BEAM-E Mirror Cleaning & Removal

Your BEAM-E laser cutter uses a glass CO2 laser tube to generate the laser beam, which is then reflected off 3 angled mirrors to the lens in the moving part of the laser cutter. 

We call these mirrors, mirror 1, mirrors 2 and mirror 3. 

 

Mirror 1 is located at the very back left of your laser cutter, just in front of the glass CO2 laser tube. This one is the hardest to get at. It can be reached by unlocking and lifting the back cover or by removing the left hand side plate (this may have a security torx screw holding it closed). It is angled at 45 degrees to the laser tube and the X axis gantry. 

Mirror 2 is located at the far left of the moving X axis gantry, it can be accessed by unlocking and removing the left hand side main panel. It is positioned at 45 degrees to the tube and X axis gantry, but facing towards the back of the machine, allowing the beam to reverse its direction about 180 degrees towards the moving laser head. 

Mirror 3 is located in the moving laser head, just above the lens, this is the easiest to access as it is in the work area and can easily be moved to a convenient location using the arrow keys on the controller keypad. This mirror is angled at 45 degrees and reflects the laser beam downwards through the focusing lens towards the workpiece. 

 

  

All of the mirrors are mounted using a screw-in washer. This washer has two holes sockets located in it as in the picture on the left. Using a long-nose plier turn the washer carefully but firmly anti-clockwise to loosen and clockwise to tighten. 

Push the mirror out from the front of the mount using a pencil or a cotton-bud. 

The mirrors are made of Molybdenum and are polished to a high shine on the working side. 

When removing the mirrors try carefully not to force or nudge the mounting, as this will likely cause your machine to go off alignment. 

For more information about alignment check this link.

 

 

 

Before removing a mirror, try to inspect it visually. With the machine switched off try looking at the mirrors to check if they really do need a clean and to be removed. Move your head and eyes around until you can see the mirror clearly, then try and catch some light (you could use the light on your phone) to see if it gives a crisp, unsmudged reflection, just like you’d expect from clean glass or a mirror in your home. If the mirror does need a clean, use a lens cleaning cloth then try cleaning the mirror without removing it. You can use some isopropyl alcohol or any lens/glasses cleaning solution to help. Use the cleaning solution to wipe away any excess, then let it evaporate/dry. Now dry clean with a lens cloth.

 

If you need to remove the mirrors for cleaning follow the steps above. You can replace the mirrors fairly cheaply by buying 20mm OD Molybdenum mirrors from Smoke & Mirrors online store.