Ramp Test and Optimal Focus for Co2 Laser 

Spent about 3 weeks on alignment… turns out the head on that holds the lens was bent a bit and we had to shim it out. Ready to try this next, thanks for the video.

To see the cutting profile of the beam I take a 1/4 clear acrylic piece 2" wide by 1/2" tall lay it on it's side and pulse the laser through the middle you will see the full cone shape and from that you can see the maximum cutting depth with out any deformation. I've also made that little step tool you have and pulsed a beam at each interval to show the cone shape, helps when doing stuff slightly out of focus for special cases.

Oh my gosh. This is key. I had my mirrors aligned and was getting tons of char and fire and the ramp test totally fixed it! Thanks so much!

"Ramp test for dummies" I love this, thank you so much, this is so well explained and so useful!! I'm so ready to have fun with my new OMTech

MAN....Thanks for that video. I just got a 80 watt laser similar to the one in your video and could not figure out why the cut line was so thick. You were right 100%. The focal length tool they have with it was not correct at all. After doing your ramp test I got her dialed in big time. THANKS SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH. You got a viewer for life.

Great video. You have a knack providing simple easy to follow solutions. Thank you.

Awesome 👏👏👏👏 Will be checking this first thing tomorrow as I'm sure my machines 7mm tip to job surface default setting can be optimised. Thank you

Pretty smart to use the hex tools to measure it! Great video, nice, simple, and straight to the point.

Thanks for this. I have not unboxed my OMtech. Because this machine is scaring me. I had a FSL 90w pro and never never had to do any of the set up test that I see I have to do with this OM machine. Thanks again

Very informative & very helpful....really need that little tool you made.

Great video, definitely saving for when my CO2 laser arrives. One suggestion, to get an even more accurate value between the nozzle and material during the ramp test, get a set of automotive feeler gauges to really dial in the gap distance.

Wow, watched your video , then went down to my shed , started up the laser and did the ramp test. What a difference it made to cutting acrylic and ply, at least 20% less power now to cut through the same material. Thankyou for the informative video.

That's for the video. Very helpful for me. I just got my laser this weekend and tuning it in. I already created a video on how to make the air pump quiet.

I'm new to all of this although I have had my Omtech 60W CO2 for nearly 2 years and never used it. I worked some stuff out with trial and error but focusing was the thing I was stuck on. This method is genius and so much better than the cut...lift...cut...lift...cut...lift comparison that I was trying.

Thanks very much for this video. I fired up my new 80w laser yesterday for the first time, and had trouble cutting 3mm plywood, very similar to the final scene. I'll be doing a ramp test today!

Thanks for this easy explanation. Headed right to the laser and found out the supplied gauge was way off. Now it’s cutting better than ever. I had a suspicion it wasn’t right. Thanks

Great video!! Helps me out a lot.

Thank for sharing.. I've been thinking about purchasing a laser machine and your videos are helping me with my decision.

Great explanation man, really helped me a lot, thx!

Nice Work!! I don't even have a laser yet and I still enjoy your videos. I like your troubleshooting method, I come from extensive 3D printing and thinking about trying my hand at these lasers now that the price point is reasonable.

Awesome timing on this one. My 55W arrives today :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I've had my 90 watt FS Laser for about 15 years and have never been real happy with the cuts. I've always used the measuring tool that came with the laser. I've made several calls to customer service. They're friendly but, I've never been able to sharpen my cuts. After following your instructions, my cuts are sharp and I'm using about half the power as I usually do! Thanks again!!! Blessings!!! P.S. I'm now your newest sub!!!

Very good information. Appreciate the sharing.

Solid video dude! I am about to go do my ramp test now!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, this helped me out a lot.

Whoa thank you, game changer for me!

Great video! I hust assumed the spacer that came with the machine was fine

Love the tip measuring by allen wrench!

Good video! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks man! Good stuff, keep the videos coming. Have a laser on the way and enjoy your teaching style. What magnets are you using for hold downs?

Nice one ..thanks . You could do 2 pieces side by side and see underneath one of them where it penetrated.

Quick and easy. Thank you!

Excelente y gracias tomaré nota.

I will definitely have to do this on my new laser. Also how much did the insulation on the garage door help?

Hugely helpful. Thank you so much. Liked and subscribed!

Thanks for the video!

Thank you so mutch plise how to make a stemp ruber with lightburn rumpe effect with a video thank you

That is brilliant thank you man!

Good method, but I would definitely use a set of inexpensive feeler gauges to determine the space between the nozzle and the ramp. You're visibly pushing the cone up by an indeterminate amount with that 5mm allen. Once you have an accurate value, you can plane, mill, or sand down a piece of hardwood to make a focus gauge (I like mesquite, very hard and extremely stable). I do like your cut out gauge block, tho. That's pretty slick.

Thank you so much!

Thanks, I've been racking my brain trying to get this thing on the right track and I was doing ramp test but to steep of an angle. Believe I've got it now. For one thing the nozzle is probably the wrong type for a 1.5. My lens has to go in the upper part of the tube. Your and most of them seem to go in the nozzle itself. I really probably need a 2" or 2 1/2'" for mine. They mailed. mine in the mail before the laser got here. The lens that came in it I have not a clue what it is I've not been able to do a ramp test on it it starts out big and gets bigger.

Did you adjust speed and power before pulse on 1/8" material?

By chance do you have a lightburn file that you could share for one of those measuring tools, looks like mine could be 7mm

Thank you

Great info, Thank you for your time..:)

Thanks bro great video

Great video and learned a lot... Question. What are you usual settings for your 60w laser when cutting... Specifically power and min power?

So I ran the laser test 3 times. used a half inch board and ramp and each time i used a longer line 8, 12, 16 inches and the line at no point got thicker. each time it went from thick to thin. So now I am confused as to where to set the optimum cut! I have the OMTECH 50W system.

So do all these machines come with a 1 1/2" lens standard?

Thank you!! The last part of your video is the exact issue I’m having. Question.. when you get that 5mm measurement is that the height you always set it to cut on all materials or will every cut be different?

Hey, does a ramp test need to be done if your machine has AF?

Thanks. Does it need to be done again when you replace the lens? I just recently replaced it. Same size just a new one.

Very nice

Hi! If I may ask, can you give me the height adjusting template?

Great video, I have the same laser and lens cracked do you have any suggestions for a replacement?

When I run my ramp test and get my line I pulse my machine at that height and my dot does not go through. Any idea why b

Thank you brother.. Needed this course.

Omtech needs to make a 50 or 60 watt desktop laser. I currently have a 40 watt that is to small, but everyone makes 50 watt CO2 lasers as standalone machines which are far to large for my workspace.

Great video Brandt! I did this upgrade and the new air assist is working great but the stock built in air pump (noisy as hell) is still running. I see 3 ways to turn it off...a digital setting to disconnect (if there is one), trace the wires back to control panel and unplug or cut and cap at the pump. Which do you recommend? Thank you!

How do you adjust power once you know your optimum focal length, say I want to cut a object but also burn a design in it as well? How would I make those adjustments

How often should you do a ramp test? Does it go out of whack. I did one when I first got my machine 3 years ago but it doesn't seem to cut as well as it use to.

What if you want to cut through a thicker material say 3/16” birch plywood, is it general the same way of doing the ramp test to find the thinnest laser beam/ line and the try to find the power and speed to cut through what ever thickness you are working with?

Shouldn't you aim for having the narrowest part of the beam in the center of the material? Otherwise it seems like you would have all the cuts taper. It would not make much difference cutting ⅛", but cutting thicker materials the taper and also the reduced concentration of the beam at the bottom could make getting the cut all the way through difficult.

How can you tell what lense your machien came with? I have the AF2440 100W omtech, and my focal distance seems to be so much taller than yours.

Awesome video, But how is the ramp test on the auto-focus? I got the exact same machine as yours blue one. Regards from Denmark😉

How do you make that little tool you made?

why does my pulse does not look clean nor did it do thru the other side?

great!

Great video! Do you need to run a ramp test if you have an auto focus machine?

I did the ramp test several times to get it dialed in. Took a bit to figure out that the correct distance between head and working surface is 18mm ! Is that normal? I have an Omtech MF1624-60.

learning alot from you.. the only problem is the audio

Side question: where did you get your garage door insulation and do you like it?

Hello there...a quick question for you...I did this ramp test per your instructions because my 80W OM Tech laser stopped cutting through my .25" MDF.....It was on a roll for a while, but then, it started to cut inconsistently. Do you have any experience cutting .25" MDF? Should I do a ramp test on the MDF as well since that's what I mostly cut?

Wow. I just got an OMTech 60W laser (500x700mm) a month ago. The plastic focusing gauge it comes with is just under 21mm thick, which is also about what it auto-focuses too. If 5mm is that much sharper why do they calibrate them so much farther? I’ll try your ramp test and report back.

I get the ramp test and the 5mm. What do u do with the new info? What settings do u adjust to dial in the new height? Tks

Does this apply to autofocus models or only manual focus?

Where did you find the little guage for focal length

Must the scrap wood be 1/2"? I only have 1/4 nch

Total newbie here. When we sent the job....it says something like failure..there was a problem sending data to the laser. What could we be missing?

how do you do this on the autofocus machine?

Thank you!!! So what does that 5mm mean exactly? Distance from all materials to the lense from that point forward? Also, do you ever have to redo this test after a certain amount of time?

Are you kidding me? I have same laser, same default settings, and same bad, non cutting results!!! I can't wait to try this tomorrow.. everyone's asleep now. Thank you, sir!

test worked great but how do i fix the focus without propping up all my material to that height?

OK, so I have tried the ramp test, with 1/2" block, also set length to 12" and then to 16". THe laser started thick and continued getting thinner, but never back thick. I do have the OmTech 60 Watt, I loosened the nut on the focal head and moved it all way up, then backed it out. However, the beam still start thick then ends at thin. I did experiment increasing the distance between the laser head and board, and achieved this, but distance is close to an inch. What can I do to help get this corrected?

So is this needed on an auto focus machine? I would think not since you are manually raising the bed?

why does the ramp test go from left to right versus back to front???

Amazing video!! Expert knowledge and careful attention to detail. #beamingwithpossibilities

does the ramp test differ for each material? Acrylic or plywood for example? Do you have a video or program for cutting through materials? Thanks, new to lasers so trying to get as much info as possible.

Please zoom out so we can see what you are clicking in lightburn

Hello sir, can you tell me how to do 2 more cuts in a row?

is ramp test necessary when you have the auto focus?

My guess is that your 50mm/s and 20% power are not those you use for cutting. Try using realistic cutting parameters for the ramp test and then run the same test with engraving parameters of maybe 300 to 400mm/s. Can you explain the 2 or 3mm difference in focus? Also when you do that quick pulse test, what are you provin?. Hold it on for 2 or 3 seconds and explain what you then see. . Lenses are designed to be used flat side down. Is that your configuration. If you measure the disince inside your nozzle to the lens and then make the gap so that it matches the manufactureres focal distance, why does the ramp test and the designed focal distance not match? Are lens manufacturers that incompetent? I hope this will demonstrate to you that there is no such thing as a fixed focal distance when you pass a laser beam through a lens.. It will change with power, speed and material, Just do a few simple ramp tests with different materials and different parameters. The results should puzzle you.

Get your self a Rode wireless mic. Your content is good , audio terrible

OMTech affiliate link goes to 404 page