It might take a trained professional to pinpoint and repair any given problem with a laser engraving machine, but in terms of detecting problems in the first place, those working with such machinery are technically its first line of defence. According to the experts at www.lotuslaser.com, the biggest problem in this instance is the fact that so many people appear all too keen to overlook what can be pretty obvious warning signs of a problem, not taking action until the whole thing comes crashing down. Suffice to say this is neither the safest nor the most effective way of doing business as the closer you come to a catastrophic problem with such machines, the closer you come to what could be a rather dangerous situation.
The good news however is that spotting these warning signs is generally a piece of cake and can be done by anyone regardless of whether or not they’ve had any specific training. So with this in mind, what follows is a quick overview of five of the most common warning signs that a problem is indeed beginning to manifest and your laser marking machines could do with a little professional attention sooner rather than later:
1 – Excessive Noise
First and foremost, the most common and easily noticeable warning sign that is often applicable to most kinds of machinery is that of excessive noise. It’s not as if industrial scale laser cutting machinery is ever likely to run completely silently, but at the same time there is a big difference between its normal operational volume and genuinely excessive noise. That means that something is not working as it should be and that whatever the problem is right now it is only going to get worse if it is ignored. As such, when and where it has become apparent that noise levels have increased with no specific explanation, this is usually a very good time to call in the engineers for a closer inspection.
2 – Unusual Smells
The same also applies to smells as largely every piece of equipment will emit a certain signature fragrance of its own while in operation. Once again however, there are various problems and impending problems which can cause machinery like this to begin emitting smells that are slightly different to normal. They don’t necessarily have to be unpleasant or even particularly strong, but really any kind of unusual smell should be interpreted as a warning sign. Strange smells are usually caused by things like overheating and friction which in both instances could lead to an unfortunate set of circumstances if left unaddressed.
3 – Excessive Heat
Another of the more obvious warning signs to be on the lookout for is that of excessive heat as while laser cutting technology is by its very nature rather on the warm side, it should be pretty obvious when things are heating up above and beyond their usual acceptable parameters. There generally isn’t an instance in which excessive heat is anything but a sure fire warning sign of an impending problem – and perhaps a rather dangerous one at that. At the first sign of excessive heat, the machine should ideally be withdrawn from use and investigated by an engineer as soon as possible.
4 – Vibrations or Movement
Exactly how much any given machine vibrates and wobbles around during use will vary in accordance with the specifics of the machine itself along with what it is doing and the quality of its manufacture. Nevertheless, if and when you find yourself in a situation where the machine you are using appears to be vibrating excessively or in any way juddering in a manner that seems abnormal, chances are there is something that requires attention behind the scenes.
5 – Poor Results
Last but not least, another red flag warning sign that your machine needs urgent attention is any kind of indication that the quality of its output has in any way been compromised. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean that everything the machine is putting out is substandard, but could simply be the realisation that consistency of output appears to be suffering from one marking job to the next. Rather than just overlooking these quality control issues, it is far preferable to nip the problem in the bud, whatever it may be. After all, it’s one thing to pay for a minor repair right now and have your machine out of service for a couple of hours – it’s another thing entirely to allow things to degrade to such a situation where there is little choice other than to replace the machine entirely.