Winter Care and Maintenance For Laser Cutting Machines

If you’re wondering about what the best winter care and maintenance for laser cutting machines are, this blog is heaven-sent for you. Like any other machines, the cold and frozen breeze may negatively affect and impact your machines overall performance.

Not just that, but it can also negatively impact the lifespan of your precious equipment, too. So, to avoid this, you’ll need proper information about the care and maintenance for laser cutters.

In this blog, we’ll enumerate few of the most important tips to know as an owner of laser machines in maintaining and caring for laser cutters, and a few extra tips on handling them, too.

The Relationship of Cold Temperatures and Laser Cutters

In understanding the relationship of laser cutting machines and temperature, we need to understand the principle of laser cutters. Laser machines–whether it’s cutting, engraving, or marking–generate heat to perform their operations.

These machines use heat to work and operate properly. When subjected in a cold, cool, and freezing environments, pipes and tubes can freeze, which can endanger the overall effectiveness, efficiency, and lifespan of the machines because the water volume will rise when the machine is operated and the pipes heated.

Hotter or Warmer Temperatures

On the other hand, it’s also important to ensure that the working environment is not blazing hot. Warm temperatures can actually also cause it to malfunction due to overheating. This is why keeping your machines in optimal temperatures is also a key factor in caring for and maintaining them.

Operating Temperature Requirement

After taking some time to discuss the working temperature or environment, it’s important to also learn about the required operating temperatures of laser cutters.

The laser needs to attain a certain temperature to operate and work properly. Under the best and most optimal conditions, the temperature needs to be about 22°C.

Low water temperatures in the chiller should be set between 20 and 24°C. Conversely, the high temperature should be between 28 and 30°C.

NOTE: There’s no rule of thumb of on what the specific temperature needs to be during laser cutting (and other) processes. It’s best to ask and double-check with your manufacturer as to what the perfect operating temperature is.

Then, before you conclude that the chiller’s temperature matches the programmed temperature, make sure the temperature is 20°C+.

Winter Care and Maintenance For Laser Cutting Machines: 5 Best Tips

There are mixed opinions about the proper maintenance and care routines for laser machines during winter. I mean, there’s really no “secret” to what should be done, nevertheless, we’ve gathered some of the more important tips and techniques in caring and maintaining your laser machines.

Tip #1: Keep the Water Cooler Turned On

The first tip is to make sure that the chiller is running for 20 minutes (at least) before turning the laser on. Like an oven, it’s important to preheat the chiller or the system for five to ten minutes. This is usually done if the laser alarm sounds when the machine is turned on or if it fails to start.

Water is among the most critical components of a laser machine. Failure to ensure that it’s in the best conditions often lead to failure of the entire machine.

Check this video out to see some of the maintenance and care tips for your machines during winter!

Tip #2: Safety During Low Temperatures

The laser needs to be at a certain temperature to operate correctly and properly. Furthermore, the laser works best at a temperature of about 22°C. The low temperature of the water in the chiller should be set between 20 and 24°C, and high temperature should be just around 28 to 31°C.

That being said, it’s extremely important to closely monitor the environment’s temperature where the laser machine is. Keeping track of the temperature is already a huge step in making sure that the laser machine is well-kept and maintained.

Tip #3: Maintenance of Indoor Temperature

Next would be to ensure that the inside or interior is warmer than freezing point. Enhance the heating in the workshop, install some type of heaters to keep the machine pipes from freezing.

Laser machines can only begin to operate at approximately 17°C. Temperature below 10°C can already be crucial for it to gradually stop working properly.

The equipment can be used right away if the laser and chiller are always activated. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait for the water to warm up before launching the machine if it’s excessively cold.

Tip #4: Addition of Antifreeze

There will be situations where cold temperatures is inevitable. For situations like this, it is extremely necessary to add antifreeze to the laser cutting machine.

Antifreeze is a substance that helps lower water’s freezing point, making it harder for them to ice up. This is a material that assists in protecting pipes, tubes, and systems from the harsh effects of the cold.

Choose a high-quality antifreeze product to avoid impurities that can damage the laser tube and other parts.

NOTE: Antifreeze prevents freezing at temperatures down to -20°C. However, water chillers should at least almost always operate 5°C+, with a cold start temperature above 10°C.

Tip #5: Minding the Freezing Point

If dwelling in colder-than-regular climates, keep the chiller running to maintain refrigerant circulation, even when the machine isn’t running. Adjust the temperature to around 10°C to prevent the coolant in the machine from freezing.

What this does is help protect the laser cutting machine from potential damage due to freezing temperatures.

When it comes to laser cutters–or even any machine in that sense– freezing points are crucial. You need to mind it to avoid it, and any component frozen can be lethal to the effectiveness and lifespan of the machine.

BONUS TIP: Inspecting the Light Path

Here’s a bonus tip for you: and it’s regarding the light path.

Mirrors are necessary for the proper operation of the laser machine’s light path because they reflect and focus the laser beam. Users should constantly check these mirrors for any issues to maintain seamless operation.

Additional maintenance measures that you might want to consider, include:

• Cleaning debris from the exhaust port.
• Removing debris from the gas path filter.
• Checking if the screws on the travel switch bracket and bumper bracket are tight.
• Cleaning dust from the filter screen of the electric control cabinet’s ventilation fan to ensure proper heat dissipation in the internal electrical components.

I know that some of you find those standard, but they’re actually the most crucial factors in laser cutters.

Get the Best Care and Maintenance During Winter With Cheeron Laser

If there’s one manufacturer that you can fully trust in the case of caring and maintaining your laser cutting machines, that’s us here at Cheeron Laser. For almost 2 decades now, our business has been the same – to provide the best and top-quality machines and services to our clients.

We have over 80 models on the market because we are dedicated to the highest levels of performance, efficiency, and accuracy. That also gives you the idea that we can properly and formally maintain laser cutting machines to the best of our abilities.

Additionally, Cheeron Laser was a pioneer in the development of sophisticated laser cleaning machines that minimize environmental effect, save money, and save time. We keep ahead of the curve in technology thanks to our talented R&D team of 65 engineers, including 10 experts.

If you’re after a great time, world-class quality maintenance, and topnotch laser cutting machines, reach out to us! We’ll get you a free estimate of what you need!