Upgrade K40

[Syyhn]

Hello!

I have bought a laser engraver from china.
And it freezez all the time mostely when i engrave.
So im in to upgrade to DSP.
But i think i maybe would upgrade some more. Like laser head, mirrors and lens.
And maybe the motors to?
It come a viberating sound from the machine when it move sometimes. I can fix a movie on that later.
My question are what kind of lserhead and lens should i use?

[brian257]

I would recommend that you get the K40 upgrade kit which comes with the air assist head. The head does not come with a focus lens. I got two new 18mm lenses also. I don't know if upgrading the mirrors does much for you, but I would like to hear what others say about that.

[NickWL]

My thinking on mirrors:
The No 2 mirror is exposed to all the vaporised stuff and inevitably gets coated with it.
If the coating gets dense enough the mirror+coating will absorb more heat from the laser and reflect less.
If the mirror absorbs enough heat (from the laser) it will crack.

Keeping the mirror(s) clean is good, having a spare is sensible!

[jjpumphrey]

Go for the upgrade! I bought one of those cheap K40 machine with the moshicrap software. It is a joke, a bad joke with no punch line.
I gutted all of the electronics and went with all new parts from lightobject.com. I have an extensive background in electronics engineering so the upgrade was easy and fun for me. Just got my air assist installed and operational and having fun with the machine now. The folks at lightobject.com have top notch support and the prices are more than reasonable! I have had no problems with any of the parts and it works!!!! Next is the motorized Z bed, can't wait!

[jeckardt]

I am also embarking on an upgrade of a D40. It's been ordered and supposed to be delivered next Friday.

I'm about to place an order with Marko for the DSP upgrade kit, a z-table, honeycomb, and 40/60w power supply (in preparation for eventually increasing the tube to 45w or 50w longer tube after Marko has worked the kinks in doing that).

Can anyone tell me the lens and mirror diameters for the D40 so I can order an upgrade set?

Z-axis table -- I assume that I need to order a third driver board separately for that to go with the DSP?

Is there anything else I should go ahead and order now that I may have forgotten? I'd like to minimize the number of orders if I can.

I'm really looking forward to getting started on this project over Thanksgiving week.

[acuralegendz]

Get mirrors and a new lens, and yes you will need a driver for the z table.
This is what I ordered after my initial K40 purchase from ebay, unfortunately I've made 3 separate orders so your lucky to make one lol:Mini 2
1 of: Mini 2 Phase 1.5A 1-axis Stepping Motor Driver
1 of: Power table/ bed kit for K40 small laser machine
3 of: 20mm Gold Plated Reflection MirrorSize of mirrors on orginal k40
1 of: 5mW 650nm Red Laser with adjustable focus
1 of: 300X200 Honeycomb. Fit K40 machine
1 of: High quality 18mm ZnSe Focus lens (F50.8mm) Size of the lens in new laser head
1 of: DSP upgrade kit for D/K40 small machine which comes with these items:

1 of: AWC608 Commercial DSP CO2 Laser Engraving/ Cutter Controller
1 of: DC 24V 5A Switching Power Supply. Good for CNC stepping motor and water pump
2 of: Proximity Limit Sensor Switch (C2)
1 of: Emergency Push Button Switch with lock
1 of: 3 digit Mini Blue LED DC 100mA meter. Ideal for CO2 Laser power indicator(100mA)
1 of: 2405S DC-DC 5V (2Watt) Isolated Power Module. Ideal for 24V system
10 of: 3 wires Limit switch/ sensor cable
1 of: 18~20mm Laser head w/ air assisted. Ideal for K40 machine
2 of: Mini 2 Phase 1.5A 1-axis Stepping Motor Driver

Stuff not from LightObject
http://www.harborfreight.com/16-horsepo ... -9084.html
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Homer-Bucket ... /100087613
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leaktite-5-g ... /202264044
Antifreeze
4 gallons of distilled water
Extra cables for wiring everything, I'm a computer tech with limitless cables and wires so I was good there.

I'm sure I'm missing a few things but thats what I got off the top of my head.

[jeckardt]

Thank you, acuralegendz, that list is very helpful.

[brian257]

Acura, I am still using the original mirrors that came with the K40. Are the ones that Marco sells significantly better? Is there really a reason to replace them?

[acuralegendz]

I think it was needed.I have noticed a "cleaner" more defined cut since swapping the mirrors and I keep them clean. The originals I could never get all the way clean from the beginning. $45 for better looking results is a no brainer for me.

[jeckardt]

Found one important item missing from Acura's list: airline tubing for the air assist.

D40, X7 DSP upgrade (and all the other bits from Marco), and an air pump all scheduled for delivery by end of this week! I'm excited.

The one big unknown still remaining for me is how to mount the X7 DSP front panel so it looks nice. I'll have to dig through this forum to see how others have done it.

[NickWL]

I made a BIG mistake with air pumps - just listing it here for any other K40 owners looking to upgrade.
I bought a two-cylinder airbrush pump with a 3(?) litre reservoir. It pumps, fills the air tank, switches off. The air squirts out through the nozzle.
So far so good.
Then the pump cuts in when the tank pressure drops and about one in every ten times this cutting-in triggers a reset of the DSP and another job is ruined.
I used to have an aquarium air pump which gave no such problems and I think I'm going to go back to the same again. Continuous running.
Though I may just try a bit of isolating and earthing first - but not easy.
Or I can set the compressor to continuous running but it's noisy.
Nick

[acuralegendz]

Found one important item missing from Acura's list: airline tubing for the air assist.

D40, X7 DSP upgrade (and all the other bits from Marco), and an air pump all scheduled for delivery by end of this week! I'm excited.

The one big unknown still remaining for me is how to mount the X7 DSP front panel so it looks nice. I'll have to dig through this forum to see how others have done it.

You're correct, I bought like 4 different types and sizes of tubes but found that I could have used the tube that comes with the compressor, i just had to cut the end off of the side that connected to the air head. I then uses a small piece of tubing to connect the air head to the hose. I'll post pics of my setup later.

[acuralegendz]

I made a BIG mistake with air pumps - just listing it here for any other K40 owners looking to upgrade.
I bought a two-cylinder airbrush pump with a 3(?) litre reservoir. It pumps, fills the air tank, switches off. The air squirts out through the nozzle.
So far so good.
Then the pump cuts in when the tank pressure drops and about one in every ten times this cutting-in triggers a reset of the DSP and another job is ruined.
I used to have an aquarium air pump which gave no such problems and I think I'm going to go back to the same again. Continuous running.
Though I may just try a bit of isolating and earthing first - but not easy.
Or I can set the compressor to continuous running but it's noisy.
Nick

The pump I bought and linked too is pretty quiet. It does get warm but I put it behind my k40 right where the exhaust fan is behind the laser power supply so it does a good job at cooling it. I have not had any issues with resets. Your not controlling your pump through the dsp are you? Also my pump runs constantly when turned on, I don't believe there is a reservoir.

[acuralegendz]

Some Pics of my setup

[greg_gran]

acuralegendz - Sure can tell you're into RC and multicopters!

The XT60 lipo connectors, hextronik quadcopter power distribution board, and turnigy UBEC are a dead giveaway

My workshop is littered Hobbyking parts too. I've got three or four of their multirotor frames built up and flying.
One of the reasons I bought the lasercutter was to make my own custom camera gimbals and mounts, frame parts, etc.

Greg