Tube “Lifetime”
Like any other part that is subject to wear, your laser tube has an expected lifetime. Your car tyres may come with an estimated mileage obtainable, your car battery may also have an estimated lifetime. However, if the part is not operated or used within certain parameters, that estimate may be wildly inaccurate.
Drive every day on gravel roads? Expect the estimated distance to be halved. Drive a lot of short distances, expect the estimated battery life to be halved. And so it is with laser tubes. Engrave for 8 hours a day? Expect the estimated tube life to be halved. Overheat the tube? Expect the estimated life to be reduced dramatically – sometimes even only minutes.
Due to the manufacturing process, and the capacity of the gasses within a glass tube, lower-power tubes such as 40W or 50W will last a shorter time than 80W and larger tubes. Some 80W and higher power long-life tubes may contain extra gasses and reactive materials that extend the life of these tubes.
Engraving causes more degeneration than cutting, as the tube tends to be powered on for much longer during an engrave than a cut.
Although Perfect Laser has the only CO2 tube test centre in Africa, passing the tests simply means that your tube is assessed for the correct power performance when it is installed – not that it will last for a certain amount of time. We pre-test and certify the tube's ACTUAL power output, so a correct starting power point is guaranteed.
When manufacturers claim a certain amount of hours (such as our 50W tubes are "3000 hour" tubes), this is for a tube operated under optimum conditions:
- Correct water flow rate
- Correct water temperature (not too hot or too cold)
- Correct water used (distilled)
- Clean water
- Correct power settings for the job
- Clean operating environment
- Stable power supply
So to sum up, if your machine is operated under optimum conditions, you can expect to get the optimum life out of the tube. If not, be prepared to replace it sooner than you think.
For 3040/6040 owners (50W – 80W), see page 53 of the user manual for specifications.
