As I ponder getting a laser cutter and/or engraver, I notice that when people get a K40, they start to add things or replace things, including:
- Interlocks
- Control board
- Gantry
- Motorized bed
- Replacing bed material
- Mirrors
- Head
- Fume extraction
- Air assist
- Front panel, or at least parts of the front panel
- Power supply (typically with separate LPS and 12V PS)
- Tube since it’s a consumable
Also, I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the quality of the enclosure; cutouts not aligned, gaps, etc. Suggestions that the original belts aren’t that great and you might want to replace them even before they wear out because of inaccuracy, or even that the wrong tooth profile was shipped.
What’s left?
What is the value of the constraints of the original K40 if the general consensus is you are going to end up replacing almost the entire unit anyway? Is it just a cheap way to make your first mistakes?