Overview

We still support quite a few MARS series and older Nova machines and they still perform just as well as current machines, minus some of the innovation (dual stage air, door interlock board, etc...). Thunder Laser still maintains many, if not all, OEM or equivalent parts and components for legacy machines, or can help find a source for the components in most cases.

Overall Condition

The way it was (or was not) maintained will be a huge factor of the condition and performance of the machine. You should get a 'feel' of the level of care of the machine in short order, so trust your instincts. 

Inspection Best Practices

Take Pics/Screenshots

Take lots of photos, videos, etc... of the tube label, machine label, controller (hmi & dsp), head, etc... and some overall pics for reference, as well as the areas, displays, information, and components discussed in this article.

Get the 'Odometers'

 You can get the controller information from within lightburn (and rdworks... i think). here is more on that:

Getting Controller Info From Within LightBurn

Here is an example screenshot:

Inspect the Following

General Condition

Check the condition of the frame, casters, feet, doors, glasses, etc... and gauge the cleanliness and PM of the equipment

Check the condition of the focus lens, 3 steering mirrors, and beam combiner, etc... 

Inspecting and Cleaning Nova Series Optics 

Belts

check the condition of the belts. Look for excessive belt residue (a little bit is normal) abnormal noises, belt 'slap' etc... It is highly atypical to have to adjust the x or y belt tension. doing so could adversely affect operation. the x belt may 'look a bit loose' but that is usually normal.

Z axis

check the operation of the z axis bed and that the endstops/autofocus are functioning properly

Checking The Blade System Before Using The Z Axis

Testing Z Axis Endstops

Gantry

check the condition and fitment of the head, gantry, bearings, motors, etc... and manually jog the head around front to back and left to right. Listen, look, and feel for anything out of the ordinary.

Fire the Laser

Provided the previous steps don't reveal any serious red flags, you should fire the tube to see if the tube fluoresces a hot white-yellow or a cool pink-purple. 

Open the upper rear laser tube bay door so you can visualize the tube when it fires, after bypassing the safety interlocks or otherwise defeating them. One way is to remove the 6 pin connector on the power supply and pressing the tiny red test button on the side of the laser power supply. Keep in mind this will fire the laser power supply at the highest ungoverned power that the supply can deliver.

Here is more on that: Laser Tube Will Not Fire - LPSU Test

The tube should look pink-purple in the center when excited:

If it looks white-yellow the tube has reached or is near its end of life:

Vector a Square

Draw and output a vector square (you can score/etch if you like, you don't have to cut through), then measure the resultant output in the x and y directions to see if they measure the same (minus the kerf) as it was drawn.

More on that: Calibrating Axes In LightBurn

Engrave Something

Engrave a simple design (switch the vector square above to a fill, if you like) and look for backlash. It's important to know if the scanning offsets (reverse comp settings in rdworks) are entered, correct, and active when evaluating this.

More on that here: Thunder Laser Scanning Offset Adjustment

Equipment Valuation

Software License and Settings

Offsets and Device Profile