Full Version: Universal Smart Tube
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#1]
28 Feb 2007
To: laserman (MIKEMAC) 28 Feb 2007
Mike,
While at the Universal booth in Las Vegas, we were talking about the large format (legal) pass-through machine. It's a beauty!
At the time, you mentioned the "Smart Tube."
Could you expand on that conversation?
Basically, you said the machine would sense a drop in power, from the laser tube and make adjustments, to keep the cutting ability the same as a fresh tube.
Am I mis-stating the claim?
EDITED: 28 Feb 2007 by DGL
From: Boz (CHEDDARHEAD) [#2]
28 Feb 2007
To: ALL
Hey Stunt, I think what they mean by a "smart tube" is the tube tells the system what laser power it is supposed to be. I do not think it is dynamic or interactive. So the "smart tube" "tells" the driver what the parameters should be set at for the laser on the system. I believe it has something to do with their new driver. Their new driver looks like an evolved Versalase driver, with more features.
There are systems out there that will compensate for power fluctuations, as well as other variables, but they are more expensive.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#3]
28 Feb 2007
To: Boz (CHEDDARHEAD) [#2] 8 Mar 2007
PS - It was a pleasure to finally meet you and Diane at the show.
From: laserman (MIKEMAC) [#4]
1 Mar 2007
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#3] 1 Mar 2007
David,
I am waiting to get more facts before I post to this subject. I will respond once I get the correct information.
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#5]
1 Mar 2007
To: laserman (MIKEMAC) [#4] 1 Mar 2007
Mike,
Tell us what you know, then we'll mix in a few assumptions, and we'll end up with fact. It works for the government. :P
From: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#6]
9 Mar 2007
To: ALL
My role here, as I see it, is answer direct questions about our lasers and laser systems, to correct any misleading information about our products, and to add to the online laser engraving community knowledge base. David has assured me that industry members are a welcome and vital part of the Engraving Etc. community. I will do my best to provide information that will be of benefit to you.
David asked me to comment on ULS’s new smart laser cartridge technology which was introduced at ARA. Smart laser cartridge technology is available on our new VersaLaser Value Laser Series and Professional Laser Series systems. Smart laser cartridge technology provides real-time, two-way communication between the laser cartridge and the ULS system in which it is installed.
There are a number of benefits to smart laser cartridge technology. The cartridges provide built-in diagnostics that protect them from under- and over-temperature events and RF failures. They also provide variable fan control that reduces fan speeds when the laser system is idle, which greatly reduces noise levels. Also, when you install a smart laser cartridge in a ULS system, the system immediately detects the laser’s power level.
Why is automatic detection of power level important? The Professional Laser Series includes an enhanced materials-based print driver that gives users their choice of automatic or manual control over power, speed and other system settings. You can toggle between automatic and manual modes at any time to adjust system settings while a job is running. By providing auto-detection of power level, smart laser cartridge technology automatically adjusts the settings in the materials-based print driver database to provide the correct power levels for cutting, marking and engraving.
ULS smart technology laser cartridges feature patented Quick Change Laser technology which allows you to install or remove the cartridge in seconds without the need for tools or optical alignment. The cartridges are also RoHS compliant.
Again, it's a pleasure to contribute to the forum. Please let me know if you have any questions about smart technology laser cartridges.
"A true teacher would never tell you what to do, but would give you the knowledge with which you could decide what would be best for you to do. When you are humble you can learn a great deal very quickly..."
From: Tony (ANTE) [#7]
9 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#6] 9 Mar 2007
Hi David,
Thank you for coming on EE forum. Any help is greatly appreciated.
I have ULS V-400 40 Watt built in 2000 and was wondering if new
laser cartriges are direct replacement for existing one,
or these can be installed only on new "Smart Systems".
Thank you
Tony @ MCE
________________________
From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#8]
9 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#6] 9 Mar 2007
Just so we all understand the terminology you're using, are you saying that the system detects the power of the laser, such as:
1 - The difference between, for example, a 35 watt, 50 watt, or 75 watt laser cartrige. So it tells the system "35", "50" or "75" watts.
or
2 - The actual measurable wattage output for a given tube, such as a 50 watt tube that is currently putting out 57 watts, and as it ages might put out 54 watts. So it tells the system "57" or "54" watts (and everything between as it ages).
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#9]
9 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#6] 9 Mar 2007
Allow me to offer a proper, "Welcome to the forum." :-)
It was truly a pleasure to meet you in Las Vegas and talk shop, not only about ULS products, but the industry at large.
I think it's crucial to have industry supplier input and support of the site and I thank you for taking time from your hectic schedule to address our questions.
I should point out that the big countdown to the ULS secret, was in anticipation of the materials-based print driver database, which was unveiled at the ARA show in Las Vegas.
I was impressed by the brief overview!
Do the automatically-adjusted settings to the print driver database apply to only the factory-installed material settings, or are user-installed additions to the database also automatically adjusted?
EDITED: 9 Mar 2007 by DGL
From: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#10]
12 Mar 2007
To: ALL
Hi Tony,
Our new systems use entirely electronics for “smart” two-way communication. It is possible to fit a smart technology laser cartridge into an older system (using an electrical adaptor harness) but you won’t get any of the “smart” technology benefits unless you have one of our new systems. We’re still building the previous-generation laser cartridges that will fit your system without an adaptor harness and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
All the best,
Dave
From: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#11]
12 Mar 2007
To: ALL
Is everyone named Dave on this forum? :O
The smart technology laser cartridge detects the cartridge’s nominal manufactured power rating. The power output from these cartridges is quite stable so it’s not necessary to measure the output on an ongoing basis. There are also image enhancement controls that you can use to fine-tune the performance of the materials-based print driver if necessary. But for the most part you can simply swap different power lasers in and out of the system without making any adjustments and still get excellent cutting, marking and engraving results.
All the best,
Dave
From: UncleSteve [#12]
12 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#11] 12 Mar 2007
From: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#13]
12 Mar 2007
To: ALL
Hi David,
Thank you for the warm welcome! I’m delighted to participate and will try to provide more timely replies in the future.
To answer your question, the materials-based print driver will automatically set the correct power, speed and other setting for all of the materials in the standard database. You can modify any of these settings (using the manual controls) and then save the results in the user-defined materials database, and run the file again at a later time.
Here’s an example: You engrave some wood plaques for Saint Mary’s Hospital using the “Hard Wood -- Cherry, Maple, Walnut” setting on the materials-based print driver. A couple of weeks later you re-run the plaques, but these particular samples are a drier batch of wood, so you back off the power a touch and increase the speed, then save the file as “Saint Mary’s – Dry Wood” in the user-defined materials database. Now you’re set for the next time you want to engrave that particular batch of wood plaques. Note too that you don’t have to open CorelDRAW or whatever graphic software you used to create the file – a real time-saver.
Hope that answers your question.
All the best,
Dave
From: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#14]
12 Mar 2007
To: ALL
Hi UncleSteve,
You can upgrade your ULS system from 25 to 40 watts at any time simply by swapping out lasers. You can swap out lasers in under a minute without using any tools or worrying about optical alignment. The benefits of increasing power from 25 to 40 watts are fairly substantial – you’ll be able to cut and engrave faster and deeper. I’m fairly math-lexic so I’m not sure if you’ll experience a “60 percent” increase in terms of reducing cutting and engraving times by upgrading from 25 to 40 watts, but your throughput should certainly increase.
All the best,
Dave
From: UncleSteve [#15]
12 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#14] 12 Mar 2007
BTW, I get the 60% by taking 60% of 25 ( 3/5ths) and adding it on to the 25 Watt starting point... :-)
This sounds like a great opportunity for someone to get into the laser end of the business at a lower entry cost and upgrade as needed without having to sell/trade/etc. the lower power system.
I have often seen comments here and in other forums about "I sure wish I bought a more powerful unit" .....
Also lowers the chance of a change of brand when the upgrade is made... buy you didn't hear ME say that! ;-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#16]
12 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#13] 12 Mar 2007
My question was, once I set paramaters for "dry wood" does the Smart Tube recognize those settings as automatically-adjustable, in the same way it would recognize factory-set parameters?
From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#17]
12 Mar 2007
To: David Wilhite (DAVID-ULS) [#13] 12 Mar 2007
Noted. Will there be a stand-alone application to handle the manipulation of these settings? Will the settings be stored in one file or as individual files as they are stored now? Will there be facilities for creating tables of all the settings? Will there be options to apply global changes to all of the settings?
Any chance of getting the file format for the ULS Advanced driver print files (VLM files)?
Any chance of getting VBA access to the ULS print driver in CorelDraw?
Just thought I'd ask..........
From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#18]
12 Mar 2007
To: UncleSteve [#15] 12 Mar 2007
Be careful. I think there's a size limitation for some models. The smaller entry-level lasers have less room available for the laser tube. An upgrade from a 25W to 45W may require more room than what is available in the laser housing.
From: UncleSteve [#19]
12 Mar 2007
To: Carl (CSEWELL) [#18] 12 Mar 2007
Just one more question to ask when looking at a machine: "What is the limit for upgrading the tube on this particular model?" :-)
From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#20]
12 Mar 2007
To: UncleSteve [#19] 12 Mar 2007
http://www.ulsinc.com/english/laser_systems/product_line/VersaLaser.html
Cross-Platform Compatibility With All ULS Air-Cooled Quick Change Laser Cartridgesâ„¢ (Patented)
10 or 25 watts - VL-200
10, 25, 30, 40 or 50 watts - VL-300
Auto Focus and Red Dot Pointer standard
Show messages: 0-19 20-26