Hello everyone, names Jason (anybody else always feel as if they are at an AA meeting starting off like this?!?), brand new to this whole world. Have my first machine arriving this Tuesday. It seems like every time I think I understand something, there’s another door beside me to open! My good friend and Brother @NedMan has been a huge supporter so far and told me I needed to get on here. So here I am, I have enjoyed reading what I have so far. So much information it’s kind of like drinking out of a fire hose! Needless to say I’ve gotten bitten by this bug! My wife isn’t to happy, she told me during COVID I needed to get a hobby, well I haven’t stopped. Seems like each one cost more money then the last! Started off getting into GMSR, then HAM and now this. My end goal is to get to a point where people will actually spend money for items I’ve made. Well anyways this was just to be a quick hello, ask me anything. Hope to be able to get to know everyone.
Welcome Jason and yes there is alot to know but it’s way tougher when you don’t have the machine to not only see what people are talking about but also experiment to see how things relate to your machine. It’s a blast so enjoy the ride…
Welcome to the rabbit hole of lasers! 
I’ll take a second and chime in with my two cents…the best possible bang for the buck resides in maximizing the optics and learning the software you chose to drive the laser. I have a comparatively simplistic setup with homemade air assist, manual z table, etc, but I spent a lot of time aligning the beam and studying the software to acquire some fluency in designing stuff. You can get really crafty really fast if you know your software…
Also, it has been my observation that this forum is more or less divided into two philosphies; those who build things and those who build a better laser. There are a lot of smart people on this forum who talk about technical issues that are utterly and completely beyond me. I’ve never viewed the K40 as anything more than a tool like my router or table saw or whatever. An incredibly capable, creative tool, but just a tool nevertheless.
And lastly, if your interested in marketing stuff, I would probably point you in the direction of Ned Hill. He has a very nice Etsy site and I believe he’s quite successful in marketing his creations. He might be able to give you some marketing tips.
Mike
Welcome aboard.
Many people here do just that…
As most have mentioned, without software, it’s pretty useless. So after you get it working and start designing things, you might try an upgrade of the controller so you can use Lightburn. You will not regret the move.
I’m sure you’ll have fun, take care
Hey @Jason_Harrison !
I’m pretty new here myself. I’ve had my K40 since last March, but have been ramping up usage a lot more recently. Selling stuff on Facebook, Etsy, and going to craft shows for the holidays.
But the people here have been a wealth of information. So helpful and friendly.
I’m sure I’ve asked some dumb questions, but nobody’s made me feel dumb.
I’m getting much more confident maintaining my machine now thanks to everyone here.
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The stock K40 m2-nano controller is quite adequate for the job providing that you drive it with something better than the pirated CorelLaser software that comes with the machine. Try K40-Whisperer or Meerk40t.
If you already have a copy of Lightburn, then you can use Meek40t to emulate a ruida controller and use Lightburn with the m2-nano board.
Otherwise it seems to me to be pointless to spend a significant proportion of the cost of the K40 on unnecessary upgrades like a new controller and Lightburn.
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There are various beginners guides available. Try either the Meerk40t Beginners Wiki at Beginners: 0. Index · meerk40t/meerk40t Wiki · GitHub or the K40 Beginners Insights at Dropbox - K40 Laser Beginner Insights 11 March 21.pdf - Simplify your life
Ohh, that’s cool. Didn’t know that. Thanks for sharing. 
Thanks for the info on the control board. I was already looking at them and pricing them. But I may take a look at what you said and try that.