A stopped laser costs more than a slow one
Ask a workshop owner which hurts more, a slow laser or a stopped one, and the answer is easy. A stopped machine means jobs pile up and clients start asking for dates. Most stoppages on a CO2 laser cutter are not dramatic, though. A dirty lens, a dull mirror, a tube at the end of its life or a chiller running warm accounts for nearly all of them.
Our spares supply covers every one of these parts. What is new is that the common sizes now sit on our own shelf, sourced from AM.CO.ZA, so a plan customer is not waiting on an order before a repair can start.
Focus lenses
The focus lens takes the most abuse. Smoke and resin from wood and acrylic build up on it, less of the beam reaches the material, and a cut that used to go through needs a second pass. For most of the machines we support we now fit AM.CO.ZA's premium 20 mm ZnSe focus lens with a 63.5 mm focal length, a made-in-USA optic with an anti-reflective coating on both faces. Lens care is part of our weekly cleaning routine as well.
Reflection mirrors
Three mirrors carry the beam from the tube to the head. When one turns dull or chipped, edge quality drops first, which is why so many acrylic edge quality questions turn out to be mirror problems. The 25 mm silicon reflection mirror we stock carries a multi-layer dielectric coating, the same mirror AM.CO.ZA supplies for its TruCUT lasers.
“Nine times out of ten, when a client tells us the laser has gone weak, the tube is fine. It is the optics and the alignment. Clean or replace the mirror, re-align the beam, and the machine cuts the way it did before.”
Johan van Wyk, Technical Manager
Glass CO2 laser tubes
Tubes do wear out, and when one does, the fix is having the right size ready to fit. For our larger machines we keep AM.CO.ZA's TruCUT 100W sealed CO2 glass laser tube on hand. Because it measures about 1480 mm by 80 mm, we check the tube bay, power supply and cooling before fitting one, and we source other wattages through AM.CO.ZA when a machine calls for them.
Chillers
A CO2 tube that runs hot wears out early. Our cooling checks often find a chiller that was too small from the start, or one running on dirty water. On most single-tube machines we now fit the AM-5200 1400W water chiller, a compression refrigeration unit with a 6 litre tank that runs on single-phase 220V.
Learn it once, watch it again
AM.CO.ZA shares a lot of its know-how for free. There is a full video on installing a laser tube, mirror and lens, then aligning and servicing a CO2 laser cutter, and a short one on measuring a CO2 focus lens for diameter and focal length so the right replacement gets ordered. We send both to clients after operator training, along with our own daily startup checks.
Our own technicians do every fitting and service. For part details they check AM.CO.ZA's machinery support site, and the AM.CO.ZA Johannesburg branch is a short drive from Wynberg when a part has to be collected. Less common spares come from the wider laser parts range, and the AM.CO.ZA guide is our reference for the rest of their catalogue.
Why we chose AM.CO.ZA
“What we needed was stock close to Wynberg and parts that behave the same from one order to the next. AM.CO.ZA's spares have been consistent, so clients are not paying twice for the same repair.”
Dineo Nkoana, Customer Success Lead
What changes for you
- Shorter breakdowns. The common wear parts are already on our shelf, so a breakdown response visit does not have to wait for an order.
- Planned replacements. Preventive maintenance visits now include a check of lens, mirror, tube and chiller condition, so you hear about a worn part before it stops the machine.
- Parts through your plan. Spares are supplied and fitted under your service plan and matched to your machine.
- Operators who learn too. Tyron Naidoo, our Service Technician, and the rest of the team walk your staff through the part, the fix and the video.
Want to see it for yourself? Book a visit to our Wynberg demo room, look at the 1300 x 900 laser, or use the contact form to add spares cover to your plan. You can also meet the team.
