Hi yall! I was wondering what is happening with Tarkin and if it is back online or what needs to be done to get it going.
I’m assuming you’ve got your answer, but it appears to be red tagged still.
Heyo! No answer, but after looking through the forum I found that there was an issue with the mirror. Do you know anything about it per chance?
The mirror adjustments had been damaged. I did a fix on them, but I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the end result.
I had an upgrade for the mirror and head I’d gotten awhile back that are better quality, easier to maintain, resolves other issues, and would allow doing some new things.
Got a new carbon fiber mirror mount printed out and the new head here. I will get them in tonight. I don’t know the exact focal height to print a new focus tool for it yet, but I have modeled the curve it needs to take.
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OK got it to fit in. I learned a bit about how you can use a Pro head, the air assist cone clearance is actually variable.
I didn’t realize how amazing this can be- I could get really clean cuts with virtually no soot on top. That’s just fantastic!
The initial focus tool I made doesn’t fit yet. I measured the difference and will print out a tool and we can run it with a fixed AA cone position.
To use it variable may require a different sort of focusing tool, I’m not quite sure what form that will need to take.
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Amazing, @dannym you are the man. Thank you!!! Does this mean that Tarking is not redtagged anymore? or could we start using it as of tomorrow?
I made a new focus tool but it doesn’t fit under the cone with the work underneath because of the convex curve on the tool’s bade. I had to hold the tool under the nozzle and slide the stock underneath, then slide the stock out so the tool can drop lower for removal
I looked at the situation again just now and I see what needs to be done to make this work with the new lens tube and it’s adjustable clearance mechanism. It’s elegant. I’ll have the solution printed up tonight
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The variable air assist has been out for a while. Im glad it is finally installed and usable. There are also air splitters attachments where you can have a tube mounted and shoot the air from the front towards the back instead of straight down. Supposedly is more efficient at controlling the soot. However, if the cone is not kept clean you may still have soot. Acrylic cutters may like this alot as you can reduce the airflow to minimize “ghost” markings on the edges. Some power/speed settings may have to change now that you can control the air flow. Brings out the question, how is the air assist going to be controlled, software or through a adjusting knob?
This isn’t variable air assist flow yet.
On this type of head, the nozzle has a lot of thread and has a locknut, so it can be screwed higher or lower. Higher gets more clearance. Lower will jet the air really effectively into the cut- but taken too far it could rub stock where it’s warped upwards or strike a clamp. I think for now we’re going to keep it locked at a similar clearance to the old head.
The parabolic profile of this nozzle type does throw out more of a laminar flow jet, the air is much more defined further from the head.
I’ve been working on variable air assist. Really it does need to be something electronic that can reset itself between users. Otherwise, it’s very predictable that people won’t return it to full and the next users will not have a good setting and not know how to change it back.
I did identify a valve that could work this way and ordered one to try. I’ve also got some neat ideas for flow rate detection so it can protect the machine if the hose isn’t connected or the cone is rubbing the work and blocking the nozzle exit.
Also I’ve got a backsweep assist here. That’s an air jet that comes from the side, which can improve the surface quality. If backsweep is used, it can largely replace the air assist nozzle flow, but the nozzle does still need a minimal flow rate to cool the lens. Or you can run full flow on both.
This type of tube also supports other lens lengths, so we can keep around a 3" or 4" lens option for deep cuts in certain materials with corresponding focus tools, as well as spare tubes already loaded with a fresh 2" lens. This should be simple enough that users can install it. The important point is to remember that the air assist hose needs to be plugged into the fitting when you install it.
I’m not addressing the variable air assist or backsweep features today. And leaving the variable air assist cone height fixed. Just trying to get a focus tool for the standard 2" lens that is intuitive enough for users to pick up and use immediately without additional training.
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Are you feeling OK, Danny? Did you say a user can change lenses, and they’ll have the option to use a 3," 4," and spare 2" lens? Wow! Lol! Since you’re in a good mood, can we get a rotary attachment too? And the option to get our own lens tube holder that we can bring installed with a better quality lens?
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We do try to get the best quality CVD meniscus lenses. I’ve seen some about conveco-concave type but it doesn’t look like much benefit and I don’t know any good source making them
The only other option would be a gallium arsenide lens. Those can produce a better spot, but while they’re transparent to IR they’re opaque to visible light so the red dot won’t work
ZnSe lens quality is kind of a crapshoot. The lens mfgs buy their raw znse from the same sources so even one purported to be of superior quality and better track record can still be crap later.
Thank you so much @dannym for all of your work and energy spent on fixing Tarking. It is truly appreciated!!!
Red Tag condition resolved, with small changes to workflow. See details here: Tarkin Green-tag: new focusing tool
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Hey @dannym! After our fix yesterday—tarkin seems to be having issues cutting through again today. It continues to make cuts differently through out the bed as you saw in random patterns. Nothing to do with what quadrant.
With that being said—it is not cutting through 1/8th inch ply at the moment. What would you recommend?
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Now it seems to have lost power in the bottom right quadrant
Tarkin definitely needs to be red tagged for the day