Having your Muse Galvo focused is not only essential to making good marks but the camera can only function properly if the Muse Galvo is in focus.

Finding the Focus

Your machine should already have a focus length written on the gantry in mm. Use the Z-stage controls to move the pointer so that it matches the scale. The laser would be in focus at the bottom plate.

For example, if your gantry says 309mm then move the Z axis using the jog functions so it reads 309mm.

Engraving something thin, like an anodized aluminum business card, can be done easily when in focus. However, if you have a taller object, let's say around 1" (or 25.4mm) then you would need to add it's height to the base focus height. eg 309+25.4=334.4mm.

Focus Finder(AKA Focus Test)

If you are changing lenses or simply want to dial in your laser for perfect focus, we recommend you use the automatic focus finder tool.

It can be accessed in two ways. From the orange focus icon on RE3 or by entering the Setup page using this format http://IPADRESS/setup . We recommend using the later when changing out your lens.

Step 1) Find a rough focus by moving the Z stage up/down until the red dot (or blue dot for UV lasers) appears sharpest. A laser forms an hourglass type profile so it will appear bigger then come to a small focus spot then enlarge and become big again.

Step 2) The Focus Finder Tool will create a 8x6=48 position grid labelled Rows ABCDEFGH and Columns 123456. Configure the Focus Finder parameters to d=1mm spacing. Then hit the Draw Focus button. The laser will first draw the Rows Labelled A through H and then Columns 1 through 6. Then, the Z will move the laser down 48/2 * 1mm=24mm. It will draw the first square at A1 then move up by 1mm before drawing another square, until it reaches A6. It will continue doing the same for each row until it has drawn all 48 boxes spaced 1mm apart. The resulting image should appear similar to the one below.

We examine the image and find the two squares which look the same, which the white just starting to coming in. Here we select 3F and 4D. It's more important to pick two that look the same as what the software will do is find the center point between the two to find the ideal the focal point. In our experience, it is much easier to see when the square turns white and a second square that fades out then to objectively pick which one looks the sharpest.

Step 3) You can now refine the focus by reducing d=0.5mm and rerunning the test. Now the laser will move down 48/2 * 0.5 = 12mm and move up 0.5mm for each of the 48 squares until it has finished drawing them all. Pick the two that look like they are just about to come in to recenter the laser again. This can be your final focus within 0.5mm.

Record this number on the Z reading in the software as this is now your perfect focus.

Dual Red Dot

On newer models, Muse Galvo can be focused just by bringing the two Red Dots together so they overlap. There are two red dots generated, one from the internal laser through the galvo lens and a second located at the back of the laser head on a rotating tilt mount.

The tilt mount can be adjusted by unscrewing the clamp holder then inserting a hex key into one of the holes and rotating the round swivel mount. The swivel mount also slides left and right to allow adjustment. Between sliding it left/right and rotating it, you can adjust it to match the first through the lens red dot when in focus.

Camera equipped Muse Galvo models with Dual Red dot can also press the autofocus button on the touchscreen or in RE3 and the two red dots will move together.

Since you found the focus in the above step, center the through the lens red dot by hitting the laser home button in RE3 and then swivel and shift the red dot until the two dots line up.

Go back into the software and press the "Save Two Dot Focus Button". The software will utilize the camera to turn one dot at a time and capture the distance between the two dots and always bring them back this distance when ordered to autofocus. This measurement is repeatable to within 0.1-0.2mm with the camera but even by eye you can adjust the two dots to within 0.2-0.5mm with practice.

Height Gauge

When focusing on rotary or using rings or objects where the center of the red dots are not at the same height of the object you are engraving, we strongly recommend you use a height gauge which you can buy on Amazon for about $25. Zero the focus on the base plate. Enter into the Jog Controls Z box = base focus + height gauge reading as shown in below box. For example, if from the focus test your base focus was 244 and your height gauge reads 181 then you can enter Z=244+181. You can actually enter it "244+181" and the box will do the math for you. That way if you take a different measurement you can just change the last number.

Focus Tag Use

On machines without a dual red dot focus, focusing is also achievable with the focus tag. From a focused point, you can put the tag in the camera view and press the "Save Focus" button. To get a higher resolution picture, the head moves down to approximately 120mm above the surface of the tag. However, when it does this, the tag must be fully in view at the lower position so you may need to move the tag further back and centered in the camera otherwise it will return tag will be out of view at lower position error.

After the head comes down to take a close up snapshot, it will save the focus height and return to the original position.

Anytime you want to focus the laser now, you can place the tag on top of the material and press "Autofocus" and the laser will move down and take a close up snapshot of the tag then retract back into the exact focus. This is normally also repeatable to 0.2mm.

Tips:

The dual dot focus is easier to use than the focus tag so we recommend this method on machines equipped with the dual laser. However, for important materials, we suggest you repeat the initial focus test to ensure the laser is indeed in exact focus. This is particularly important for short focus lenses like F=100mm or F=160mm where the depth of focus may only by +/-2mm.

Still having Issues?

Please create a Support Ticket by using the button below or sending an e-mail to support@fslaser.com stating you've done all previous troubleshooting steps.

When submitting via an e-mail you may attach any pictures, videos and project files needed for support to see.
When submitting a ticket using the button below please either respond to the automated generated email stating we have received the ticket with your pictures, videos and project files or upload these to a Google Drive or Dropbox folder and include this link within the support ticket "Your Issue" dialog upon creation.