Looking for suggestion for a laser for my New Carve CNC-- I don't have the cash for a Jtech so looking for other options and if anyone has one running on the OpenBuilds Black Box controller. Thx. I just want to be able to engrave into wood - not needed to cut through anything per say.
For engraving, 2.8w will do (no need to go for 6w, and anything over 6w is a lie (6w is the technological limit for 445nm lasers) Ideally has a PWM input Google terms to help you on your way "445nm laser 2.8w pwm" "445nm engraver module"
So I ended up buying a SainSmart 445nm/5.5W Where I am getting confused is can I used OpenBuilds Control or do I need to use something like Lightburn? I installed LightBurn and set it up as GRBL and I can get it to move the machine but I am not sure what is the norm for using this type of laser with the OpenBuilds Blackbox. Thx.
CONTROL just interfaces with the machine and sends along the GCODE You need a CAM application to get GCODE from: - cam.openbuilds.com supports Laser - LaserWeb4 is a project from my own past, that is still free and pretty good - LightBurn is a great option, although not free, significantly faster than the free options. Also doubles as a machine host (interfacing and sending the gcode)
peter so does the cam.openbuilds.com act as both CAM and Control? Also what is the difference between the two Tool options -- constant and dynamic and why would someone choose one over the other, etc ?
Negative CAM is "cam software" (Convert drawings to GCODE) get it on cam.openbuilds.com - web based CONTROL is software you install locally, that connects to the USB port and is your interface to the machine get it on software.openbuilds.com Watch this video to understand it better: from 57min onward If you have a PWM capable Diode, Use Dynamic. Only if you have a very bad chinese diode that cannot do PWM, will you use the standard way. Dynamic is a feature I fought to get into Grbl, it adjusts power output as a function of acceleration, making for much better grayscale engravings, and cleaner cuts as the laser doesnt overburn during accel/deceleration
I have the sainsmart 445nm/5.5w blue laser module - The video helped but partially confused me on how to connect it. On the laser module the person in the video connected three wires but then when he got to the wire for the black box there was only two wires. I did look at this diagram OpenBuilds BlackBox 4X Documentation I am wondering do I have to follow the diagram and use the common ground and the power supply provided with the laser or can I simply use power from the black box ? Thanks - I am now good on the CAM and Control software...
I now understand that I cannot use the 24v BlackBox PSU as the laser I have is only 12v. the only thing I want to understand is why the laser power supply ground and the tool end PWM ground have to be shared?
If your module is 24v yes you can, if its 12v, use its own PSU. If it has a seperate Gnd wire for signal, you can use that instead of a shared GND, all depends on the module.
Here is the connection diagram given for my laser module - I just want to ensure I do not do something incorrectly to damage the BlackBox controller. It seems to have it's own ground and pwm connection to feed into the control board. I just wanted to understand in the OB BB 12v laser instructions why the PSU ground was mixed in with the laser module ground, that is all.
That particular module used for the video has one GND wire, one PWM wire and one V+ wire (3 wire module) from around 14min50seconds onward
Hi Peter I got the laser up and running and tried the test file for laser in the cam.openbuilds.com When I run the file regardless if in the CAM I chose Constant or Dynamic the laser stays on the entire time even during the movements. I am not sure what I am doing wrong or what setting I missed. I did pull the relay jumper and then I wired it up per the wiring for the laser. I didn't do a common ground like shown OpenBuilds BlackBox 4X Documentation Thx.
I have the laser working now but I am wondering... in the cam.openbuilds.com Is there a setting in there that controls the power of the laser? I..e 0% to 100%, etc?
Edit your toolpaths, it is set per-toolpath as you may want cut and engrave toolpaths in the same job
So is S1000 in the Gcode from cam.openbuilds.com turn on the laser at 100% and S0 turns it off dynamically ?
In Settings > Power/Speed Scale, set 0-xxxx to whatever you have in Grbl set for $30=xxxx (so CAM and Grbl both knows what Max means in your setup - assuming you did not change $30 to something else, the default is 1000, so Power/Speed scale is 0 to 1000. In Toolpath, set the percentage: Which will then output gcode values of S750 in the example above (100%=S1000, therefore 75% would be S750) Grbl is configured with $30=1000 by default so it knows if it sees S750, you want 75% PWM output Read gnea/grbl
Peter thank you.... I asked all of these questions as I was trying to tweak the Vectric Vcarve Post Processor offered through Jtech : Vectric Laser Post Processor - J Tech Photonics, Inc. Reason being... probably a lazy response is I didn't want to have to swap my work flow from Vcarve Pro over to Lightburn or cam.openbuilds.com (which works just fine as an alternative and it helped me getting started so nothing negative to say about it). Its just my OCD of trying to stick with one software/workflow if at all possible. I had to make a few changes to their post processor and then I just needed to understand how to control the laser power which you explained (1 to 1000) and if I wanted to decrease it I can simply do that in the tool I set up in Vcarve using this Jtech PP for Vectric. With your help and the help of this Jtech PP I have it now working just fine on my machine and I can just use one software at this point. thank you!
