How to Align your Thunder Laser Nova Series machine - Quick Start Alignment Guide

How to Align your Thunder Laser Nova Series machine - Quick Start Alignment Guide

Preface: This article covers How To align your laser beam in a 3 mirror gantry based Nova laser.



Here are some quickstart videos that will cover 90% of the situations. They do not contain every last iota of detail but should be enough to get most users up and going on their alignment. If you need further information, look further down for the complete guide.

Quick Reference Video 1:



Quick Reference Video 2:




Complete Guide To Nova Series Laser Alignment

We recommend you sit down at a computer to read this information.  It is a lot to digest but if you take your time and read prior to just starting, you will be better off.

Keys to Success:

(Read all of these..do not skip)

  1. Make sure the gantry is mechanically aligned/square, else you will have trouble with mirror 3 Nova X and Y Verticality Adjustment
  2. Understand that the Red Dot is secondary to the Laser Beam. Mirrors are set to the Laser Beam, not the red dot. Do not fall into the trap of the red dot.
  3. Adjusting a mirror adjusts both the Laser Beam Path and the Red Dot Beam Path
  4. Adjusting the Red Dot Pointer is done by adjusting it in the stand it is mounted in and is the last step of alignment
  5. Check your alignment first before making adjustment . Pulse a different piece of tape over mirror 3 entry with the Laser head in each of the 4 corners and evaluate
  6. Start at mirror 1 always. Do not go to the next mirror until the previous one is set
  7. To adjust the burn spot at mirror 2, adjust mirror 1
  8. To adjust the burn spot at mirror 3, adjust mirror 2
  9. To adjust the burn spot at the nozzle exit, adjust mirror 3 (Verticality)
  10. Know that when you initially loosen the stop rings on the adjustment knobs you may inadvertently adjust the alignment.
  11. Know that when you tighten the adjustment knob stop rings, you may inadvertently adjust the alignment. Spot check with a pulse
  12. When tightening the silver screws for the mirror brackets, do not over tighten, snug is enough
  13. Adjust the Pulse Power of your laser depending on your wattage using the max/min settings for the tube from the MENU button
  14. Red dot is not the same as the beam spot, see note 2 above. Its worth repeating. You will fall for the Red Dot visual and mess your alignment up worse.
  15. Verticality of the beam is more tolerant of deviations with the 2" Lens than the 4" lens due to the distance the beam travels after being focused and the narrow exit of the nozzle cone
  16. When starting the verticality step, you may need to swap to the larger opening nozzle cone or remove it entirely to find the laser beam spot
  17. You will need tape and patience, lots of one or lots of the other. Be methodical about it. Small adjustments.
  18. Setting the Max and Min Power for your Pulse so that you do not burn right through your tape


 Pitfalls:

Here is a table of pitfalls and watchouts, illustrated.
selectedImg
selectedImg
selectedImg

The Red Dot Pointer is a visual only and it is a separate light that is not the same as the Laser Tube. If you find yourself attracted to the red dot like a moth to a flame, place a piece of tape over the Red Dot Pointer for the duration of the alignment until you get to the part where you align the Red Dot to the Laser Pulse Spot.

Common Component Locations:

You will need to know where each component is prior to starting the alignment. Please take a minute to review the illustration below.



Info
There are actually 3 parts to this. Aligning the beam from the tube to the head, aligning the beam so its perfectly vertical and central of the nozzle cone, and finally the red dot pointer alignment. They must be completed in that order.

Recommended Min and Max Power For Pulse:

      Adjust as needed since an aging tube may require more power, default is 20% and will blow through the tape easily. Pulse button can be held longer to get a better pulse. If you notice the pulse looks misshaped, check out this article.

Tube
MinPower1 Percent
MaxPower1 Percent
60 Watt
11
11
80 Watt
9
9
100 Watt
7
7
130 Watt
7
7




Step 1: Aligning The Laser Beam


Check the Tube to tape on Mirror 1 pulse spot
Then Check Mirror 2 to Tape on Mirror 2 - Adjust and Verify that burn spot is in the center at both the near and far locations
Then Check Mirror 3 to tape on Mirror 3 - Adjust and Verify that burn spot is in the center at both the near and far locations

The actual laser beam emitted from the tube is invisible so we have a procedure to test the alignment.




Step 2: Verticality  Of The Beam


      Before starting the verticality of the beam you need to move the laser head move to four corners of the honeycomb table, check if the laser beam lasers to the same position of the third reflective mirror by pulsing into some tape and comparing the 4 pulses. If the 4 pulses look good, then do a spot check on the verticality by installing the wide opening nozzle from your tool box and pulse with tape over the nozzle opening in the 4 corners of the honeycomb. If the pulse does not look centered, then you need to adjust your verticality.


How the mirror 3 Screws Affect Verticality:


Adjustment Notes
Reference Image

Adjust screw A: Loosen the nut and rotate clockwise, then the laser beam will moves left; if you rotate counter-clockwise, the laser beam will moves right.


Adjust Screw B: Loosen the nut firstly. If rotate clockwise, the laser beam will moves upward; if rotate counter-clockwise, the laser beam moves backward.




Adjust screw C: Loosen the nut. If rotate clockwise, the laser beam will moves forward and right; if rotate counter-clockwise, the laser beam moves backward and left.




Silver screws D: Please loosen these three white screws before adjusting Screw A/B/C. After finish, tighten these three white screws (and lock all nuts of screws)

selectedImg




Verticality Step 1:


Why Adjustment is needed
Targ Result
selectedImg


Adjust Screw A/B/C so as to change the angle of the third reflective mirror. If the laser beam comes out from the bottom center of the laser head, it proves that third mirror is in right 45°. 



Verticality Step 2:

Place a piece of 10mm acrylic under the laser beam. Pulse a laser beam into the acrylic, check if the line is vertical or not. See the table below for expected results

Compare results
How to Adjust Until Correct
selectedImg


Once correct, tighten all the adjusting screws and white screws and move the laser head to four corners to test the laser beam verticality. If the problem still exists, please contact with our tech team in time by email:  support@thunderlaserusa.com .



Step 3: Red Dot Pointer

1.Use the buttons on the laser machine screen to move the laser head on the approximate middle of the honeycomb table.

2.Place a piece masking tape over the left side of the third mirror laser head, and pulse a dot on the center, like below.




3. Use the three adjustment screws on the Red Dot Pointer Mount to move red dot to the mark dot on the tape, like below.



Adjustment Knobs
Adjustment Knob Effects
selectedImg
selectedImg


At this point, your alignment should be complete and you can go back to lasering.

Visual Aids and Checks:

You can use the visual aids and spot checks prior to and during the alignment procedure to get an idea of what to do and the status of your alignment.

Checks:

Mirror 2 Check





Mirror 3 Check




Four Corner Pulse Check





Alignment Technique:

Spot At Mirror 2



Spot at Mirror 3




    If you are a Thunder Laser USA client and still need Technical Support after exhausting the resources in the Knowledge Base, simply email support@thunderlaserusa.com and the Technical Support Team will promptly assist you!