Grounding A Laser

[Walt Langhans]

Hey Guys,

So the manual says I need to ground my laser, I'm not 100% sure if it necessary given how electricity works here in states but I also figure it can't hurt. My issue is that I know just enough about electricity to be dangerous. I know that for a proper ground you have to have a certain level of resistance but I don't know what that is. I also know that depending on the ground make up it determines the width and length of the grounding rod. I've got a lot of clay in my ground so I figure I'm probably going to need a bigger than usual rod. Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Matt Turner (physics)]

Does it say you need to do anything more than use a power cord with a ground connector? I wouldn't think that you need a dedicated rod for the system.

[Mark Sipes]

Does the laser not have a UL listed 3 prong plug with ground? No better ground that the building you are plugged into. If not I would run a new plug cord from the laser power and the indicated ground on the machine. The plug should have blades that are of different widths so it will only plug in one way. If not I would question the safety of the machine......no standards

[George M. Perzel]

Walt;
The Chinese are notoriously undisciplined when it comes to grounding-many times providing systems with two-wire 220 volts and no ground-a dangerous situation. I recommend that you install a heavy duty ground post at the rear of the machine-scrap the paint away and make sure your post is screwed tightly against the metal case. The Shenhui unit should have a three wire power with one of them the ground-make sure all of these ground terminals are connected to each other and/or to the ground post. Then check that all of the machine steel parts are grounded together and none are isolated by paint layers. Then connect a 14 gauge ground wire to the power supply case and then to the ground post. Check everything with a good ohmmeter. You can probably get away using your house ground if close to your power panel-connect the ground post to that with about 10 gauge wire or to new ground rod if easier-Google ground rods and you will find an easy way to drive an 8 ft rod into the ground using water and little effort in about two hours. If you install the ground rod, the power plug connection in the laser will insure that house ground and rod ground are the same. Get yourself a decent commercial surge protector-220volt type .
Good Luck
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts

[Doug Novic]

Walt,

Not sure if this helps but I drilled the metal case, bolted a copper ground to it and joined the other end to my existing ground rod. Just a precaution.

[Dan Hintz]

The ground rod is overdoing it, IMO... just make sure you have a good connection from the machine to the ground at your outlet. Your outlet should have a good-quality ground already to the box, and then itself to a ground rod. Adding a ground rod 20-30' closer should make zero difference if your building as a whole is wired properly.

I believe Rodney used a ground rod and saw an improvement with errors he was having, but I also believe the electrical setup in South Africa may not be to the same standards as the US. You'll have to wait for him to chime in if otherwise.

[Rodne Gold]

I have a mixture of 2 and 3 phase power incoming with 2 added distribution boards. Old building with lots of wiring all over..been phase balanced and checked but I used grounding rods to make sure. Solved all problems.

[Walt Langhans]

Thanks for the replies guys!

The manual does say to ground it by attaching a metal rod in the ground to the frame of the machine via a copper wire. Granted this is an Chinese manual for a Chinese machine and they may have just not omitted the section on grounding when they send out ones that are compliant to US regulations. There are two 3 prong 110v plugs that come with the machine, one for the laser tube circuit and one for the rest of the electronics. The machine will be in my garage of a house that has been built within the last 10 years and the wiring is up to snuff. But as George points out, since it's a Chinese machine designed for a different electrical system there could be some issues.

Anyone been running their Shenhui here in the states without grounding it and without and issues?

[AL Ursich]

I believe the last post mentioning two three wire power cords plugging into a properly installed and grounded American Electrical System is the way to go.

I DO like the idea of going around inside the unit and with a Quality OHM meter confirm that all metal parts are bonded or attached to the 3 wire Grounded plug. The painted surfaced idea is GOOD too checking bonding between metal sheets or parts.

I DO NOT like the mention of using a Ground Rod in the American 3 wire system due to a little problem called "Ground Loop" What happens with a new installed Ground Rod at the piece of Equipment and the Equipment also Grounded to the American 3 wire System is you get "Ground Loop" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)

What can happen is that the Frame of one piece of Equipment in the Shop could have a Higher POTENTIAL Voltage due to Ground Effect or Ground Loop.

That is why in an American System there is a Bonding Screw inside a Service Panel or Fuse Box. The First Box after the Power Meter has the Bonding Screw Engaged. I have 3 Sub Panels off my main 200 amp service. None of the Sub Panels have the Bonding Screw Engaged.

http://www.nachi.org/forum/f19/sieme...llation-42274/

Good Luck with your new Laser.

AL

[walter hofmann]

hi guys
just my two cents to this I runn my chinese laser machine here in florida since three years and I had some issues in the beginning too first what I discovered was that the three prong plug what was in the machine was not connected to the machine ground at all and was the different kind anyway i replaced it with the US standart plug, and groundet all parts of the machine to this ground and my house is only 10 years old and to the latest code ,but I still had issues and I then put a 6foot groundig rod outside its only 4 feet away and connected the machine ground to this with #10 gauge wird to the rod and since then I had no issues anymore. my machine stand only 3 feet away from one mainpanel.
greetings
walt

[Walt Langhans]

Rodne and Walter what where the issues that you where experiencing that where fixed when you grounded your machines?

[Rodne Gold]

Intermittent operation , laser firing and then inexplicably not firing or firing continuously, mainboard crashing and a few others I forget. I think the grounding may have more to do with removing static or some interference .. suffice it to say , we tied all grounds we could find on the machine to a main ground at the back of the chassis and then to a rod. My laser didnt even have a grounding bolt on the back when I got it. I think I went into more detail in that sticky thread at the top of the forum when describing my unpacking and commissioning.

[walter hofmann]

Hi walt
pretty much the same complitly eradic behaviour but not consistend every time something else.
it has to do with interference because the most have the wiring put together in strands but all kinds from the digital over low voltage to mein power lines.
I had after grounding no problem anymore.
greetings
waltfl

[Jerome Stanek]

Can you do a continuity test between the ground plug and the frame to see if it is actually grounded.

[George Brown]

Al, you are absolutely correct with the ground loop problem. Must be avoided at all cost, and can cause major problems with electronics. All grounds must be bonded together. If you have lightning rods, they must be bonded to the electrical ground also. Multiple grounding rods are ok, as long as they are all bonded together.