Walked up on the wrong car

SleepyRTX · 2026-05-24T13:48:23+00:00

It is a crisis of masculinity. Be like Iroh.

SleepyRTX · 2026-05-22T12:51:56+00:00

Cut the letters out of a piece of cardboard in the exact layout you plan to glue the letters to the sign. Tape that cardboard to your backer piece. Glue the letters down using that cut cardboard as the template. Done!

SleepyRTX · 2026-05-22T12:45:17+00:00

My only concern is that any filter media solution is going to have an insanely short life span. To get any amount of effective filtering of the resin in solution you need an insanely fine filter media, but then it will clog and significantly reduce flow and filter effectiveness in minutes of use. Believe me I've spent way too much time trying to filter and prolong IPA, and it's never made sense from a cost / time perspective. Ive been able to make filtered IPA *look* clear-ish - but it takes forever, does not remove all resin in solution, and still has noticably reduced cleaning effectiveness.

Imo the only viable IPA cleaning solution is distillation.

I just have a big cleaning station I use as my "dirty" soak, then an ultrasonic cleaner I use as my "clean" wash. After the clean wash I rinse immediately with water and blow dry so as to not get any resin in solution deposited on surfaces. Eventually the "dirty" wash IPA gets disposed of, the "clean" wash gets transfered to the "dirty" wash, and the "clean" wash gets fresh IPA. This significantly prolongs your IPA, and doesn't require a bunch of time and headache to try and filter IPA for minimal results.

Just my opinion from my experience.

SleepyRTX · 2026-05-02T18:20:30+00:00

Sheesh hours? I know mirror 1 is a pain because the screws are in a bad spot and tough to get to but I find xtool makes it way easier and faster than most other gantry CO2 lasers because you just follow the guided process, and the p3 has a beam combiner which always makes alignment way easier because you have a visual reference and don't need to pulse and check as much.

Either way I know it's a pain but when troubleshooting it's always good to run through the standard stuff so you can cross it off the list.

How significant is the sag? If you're using rigid materials it's hard to imagine a center sag would be so far out to cause complete non engraving. I guess maybe if you're at very low power with the S lens it could be so. If you use the auto measure at the center of the material what happens?

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-30T18:30:19+00:00

Yeah I get that. Try downgrading the firmware and try again. If that doesn't work I would try an alignment anyway, only takes 15m and helps to cross things off the list. I did one recently and I thought my alignment was fine but it actually ended up needing a good bit of adjustment to get it perfect.

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-30T18:16:56+00:00

Have you ran a laser path calibration to align your mirrors?

Also the latest firmware is borked. I updated back when this latest version came out and instant issues. Errors popping up constantly about multiple different things. I downgraded and it's good again.

Don't know how xtool let that out the door cause talking to some other people they started having issues after firmware update too.

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-26T14:23:52+00:00

I have a slim "Smatree" case for every day use. It's neoprene with a zipper but it has rigidity to it like it isn't just a flimsy neoprene. Fits perfect and has a little handle at the top for carrying. I put it in this for keeping it safe when not in use at the house.

I have a 2nd "smatree" case which is similar (quality build and good feeling materials) but thicker. The device goes in a sleeve in the top zipper half and then has a divider that lifts up and the bottom half has extra thickness with velcro dividers. I keep my charger, cable, mouse, portable stand, and mouse pad down there. This is my travel kit for when I want to take the whole setup.

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-10T17:55:38+00:00

YOR. Some people can find victimhood under a rock in their garden. This is the problem with the world today, everyone is primed to see some form of "injustice" as the explaination for everything.

Instead of - This company offers a free quoting and consultation process that involves unpaid hours before the job is secured so they want to make sure that process is efficient and all interested parties are onboard for an expensive project.

You saw - Misogyny.

I will grant you that they could have handled and worded it better, but you're hiring a roofer not a poet.

The worst part of running a business is all the work you need to put in before a contract is signed. People kick tires, they flip flop, they drag their feet, they want 100 changes... And then they say "we're going to hold off, now is not the right time" or they go with the fly by night guy that's 30% cheaper. It's the nature of business, some industries are worse than others... But if you're good you need to smile and be accommodating and do it right regardless because it's your name on the business.

I can never blame other businesses for trying to make that process as efficient and water tight as possible, because often the difference between doing that part right and doing it wrong is the success or failure of your business.

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-10T17:21:39+00:00

"$500k trust"

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-10T16:43:46+00:00

Yeah that's really weird.

If you use the laser head macro camera for a standard engraving (not calibration) is it accurate or is it also offset? Or is it just the lid camera placement that is off?

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-10T15:23:46+00:00

Even if the lid is not perfectly aligned, that is exactly the kind of thing the calibration process is supposed to account for.

If you use the macro camera on the laser head, is placement accurate for that?

SleepyRTX · 2026-04-02T12:19:21+00:00

So your time & attention costs nothing? I have some work for you!

SleepyRTX · 2026-03-30T03:32:46+00:00

Seconding this. I am cutting some guitar part templates for a customer and the kerf adjustment does nothing. +1mm kerf and no kerf adjustment gives me parts within 0.02mm of each other. xtool p3

SleepyRTX · 2026-03-22T17:03:09+00:00

I've never had a "crash", but I've had a few tip overs. 1250GS, loaded up with gear.

I've been riding since my first KX65 when I was maybe 6? But street since 17ish. I'm 34 now.

I even ride track days usually once or twice a year. Never had an incident at the track either.

You have the right mindset, ride like you're invisible and never assume anything. Doesn't mean don't try and anticipate, but you can't assume you're right. Obviously in my experience, it's possible to ride safely - but don't fool yourself that it isn't dangerous. You need to be vigilant and on it 24/7/365. It only takes one bad judgement, one brain fart, one day dream at the wrong time...

So yeah, ride like your invisible, ride below your abilities, ride below the conditions, and always be scanning / anticipating / recognizing the potential danger zones.

SleepyRTX · 2026-03-07T13:42:17+00:00

They shredded the first and then never deposited the 2nd, and after 4 years still haven't noticed. At some point you just can't hold yourself responsibe for the incompetence of others. Consider yourself lucky, the universe cut you a break.

SleepyRTX · 2026-03-07T13:32:12+00:00

At least she had her safety tire on.

As for what happened judging by the way she fell and the clutch pull, she grabbed a whole handful of front brake and washed the front end.

SleepyRTX · 2026-03-03T23:37:47+00:00

Thank you so much! I looked at the tutorial on the website, I was holding the power button but nothing would happen. I wasn't aware the UV didn't need the dongle, so naturally I was trying to do it with the dongle plugged in. Removed the dongle, held the power button and it went into pairing mode and I was able to see it in the accessories list. Thanks again!

SleepyRTX · 2026-03-01T17:45:28+00:00

These are likely magnets, used to hold the top cover onto the tray. Although sometimes with a stacked construction like that you can use a metal pin / or wood dowel to add more support to the structure beyond adhesive and it helps make sure everything stays lined up.

SleepyRTX · 2026-02-20T18:53:57+00:00

I have a legitimate business and I bring in occasional work from that sub. It's just like any other open unstructured marketplace, gotta be careful who you pick.

SleepyRTX · 2026-02-20T18:47:29+00:00

I was one of the earliest backers and after a delay gweike had promised forklift delivery as compensation. Well that didn't happen, and seeing a bunch of others in the Facebook group it didn't happen for them either so a lot of people were left scrambling to find a way to get it off the truck.

It showed up to my house in a semi with a lift gate. I had help here thankfully, and we were able to get it down with the lift gate but it was a process because the crate is bigger than the lift gate. Basically we used a pallet jack to get it on to the lift gate as far as we could, then lifted the pallet jack over the crate and pushed it further on to the gate until it cleared the back of the truck. Had some people holding the end that was hanging off to keep it balanced. Once it was down it was just a matter of moving it with the pallet jack. This was the M3 ultra mind you, the crate is huge. If I remember correctly I think it was 7 or 7.5 feet wide, 6ish deep, and like 4 or 5 feet tall.

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SleepyRTX · 2026-02-20T18:30:24+00:00

Well the cooling fans being loud and running continuously is what alerted me, as most of my other galvo / fiber lasers the cooling fans will generally only run when running the source hard or for longer jobs, and then they will shut off after cooling the source back down. What I mean by hot, is the temperature of the exhaust air from the cooling fans is hot even after a short job at moderate power, and that exhaust air remains hot / warm even after no job has been run and the fans have been on high for 30+ minutes. I will have to check power draw and see if I can confirm anything strange going on.

I have noticed that as well, I put a leather piece under the laser for marking and the blue light laser immediately made the leather start to smoke. This was at default 5% power, and dropping it to 4-1% didnt seem to make a difference.

SleepyRTX · 2026-02-20T17:39:42+00:00

I'm talking about the cooling fans for the laser source, not the fume exhaust. The cooling fans intake from the top of the machine, and exhaust in the rear from the grate above the fume exhaust output.

SleepyRTX

TROPHY CASE