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Welcome to the Synrad Laser Marking FAQ! |
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In a continuing effort to provide the best in customer support and technical assistance, we’ve created this information to help our valued customers (YOU) with any issues that might come up relating to the use of our products. If you can’t find the information that you want, email support@synrad.com and let us know what you need. We will be glad to help you!
Product UpgradesSoftwareHow do I save my custom date codes before upgrading WinMark Pro? How do I upgrade my WinMark Pro software? After upgrading my WinMark Pro software, my old files are marking the wrong size. What happened? FirmwareHow do I upgrade the firmware in my Marking Head? General TroubleshootingMy marker doesn’t seem to work at all. What should I do? Why isn’t my laser power following the values set in my WinMark Pro files? Why don’t I get any laser power unless I press the Test Mark button first? Why are some of my parts partially marked or completely unmarked? How do I measure my laser’s output power? At low power levels, my marks look great. At high power, the marks are trashed. What’s going on? Why do I have to resize my imported graphic images in WinMark Pro to make them mark properly? WinMark Pro AutomationGeneralWhat is an Auto Text Type and how do I use it? What is the Event Builder and how do I use it? How can I setup my mark file to select one or more of multiple objects to mark? Hardware I/OHow do I setup my Marking Head to mark automatically with a PLC? Why does my automation only mark once? Why is my marking head not marking the first few characters of the serial data I send? Date CodingRS232 Serial I/OHow does the Serial port text input routine work? How do I use the serial port to input data into my WinMark Pro file? How can I get Serial port input data to format as multiple lines of text in one text object? Is there a way to force handshaking between the serial port data generator and WinMark Pro? SerializationWhy doesn’t my serial number value increment when I mark?
Tracking Operation (Marking “On-The-Fly”)How do I determine the line speed I’ll be able to support with my Tracking marking head? Why does my Tracker marking head make smaller marks when the line slows down? Why does my Tracker marking head mark diagonally? Why doesn’t my Tracker marking head give me the line speed I need?
ActiveXWhat is ActiveX, and how do I use it? Using ActiveX, how do I change my font from Stroke to True Type? How do I use the ActiveX AutoTestMark method? How do I load multiple files and switch from one to another in ActiveX?
Other Marking QuestionsWhy don’t I see the object properties in WinMark Pro? Is there a way to run two or more Marking Heads from one computer?
Definition of TermsThe following terms are used throughout this FAQ:
Mark Loop The Mark Loop is the main body of the WinMark Pro’s automation scheme between the On Before Mark Session and the On After Mark Session Event Builders. (Viewing the Automation Flowchart illustrates the various steps in the automation scheme. The Automation Flowchart may be viewed in WinMark Pro by selecting the Help menu, then the Automation Flowchart.) Every cycle through the Mark Loop causes the laser to fire once. The number of times that WinMark Pro cycles through the Mark Loop in one Mark Session in dictated by the drawing’s Mark Count property. By default, WinMark Pro completes one Mark Loop each mark session, but can be configured to cycle a finite number of loops, or an infinite number of times (Mark Count = 0). Mark Session The Mark Session begins by pressing the F1 key or the Mark button on the toolbar in WinMark Pro or the WinMark Pro Launcher, and ends when Mark Count is satisfied or the Escape (ESC) key is pressed. Using the ActiveX MarkDrawing method, the Mark Session begins when the method is called and ends when control is returned to the calling procedure.
Why doesn’t my marking head work?
If you get no marks at all, or there is no indication that the marking head, laser, or software are alive and kicking, check the following:
Do you have a green Status light on the marking head or Fenix? If not, check the power: 1. For Fenix markers, you need to provide 85 – 240VAC to the marker (no switches need be set to configure the power range). 2. For FH heads, you need to provide 30 +/- 2VDC to the head.
If the Status light is OK, do you have the proper status indication on the laser? If not, check the power to the laser: 1. For the Evo, 48 series, v series t60 and t100 lasers, you need to provide 30 +/- 2VDC to the laser. 2. For the f series lasers, you need to provide 96 +/- 2VDC to the laser. 3. For the t80 laser, you need to provide 36 +/- 2VDC to the laser.
If the marking head and laser Status lights are OK, do you get a mark using the Test Mark button on the head? If not, check the following: 1. Is the focusing lens attached, uncovered and clean? (No offense intended, but some customers have called in for help when they didn’t have the lens cover pulled off.) 2. Is the part at the correct focal length for the lens being used? Depending on the lens, the Depth of Focus can be as little as ½ a millimeter. You can check the marking head’s Final Test report for the actual measured focal length of the lens. If you can’t find the FT report, write down the serial number of the lens and give us a call at 425-349-3500, and we’ll look up the measured focal length from our database. 3. Are you trying to fire the Test Mark on a difficult material? If so, try using paper or cardboard. It could be that the Test Mark’s 50% PWM is too low, or the 15ips mark velocity is too high, for your material. (Keep in mind that marking paper or cardboard with a laser WILL generate smoke and can cause the material to ignite.) 4. Is the laser’s Lase LED flashing during the test mark? If not: a. Double check the FLCC card to verify that the FASI function is turned off: i. For an ISA card, switch #6 should be off. ii. For a PCI card, switch #5 should be off. iii. If the FASI switch was turned on, turn if off, check the Head Info from WinMark, and try the test mark again. b. For FH heads - is the laser control cable properly attached? The attachment will vary by laser type: i. 48 Series, v series, f series – the cable should be connected from the marking head to the rear of the laser. ii. 57, 60, and t Series – the cable should be connected from the marking head to the RF supply. c. For Fenix and DGM markers – check to make sure the RMT INT and RMT KEY circuits are closed. This may mean that you must jumper your external RMT circuits closed.
If the Test Mark seems to work OK, open WinMark, select Help/About WinMark and click on the Head Info button. Does the software correctly report the Fiber Link Card? If not: 1. Are you using the correct WinMark version and FLCC card type for the operating system on your PC? a. For Windows XP or 2000, you must use WinMark version 4 with a PCI card. b. For Windows NT, you must use WinMark versions 3 or 4 with a PCI card. c. For Windows 98, you must use WinMark versions 1, 2, or 4. To use v4, you must have a PCI card. To use version 1, you must have an ISA card. To use version 2, you can use either an ISA or a PCI card. d. For Windows 95, you must use WinMark versions 1 or 2. To use version 1, you must have an ISA card. To use version 2, you can use either an ISA or a PCI card. (You can download WinMark versions 2 or 4 from our website at www.WinMark.com. For other versions, please contact us at support@WinMark.com.) 2. Is the FLCC type listed correctly? If not: a. For a PCI card – double check the card selection found in the WinMark Tools/General Settings/D/A Card (or I/O Card Selection) property. If this does not match the card you are using, or if it says ‘No PCI Card Installed’, turn off the computer, physically move the card to a different slot, and reboot the PC. b. For an ISA card – double check that the dip switch positions 1 – 4 on the card match the center digit of the Hexadecimal address of the card shown in WinMark’s Tools/General Settings/D/A Card Address property. Note that this property lists the Decimal value of the card address – look here for a lookup table of Decimal vs. Hex address values. c. If the card still doesn’t show up correctly, call us at 425 349 3500 and ask for Tech Support.
Does WinMark, in the Head Info window, correctly report the marking head type? 1. For an FH head, WinMark should report “FH Index” or “FH Tracker”. 2. For a Fenix or DGM, WinMark should report “Fenix”, “Fenix Index”, or “Fenix Tracker”. 3. For a DH head, WinMark should report “DH”. 4. For an SH head, WinMark should report “SH or Unknown”.
If the marking head type is not listed correctly: 5. Double check the fiber optic 6. Try moving the FLCC to a different slot in the PC.
Try firing the Test Mark again, then marking from WinMark. If you find that marking from WinMark suddenly works, AND you have an ISA FLCC, follow the steps listed here. Try uninstalling and reinstalling WinMark: 1. Save all of your mark files (*.MKH) to disk or a network drive. 2. Uninstall WinMark: a. Go to the Synrad WinMark program group and select “Uninstall Synrad WinMark” OR b. Go to the WinMark folder and run the “UNWISE.EXE” application OR c. Go to the Windows Control Panel and use the Add/Remove Programs tool. 3. Reinstall WinMark, verifying that your marking head, FLCC, Operating System, and selected WinMark version match the requirements listed above.
If you get to this point and still haven’t found the problem, give us a call at 425 349 3500. We’ll figure it out.
Why isn’t my laser power following the values set in my WinMark Pro files?
Why don’t I get any laser power unless I press the Test Mark button first?
Run the following test to see if you have an address contention problem between the FLCC and the WinMark Pro PC: 1. Power up the Marking Head and initiate a Test Mark using the ‘Test Mark’ button on the Marking Head and verify that the laser and Marking Head are operating. 2. Verify that the WinMark Pro software is closed. 3. Open the DigScope utility that is located in the WinMark Pro program group and folder 4. Press the ‘Toggle Lase’ button and verify the window shows ‘LASER IS ON’ 5. Drag the ‘Laser Duty Cycle’ slider back and forth across the range of values and verify that the laser power is being changed. You should be able to set the slider at its leftmost position and see little or no laser output.
If the laser output power doesn’t respond to the slider settings, then you are probably having an address contention problem between the computer and the FLCC. This may be resolved as follows: 1. Close DigScope and go into the Windows Control Panel and open the System utility. 2. Click on the ‘Device Manager’ tab. 3. Verify that ‘Computer’ is highlighted (it’s at the top of the list) and press the ‘Properties’ button. 4. Click on the ‘Input/Output (I/O)’ button. 5. Scroll down through the list of ‘Settings’ (addresses) until you get to the 0300 - 03FF range. 6. Find an unused range of addresses in the 03x0 - 03xF range. 7. Shut down the computer, remove the FLCC, and set the FLCC base address dip switches to any of the unused address values (refer to the FH Marking Head user’s manual for details on setting the dip switches). 8. Boot up the computer and start WinMark Pro. 9. Go to the Tools menu, select ‘General Settings’ and scroll down the Application Settings properties until the ‘D A Card Address’ is shown. 10. Enter the new FLCC address in decimal form. The following table gives the decimal equivalents for the base address values that may be used for the FLCC:
At this point, you should be able to reproduce the DigScope test, with the laser output responding to the Laser Duty Cycle slider adjustments. If that works properly, then try marking using WinMark Pro, adjusting your power values and seeing if the nature of the mark changes.
How do I check my laser output power?First of all, you will need to have access to a laser power meter. We make a nifty little hand held unit that will measure power up to 250 Watts, but there are a number of companies that build laser power meters.
On a marking system, there are several power measurements that will provide helpful data about the health of your marking components:
· Power directly out of the laser – you will need to gain access to the beam between the laser and marking head. This usually means removing some sort of protective shield from the beam path. · Power out of the marking head (with lens attached) – this means that you MUST ensure that the head is powered up and that the mirrors are centered. Again, there may be some form of guarding that will have to be removed or defeated. · Power out of the marking head (with lens removed) – same as above, but the marking head lens is removed. This test is useful to see how much power is being absorbed by the lens.
In each case, you will be using the DigScope utility that is installed along with WinMark. YOU CANNOT GET AN ACCURATE POWER MEASUREMENT WHILE MARKING! The nature of marking is that the laser is being turned on and off throughout the mark, and a laser power meter will just give an average power reading, not the actual output power of the laser.
If you are using Synrad’s Power Wizard (PW) to measure the power, remember to follow this procedure: 1. Initialize the PW: press the ‘Reset/Power’ button for at least two seconds. Verify that the readout displays 0 +/- 0.3 W. 2. Let go of the ‘Reset/Power’ button and place the PW target in the beam. a. Do your best to keep all of the beam on the target, otherwise the accuracy of the power reading will be affected. b. If you are measuring the power of the beam coming out of the head with the lens attached, place the PW about ½ way between the lens and the focal plane. Measuring the power at the focused spot will eventually damage the PW target. 3. Hold the PW in the beam until the unit beeps. 4. Take as many measurements as needed, repeating steps 1-3. Be sure to allow the PW target to cool if taking multiple readings. DO NOT cool the target by immersing it in any type of fluid – doing so will damage the electronics within the PW.
To measure the laser power: 1. Verify that the marking head mirrors are centered: either fire a mark from WinMark, or press the test mark button. 2. Close WinMark. 3. Put something non-combustible (like a brick) in the beam path to block the beam, while leaving enough room to get the power measurement tool into the beam. 4. Open DigScope and verify that you can vary the laser power and turn the laser output on and off. 5. Set the laser power to zero, and turn the laser output off. 6. To measure the output of the laser: a. Remove whatever shrouding is in the way between the laser and the marking head. b. Turn the laser output on, and slowly bring the power slider up to 100%, verifying that nothing is catching on fire and no one nearby is getting tattooed. c. Place the power probe in the beam and take the power measurement. d. Turn the laser output off and remind yourself to start breathing again. Good. e. Take another two or three measurements, letting the probe cool down as needed between readings. f. Calculate the laser power as the average of the readings. If you find that one reading is WAY off from the others, try taking the same number of readings again. Quite often such an error is caused by a part of the beam missing the probe target, but you will want to verify that the laser power is not just fluctuating wildly. 7. And that’s it. Be sure to replace all the shrouding and guarding that you removed to perform the measurements.
Now that you’ve taken all of your measurements (well… the laser power measurements… we don’t need yours…) what does the data mean? · For the laser, you should see a power value at or above the power rating of the laser. That makes sense… if you are using a Firestar t60 laser, and measure 45W at full power, there is something wrong. Less than rated power could indicate a cooling problem or an issue within the laser or RF supply. Another item to check is to verify that the DC power going to the laser is not drooping under load – check the DC voltage while the laser is firing at 100% duty cycle. · For the power measurements through the head (without the lens), you should see no more than 5% power loss compared to the readings of the laser itself. If you are running an older SH or DH head, this maximum normal value can be up to 10 or 15%, because of the extra optics involved. More loss than this may indicate that the expander is dirty or damaged, the head is misaligned to the laser, or that the galvo mirrors are dirty or damaged. · For the power measurements through the marking head lens, you shouldn’t see more than 5% loss compared to the readings without the lens attached. More loss than this would indicate that the lens is dirty or damaged.
Clean the optics using the procedures and materials called out in the hardware documentation. DO NOT use glass cleaner, Isopropyl alcohol, or other industrial cleaners. Refer to the Technical Reference section under Maintenance. Other than checking the laser cooling, cleaning the optics and correcting any marking head to laser misalignment, there isn’t much you can do in the field to correct damaged or problem components. If you get to this point and haven’t fixed the problem, give us a call at 425 349 3500. How do I use the ActiveX AutoTestMark method?
The ActiveX library in WinMark Pro installations of build 3155 or higher include an additional method to allow mark files to be downloaded to the Marking Head as a Custom Test Mark. For further details of the Custom Test Mark functions, see the FH Series Marking Head Operator’s Manual. The method is used as follows: BOOL AutoTestMark <bNoAuto as Boolean, bIndexMark as Boolean, nDownload as Boolean> The function arguments are defined as: bNoAuto FALSE = Auto Test Mark, TRUE = Manual Test Mark bIndexMark TRUE = Index marking, FALSE = Track marking nDownload TRUE = download current drawing, FALSE = no download (just update the binary settings)
How do I determine the line speed I’ll be able to support with my Tracking Marking Head?For detailed information regarding the calculation of line speed on Tracking Marking Heads and optimization of mark files to provide the best line speed values, refer to Technical Bulletin #0003, available for download here.
Why are some of my parts partially marked or completely unmarked?
There are a LARGE number of possible causes for partially marked or unmarked parts. In answering the following questions, you should be able to discover the answer on your own. If you don’t, then contact Synrad with the answers in hand, and we will have a head start in the troubleshooting process. 1. For Fenix: does the Fenix display any error codes or unusual information? If so, do the displays on both sides of the Fenix agree? 2. Check the reliability of the source of the “mark start” input signal. Does it originate from a newly installed sensor, whose sensitivity may need adjusting? Does it originate from an old sensor that has become faulty? 3. Are the unmarked parts randomly distributed through the marking session, or do they occur in a clump? 4. If in a clump, was it at the beginning or end of the marking session, or somewhere in between? Have you verified the stability of the power source: for Fenix, check for fluctuations on the power line; for SH, DH and FH heads, verify that the supply voltage is at 30 +/- 2VDC under load. 5. If spread out, verify that the parts are not occasional out of place: missing from the normal stream, set too close or too far from the Marking Head (out of the depth of focus of the lens). 6. Were the problem parts completely blank, or were there partial marks on any of them? Partial marks would indicate that the mark was started or ended correctly, but interrupted by something (like a reset, or the line indexing to the next part before the mark was started or completed). 7. WinMark Pro displays a count of the number of objects marked. Does the WinMark Pro count agree with the number of parts that have been presented? Is it off by the number of unmarked parts? If so, this would indicate that WinMark Pro didn’t recognize the start mark signal for the unmarked parts. See Technical Bulletin #0004, available for download here. 8. Do you have any interlocks or remote key switch connections in place or are using the FASI feature? Verify that all controlling sources for these signals are operating reliably. 9. Did anything else unusual happen during the mark session that might be correlated with the missing marks? Does the line have to be stopped and restarted to load new parts during a run? If WinMark Pro must be reset to continue marking, what is the last entry in the mark log (the scrolling list of status messages shown on the right side of the computer screen during marking)? 10. What is the temperature in the area around the marker? Is there any possibility that the laser is shutting down due to an over-temp condition? 11. Are you using the WinMark Pro computer for any other function on the line? Did you remove all network and modem cards from the WinMark Pro PC? 12. Do you have a screen saver in operation on the WinMark Pro computer? If so, disable it.
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