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K40 Laser Engraver

Name K40 Laser Engraver
Owner Sam Harmon
Location Electronics
Training needed Yes
Hackable No
Model K40
Serial NA
Arrival Date 3/17/2018
Working Yes
Contact Sam Harmon

Current Status: Sort of operational (It's a K40…)

Specifications:

  • Power output: 40 W (theoretically, anyway)
  • Cutting area: Clamp area is 8“x4”.
  • Coolant: currently a mix of distilled water and RV antifreeze (3:1 ratio), a few drops of algicide, and a few drops of dish soap.
  • Exhaust: Fume extraction via a BOFA AD-Access fume extractor/filter

Fixes implemented:

  • Bad connection on the power inlet between the hot and fuse. Re-soldered.
  • Jumpered water break detection since detector is NFG.
    • Test again with new coolant pump to make sure it wasn't just low flow?

Fix needed:

  • need to replace K+/K- cable. We should have a pile of the correct kind in the through-hole connector bin (hooked up to thermistors, but one can be sacrificed for this)
  • Figure out proper solution to water break sensor (a: try better pump? b: replace sensor?)

Laser does work, though not yet from triggering on the front panel (or via Gcode)

Software: I suggest K40 Whisperer, as the LaserDRW thing it came with is not so hot.

Usage: It's not ready for production jobs yet, so DON'T USE IT. We're getting there…

Safety considerations: https://techbravo.net/hosting/knowledgebase/4191/CO2-Laser-Engraver-Safety.html

  • NO ABS - Cyanide gas is bad for you!
  • NO PVC OR VINYL-BASED MATERIALS - Chlorine gas is bad for you!
  • Wood and Acrylic are OK. ATX Hackerspace has a recommended list of materials here- don't consider it gospel just yet, but a series of recommendations.

Power levels:

  • Wood (engraving) - 8%
  • Acrylic - 25% was great for engraving, but slightly insufficient for cutting (the cut edges did snap off easily, though)

Upgrades to consider in the near term:

Upgrades to consider eventually?:

  • improved controller board (Smoothie? DSP?)

Documentation dump:

k40_laser_engraver.1541911068.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/11/10 23:37 by sdh7

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