“Goe, and catche a falling starre…” or… not!
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Ah, good catch @Scorch. That metal tab holding the mirror is on upside down. It should be pressing on the middle of the mirror and instead is pressing on the edge.
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Problem = SOLVED.
Thank you for suggesting this!
Apologies for the late response I’ve been knee deep in exams.
- So I flipped the metal jab into the correct position, and the mirror definitely slotted in better.
- I went back and re-rid the alignment as you suggested, and made sure the beam was pretty much dead Centre on each mirror, by first tightening the tube a bit, then adjusting the mirror mount positions, adding some small bolts underneath to increase height where needed.
I load up a job she works fine, cutting through 3mm wood at 50% power with 1 stroke with the laser maintaining throughout.
The POT still seems to be the other way around (i.e. 100% power all the way to the left and 0% power all the way to the right), could this potentially be done by swapping 2 of the wires going to it? It’s not a big deal though I could just mark intervals and have 100% on the left and 0% on the right.
@donkjr Thanks so much for the patience and effort you put in with your detailed responses, this wouldn’t have been sorted without your step by step troubleshooting, and I’ve learnt so much about how the machine works. I’ll be sure to check out your blog!
Thank you also @mcdanlj & @Scorch for your inputs
- Lesson: along with the alignment, always make sure the beam hits all mirrors as central as possible, ensuring the full beam exits the laser head.
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Yup, if you swap the ground and 5V connections to the potentiometer, leaving the middle line alone, it will do what you want. Just about the easiest fix available… 
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Yes depending on the pot you usually can swap the outer two wires. The wiper should be in the middle.
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