Your laser maintenance schedule
Most laser problems are not sudden failures. They are slow drifts that could have been caught early: optics that got dirty over weeks, a belt that stretched over months, cooling water that was never changed.
The schedule below is grouped by interval. Each task links to the full instructions.
Every day you use the machine
Section titled “Every day you use the machine”| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Water chiller | Check the water level and the water temperature. The normal range is 20 to 25 °C: if the water is still colder than that, let it come up before you start a job. |
| Clear the bed of offcuts | Small offcuts are the most common cause of a flare-up, and they smoulder long after a job ends. Look every day, and clean the tray below the bed at least once a week. |
| Extraction running | It should start with the job, not once you smell something. See laser fumes and extraction. |
| Air assist flowing | Hand under the nozzle. Thirty seconds, and it prevents a lot of lens cleaning. |
| A glance at the lens and mirrors | If anything has hazed over since yesterday, air assist or extraction is not doing its job. |
Every week
Section titled “Every week”| Check | Where |
|---|---|
| Inspect and clean the lens | Lens cleaning |
| Inspect the mirrors | Cleaning mirrors |
| Wipe out the cabinet and the bed | Residue builds up and reflects back onto the underside of your material: reflection on your material |
| Check the extraction filter or duct | A filter loads gradually. You notice the loss only once it is severe. |
How often optics actually need cleaning depends entirely on what you cut. MDF and leather will have you cleaning weekly; acrylic much less often.
Every month
Section titled “Every month”| Check | Where |
|---|---|
| Belt tension on X and Y | Adjusting and replacing the belts |
| Guides, rails and idler wheels: clean and lubricate | The guides of the BRM Original |
| Verify alignment with a test cut in five bed positions | If one corner cuts differently, see mirror alignment |
| Check the laser head is still square | Original / Pro |
| Check the outside of the laser source for dust | Cleaning the laser source |
| Drain the compressor / check the water separator | The compressor option |
Seasonally and yearly
Section titled “Seasonally and yearly”| When | Check |
|---|---|
| Start of summer | Work out the dew point in your workshop and raise the chiller setpoint if needed, because condensation on the laser source is a summer failure. What temperature should the chiller be set to? |
| Start of winter | Protect against freezing and confirm the workshop stays within the machine’s ambient range. Can the machine and chiller withstand the cold? |
| Twice a year | Replace the cooling water and clean the chiller. The water chiller in top condition |
| Yearly | Full alignment check, deep clean of the cabinet, review optics for damage rather than just dirt. |
Keep a log
Section titled “Keep a log”Write things down. A notebook by the machine with:
- what you cleaned or adjusted, and when,
- the settings that currently cut your standard materials,
- anything that looked unusual,
turns “I think it’s got weaker?” into a measurement. It is also how you spot an ageing laser source, which shows up as a slow upward drift in the power needed for the same job over months: is my laser source worn out?
On a BRM machine
Section titled “On a BRM machine”- A BRM Extractor keeps its own log file, which does part of the log-keeping above for you: why and how to create a BRM Extractor log file.
- The guides, the head-square check and the compressor drain differ per model. The monthly table above links to the article for yours.
- Anything on this schedule you would rather not do yourself, ask us.
When something is already wrong
Section titled “When something is already wrong”The schedule above is prevention. If the machine is misbehaving now, start here instead: