CO2 Laser Number 2 (50W)

Will that camera work with cover closed?

Yep, clears the lid just fine.

Lid Closed

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Did you know that LightBurn is implementing a calibrated camera system for laserhead mounted camera? Oz has implemented a bunch of it already and had posted a video to the LightBurn Beta forum.

The calibration process is a bit tediously long since head mounted cameras have a small view of the work area but with some of the options for USB cameras being quite small boards/lens/sensors the added weight shouldn’t effect performance much.

I forget if LightBurn releases the camera device after startup so it might be a moot point if they don’t since you won’t be able to monitor during operation. Something to keep an eye out for though.

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Great, you’ll love it…

That’s some great quality plywood they ship these things in. Someone tried to tell me OMTech checked them before you get them…lol I touched the stuff and it fell apart, it also had a stinky odor to it…

Noticed it has the left side access panel. It’s a real pain to get to the m2 assembly without that access panel… mine was a 2021 year model and it had a door…

I was wondering about the the location of the vent… mine is on the rear panel… The coolant ‘switch’ was mounted near where the coolant goes in. Do you have a separate panel on the back? I assume too boring to post… lol…

Mine came with only a water protect and door open sensor. Turned the door sensor off first day I got it, removed the water protect and wired it to the chiller.

The lps came with a digital mA meter, jumped all over… I added an analog one… Have Russ Sadler tube mount, requiring an extension. The BNC output are used for the scope when I’m looking around. One is pwm output, currently the other is across the mA meter.

Had the same issue with mine when new, the pump and vent ran all the time. Replaced them with a SSR, cheap and dependable. Draw much less current than than solenoid type and more dependable.

I have the SSR connected to ‘Status’ on the Ruida, along with low pressure air solenoid. High pressure is selected when ‘Wind’ goes low and the other solenoid bypasses the low pressure restrictor. Noticed you have ‘Aux Air’, probably the same sink as wind.? It is nice you can turn it on and off via the front panel.

I suspect your head is like mine. The mirror is offset from the hole… keep that in mind during alignment.

One of the reasons I disabled the door safety is that it needs air flow from front to rear, so the door is open at least an inch.

Had the same setup for the bed, from the looks of it. Tossed the honeycomb and replaced it with a $12 piece of rolled steel. Have a few alignment holes in it for jigs… wipes off easily.

My Z table actually wobbles around the screw lifts. So it’s difficult to align vertically to m3. With the lightweight head there is a jig that corrects the issue… at least for alignment.

Lightburn has a camera interface that’s pretty slick. Not the new one referenced by @dougl. You can use it to re-align a part if you move it… or align your graphic to the part…

https://lightburnsoftware.github.io/NewDocs/UsingACamera.html

Be careful with the side panels that open vertically. I would put mine in finger tight and the door would flop open… Dings up the area around the hing…

I cut out ‘targets’ for alignment from water coloring paper. They just ‘press’ into the hole, no tape. There is a cross on the target. This is m2…

Now when you purchase Lightburn, don’t forget the DSP license…

Good luck, you’ll love the thing…

Take care

:smiley_cat:

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Cool thanks for all the info.

Yeah mine has a a fixed vent outlet and separate little door to get to the flow sensor switch.

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No perspiration… I’ll try to answer any questions you have. I think the machines were about as similar as you can get. At least to start with… I’m sure you’ll ‘hack’ it like the rest of us have…


I’m retired, from hardware/software and I’ve never used such a stellar package as Lightburn…

Upgrade to Lightburn, you’ll be amazed… totally awesome package with super support… the actual developers… along with a very knowledgeable user base.

There is also an area for Feature Suggestions where you post suggestions to improve the software. The developers select popular suggestions from the voting Lightburn users…

The Lightburn forum is great, don’t remember seeing you there… so take this as an invitation if you’re not using it.

You’d be more than welcome.

Take care.

:smiley_cat:

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Finally got around to designing and 3D printing some brackets for the honeycomb bed for this 50W laser. The honeycomb bed just rests freely on top of a knife bed and can shift around. Had been using some magnets, but it could still shift some and wanted something more fixed.

The hook shaped ones go in the back corners since there is nothing really to screw a bracket onto in the back. Also the notches on the inside corners were there in case I needed to clear the pop rivets on the corners of the frame. The bottom side brackets are probably overkill.

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Added an eye level exhaust blast gate position indicator.

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