I have a J tech laser that I want to hook up to my Ox. I have a M1 card and a motor controller. I was wondering where I hook up the laser to? Does it go on the motor controller output or the M1 card Spindle PWM output. Thanks for the help. I think it goes on the M1 card SPDL PWM output but I wasn’t sure.
Hi Dale:
Not sure what an “M1 Card” is, but with an Arduino GRBL controller you hook it up to the PWM Spindle speed output. The J-tech accepts 0-5V PWM for laser intensity adjustment, just make sure your output is 5V and not 12V or something. If you are using GRBL, be sure to set your Laser Mode bit to “1” and set your min and max spindle speeds to some convenient values like 0/1000. This would mean G-code S0 would be laser off, and S1000 would be laser full intensity.
Read the Laser section on the Github GRBL 1.1 Wiki for a full explanation of how laser mode works.
@Dale_Maxim
Correct, hook this into the PWM spindle out of the GRBL based M1 board, it is 5V.
We leave the spindle plugged in and operational as well as it cools the laser housing.
Darrel- The M 1 board is the Gradus M 1 Pro GRBL CNC controller that Brandon supplies with the OX now. It has a PWM and GRD output that runs to the spindle Motor controller.
Brandon- You remember how I’m a little slow on the electronics of these things so bear with me. The PWM and GRD openings on the M 1 that are wired to the motor controller. - I put both the laser and the spindle motor controller wires in these slots together. I run the laser wires through a plug about 1/2 way so I can
remove the laser but leave everything else hooked up all the time. Does that sound right.
@Dale_Maxim I was thinking of doing this same thing only with a Smoothieboard. For the physical connection of the laser, how are you doing this so you can easily remove it? I’m guessing you will only remove it when using the spindle?
I usually just run the wire through the cable chain to the top of the z axis v-slot, along with the laser power cord. Jtech has a mounting adapter that allows you to mount the laser controller on the top of the v-slot. I mount the laser on a 3x3" or so 1/8" aluminum plate with 2 holes drilled so it mounts in place of the router hold down on the front of the router mount. The plate acts as a heat sink for the laser and keeps it cool. Use a little heatsink grease between the laser and the aluminum plate. Note the fan isn’t really needed for cooling, but it blows away the smoke.
Dale - after i thought about your post for a bit, I realized you were talking about the Gradus M1. I really like that board, way cheaper than the Xpro, uses standard GRBL software, and with modular stepper drivers that you can plug in for any application. I just sold an OB Acro Laser system with the Gradus controller. Yes, you can just connect the laser input to the PWM output (SPDL PWM and GND pins)
I think I’ll put both the wires for the spindle and the laser in the M 1 slots for the PWM. I’ll leave both wires in there all the time. The laser wire will have a plug just outside the enclosure that I can unplug to remove the laser from the machine. The laser module and laser are mounted on a piece of sheet metal that I hook to the front of the spindle. It is kind of a rube goldberg attachment until I come up with something better ( or Brandon does).
@Dale_Maxim if your using the 400w on the OX, Yes sir. As long as the laser is the 2.8w. Will have to deal with a dust boot in the way. 
My dust boot mounts to the spindle holder as does the laser set up so The dust boot is off when I use the laser. I would post pictures but I’m sure everyone would laugh at what I did. It works and was quick and easy but is anything but elegant. At some point if I see a good design I will do it and replace my Rube Goldberg or I come up with something myself. I am using the 400 w spindle and the 2.8 w laser.
@Brandon_Satterfield I bought the SMW3D Ox kit with the 400W spindle but I didn’t see any nice bracket with 2 screw hole for attaching things like @Darrell_n 's picture is showing. The bracket I bought from you only had one screw and clamped down. I would like to do this setup with the 2.8W laser but the spindle bracket is where I’m stuck right now. Do you have a link to the bracket that can do this type of setup?
@Michael_Forte Mike, that’s an Openbuilds Router Mount for a Dewalt DWP611 or Bosch Colt router. Personally, I would much rather use a standard air cooled AC router that has 1.25 Hp (950W), easy parts availability, and much higher quality than one of those 1/2 Hp chinese water cooled spindles.
@Michael_Forte we are waiting on some thumb screws to come in for the dust boot then it will be released. It will be sold at a low price for current and previous OX customers. WE hope to have this listed this month. Will make a post here.
@Dale_Maxim your idea of having a separate plug is a winner in my books.