Ouch my eye!

I took a few hours yesterday to give the unit a quick wipe-down to clean off any loose dirt, and take a few pictures now that my hand is feeling a bit better. Over the next few days I’ll be posting a review of the state of the various components. But first, I’ve had a couple of questions about the laser/power, so I thought I’d make a quick post about it.

The system is a M25 from Universal Laser Systems (ULS). It was manufactured back in 1999, but the model was actually introduced a few years earlier in 1997. From ULS’s own time-line, on their site, they say the following about the M25:

[1997] Introduction of the new ULS M25 laser engraving and cutting system. This new system incorporated a new laser manufactured by ULS along with several new innovations. It featured a 24″ x12″ engraving and cutting area and a 25 watt CO2 laser.

Not sure what the “new innovations” were, but I imagine the model 2 years later contained further minor refinements, based on the fact I’ve seen images and videos tagged M25, that contain subtle differences in the chassis, and other mechanics.

As for the laser cartridge itself, it originally came with a newly designed 25W laser, as can be seen from the quote above. The unit I have contains a UL-30 Laser manufactured in 2008. Which, as best as I can find, is a 30W laser. Not sure if the laser is intentionally over-rated to ensure 25W output across the cutting area, or if it was an upgrade performed on the unit down the road. But one thing is certain, in that the laser cartridge was replaced sometime after November 2008.

As for the current state of the unit… I’m not certain when the fire was, I only know it was “years ago” from the email. Given the manufacture date of the laser cartridge, that places it within the past 3 years. This could imply that the laser cartridge has a relatively low number of running hours on it so far, as it has been idle for quite some time. [BONUS!]