Didn't think it was the power supply

So last October my K40 died in the middle of an engraving, at first I thought it was the power supply. So I replaced it and still no luck, so I put the old LPS back in, then replaced the tube with one from LO.

That worked I was up and running.

I have always engraved from 28% to 38% based on speed and material, sometimes going as high as 42% when I wanted a deep engraving. the LPS would squeal if I tried to do anything below 25%.

Two days ago, I engraved a painted tile, it got really dark 3/4 down from the top so it was not burning away enough paint. I know my mirrors were aligned so I thought, I should swap out the old LPS with the new one I bought in October.

WOW! I just engraved at 21% and it went deep (MDF), I then cut 1/8 mdf at 8 mm/sec in 1 pass, two days prior I did the exact same job in the exact same location. Which cut the same MDF in 3 passes at 38%. So it seems like my LPS was a little weak from the start.

I did purchase an analog meter that I will install when I map out my control panel.

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Thank you for sharing your experience !

No problem, now I have to learn to reduce the power. It’s really nice to be able to etch at 160-200 mm/sec on low power (~ 16-20%).

One thing to note as well as that I replaced the lens and mirrors early on, when I first received the machine, so (IMHO) that is helping with the power also.

Sounds like you are using the digital panel.
I would be interesting to see both supplies characterized i.e. tube current vs voltage (IN) vs % (on digital panel)

Once I add the analog meter, I’ll post some tests. It almost feels like a new machine though. I notice that cutting wood there is less charring, it is still black but I can see the grain of the wood in the cut, it’s a much cleaner cut.