperture to make a mark
on the thermal paper to show the aperture’s outline.
3. Position the Laser for Testing.
Using the Touch Screen Interface, push the arrow keys to
position the laser in the uppermost left corner.
4. Close Safety Lid.
Safety measures should make it impossible to fire the laser with the
safety lid open. Regardless, never attempt to fire the laser with safety lid open.
5. Test Fire the Laser.
Press the Test Fire Button on the Touch Screen.
6. Check Results.
Observe and note the location of the mark on the thermal paper.
7. Reposition Laser.
Using the Touch Screen Interface arrow keys, position the laser
halfway
along the Y axis towards the lower (front) left corner.
8. Test Fire the Laser.
Press the Test Fire Button on the Touch Screen.
9. Check Results.
Observe and note the location of the new mark on the thermal paper.
10. Last Repositioning.
Once again, using the Touch Screen arrow keys, move the laser the
remainder of the way along the Y axis.
11. Test Fire the Laser.
Press the Test Fire Button on the Touch Screen.
12. Final Results.
Observe and note the location of the final mark on the thermal paper. The
burn marks should all be relatively close to the center and should not alter after
repositioning the laser head. If there was a great deal of variation in the location of the burn
marks (more than 2mm of drift) you will need to align your laser (see below).
Technical Support is available from 8:00 am (PST) to 5:00 pm (PST) Monday through Friday at
.