@picengravertoo @JohnChamplain
I appreciate your help so far on this…what causes the lines and how can I get rid of them?
Settings:
Image 6" x 7"
DPI: 100
Pixel Resolution: 0.006"
Left 45 degrees
Max: -0.0255
Min: 0.0
Speed: 90 IPM
Laser at 1.5A
Extended edge: 20 pixels 50 IPM
Did you increase the X,Y & C accel settings in Motor Tuning? All three should be set the same.
X, Y and C (laser) are all the same.
OK, my mistake. 
My axis are setup like this:
X
Y/B - Slaved
Z
A - Rotary
C - Laser
All out of motor drivers 
Try the same gcode with wood instead of MDF (poplar, birch ply?). If you still get the lines, then might be mechanical (v-wheel tightness???), which is my first guess.
John
This is that chipboard. I will check the machine, but it appeared to be moving very smoothly. I got the same lines on birch plywood.
In your lion engraving, there were also lines, but only vertical ones. In that image you used horizontal laser movement. In this last image, you used 45° movement, and there are both vertical and horizontal lines. Also, the lines appear to have a very even spacing between them. This is what makes me believe it is possibly a mechanical issue, and v-wheel tightness/flat spots come to mind.
I will check it out tomorrow and see what I come up with. I appreciate the help!
@JohnChamplain - I had a worn spot on a belt that was hitting the idlers and pulley throughout the entire run…I put a new belt on and I did this…I will replace the other belts this weekend since they have all been used quite a bit this last year and a half. The image is lighter as I turned down laser power to 1.5 Amps for testing today so some of the lighter shading didn’t burn, but I am pleased with this. There are some fine horizontal lines in this, but they are really not visible, in fact I didn’t see them until I looked at the photo. This is done in the same 100 point chipboard.
Erik,
I have never used chipboard, but it looks to me like you need to sharpen the laser focus better. It has always seemed to me to be easier to get a sharper focus with the diode farther away from the material. I use three inches, and have cut a 3 inch piece of wood that I use to reset to differing material heights.
If you can adjust the laser power to where the diode just lights, but is not yet laseing (sp?), focus may be easier to set.
Edit: Sorry, forgot to congratulate you on finding the cause of the lines.
I’ll try it at three inches. I do turn it down to focus, so no issue there.
Thanks for your help!
Erik,
I’m hope I’m not sounding too critical, but I still think your focus is off a little. At .006" resolution, I would expect to be able to see some individual raster scan lines in a close up view.
Not critical at all…I’m not sure how to focus better…I adjust power up until the laser just turns on, then I adjust the focus to the clearest little rectangle I can get (I even put my glasses on so I can see ).
I am open to any suggestions.
I don’t think you want the rectangle, but rather a small bright spot in the center. Hard to describe.
Try as Robert suggested, with a flat black painted paper or wood. Black anodized aluminum would be even better.
The flat black surface will reduce some of the glare/flare and make it easier to see the center spot.
If you have not already, put a mark on the lens ring so you can better judge how far you are turning it. When sharply focused, you should be able to turn the lens either way from focus and see the beam increase in size.
I have some black anodized aluminum tags. I will give it a shot…you have been right so far, no reason to doubt you. It will have to wait until tomorrow after work. I truly appreciate all the help…I’ll get there.
Since I had to break out the anodized aluminum to get a better focus I decided to try to etch a red one…Merlin is the dog’s name. Laser at full power only 20 IPM. As usual, the tag looks much better than the photo. The text is about 0.3" high.
@JohnChamplain and @RobertCanning - you are both correct, it is so much easier to focus using the black anodized aluminum. So much easier to see and I am pretty sure I have it focused pretty well. Running the Han Solo picture on birch plywood now.
I’ll try one faster tomorrow…I had no idea on speed so I just guessed.
