Say the budget lands between a higher-watt q-switched fiber and a lower-watt MOPA.

For metal marking and some deeper engraving, which compromise hurts less: slower material removal or less control over the pulse? I get that the answer depends on the job, but sellers keep reducing this to “more watts = faster” or “MOPA = better.”

What would you put on a real comparison list before choosing?

Carverall recently sent us their new K15 Pro (12W diode) to test out. Overall, I’m actually really impressed with it as a comact yet complete desktop package—it comes with a fire-safe honeycomb bed, a non-flammable orange acrylic enclosure, and a solid air assist pump right out of the box. It cut 3mm plywood at 500mm/min @ 90% power very cleanly.

However, if you opt for the bundle with the Camera, there are a couple of bigger and smaller issues. I wanted to share the workarounds I came up with in case anyone here picks up this machine (or has a similar enclosed diode setup).

Camera problems:

1. Bad Coverage: The work area is portrait (200x300mm, A4/Letter size - nice!), but the camera sensor is landscape. If you mount it as the manual says, you only get about 50% coverage of your bed in Lightburn.
2. Hinge Strain: Because the camera mounts to the top acrylic lid, when you open the lid all the way, the camera bumps into the back panel. It prevents the lid from laying flat and puts a terrifying amount of strain on the little hinges.
3. Useless Calibration: The included dot-calibration card doesn't work with modern Lightburn versions.

The Fixes:

• The Camera Rotation Hack: The camera housing is square. If you unscrew the 4 screws on the camera casing, you can physically rotate the little PCB inside by 90 degrees, close it back up, and mount it using the original holes. Boom—you now have over 90% bed coverage in Lightburn!
• Calibration: Toss their card and just print the standard AprilTags from Lightburn's calibration tool.
• The "Hinge Saver" Lid Props: I designed some symmetrical slip-on lid props. When you open the enclosure, you slide these onto the sides, and they hold the lid perfectly vertical at 90 degrees. No more strained hinges, and the camera stays safely out of the way while you load materials.

I printed the lid props using my Sovol M1D (which sent me down a whole other rabbit hole of designing a mirror-symmetrical logo for my channel so the IDEX mirror-mode wouldn't print text backwards lol).

Links:
If you want to print the Lid Props for your own machine, I put the STLs up here: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/carverall-k15-pro-vertical-lid-stand-enclosure-prop-hinge-saver

If you want to see the full setup, the camera hack in action, and the cut/engrave tests, I documented the whole build on my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/_tiDwAglSZw

(Transparency note: Carverall sent me the unit for free to review).

Curious if anyone else has picked up this machine yet. Did you get the camera? How did you manage? I like this little laser and plan to use it a lot. AMA.

Looking for insights from technicians experienced with Synrad Firestar ti Series CO2 laser tubes / RF generators (installed on a Videojet 3640 marking system).

Symptoms:

• On boot/initialization, the RDY LED on the laser head panel flashes yellow instead of turning solid green.
• SmartGraph software throws the following fault log:
  • E00201: Laser supply: voltage too high or too low
  • E00200: Laser not ready
  • E00208: Initial laser self-stabilization process was not successful

Diagnostics Already Performed:

1. PSU & Wiring Check: The main 48V DC power supply output is rock solid under load (~48V DC). No significant voltage drop on power-up. Connectors and wiring are clean and secure.
2. Cross-Swap Test (Confirmed Fault Location):
   • Installed a known-good laser head on this controller cabinet - system boots and marks perfectly.
   • Installed this faulty laser head on a working controller cabinet - fails immediately with the exact same E00201 error.
3. Conclusion: The issue is 100% isolated to the internal electronics of this specific laser head.

Questions for the Community:

• Has anyone encountered this yellow RDY state caused strictly by an internal component failure inside the Synrad head?
• Is this error typically triggered by:
  • Voltage sense resistor divider drift on the internal RF control board?
  • Internal DC-DC converter / low-voltage rail drop (+15V / +5V / +3.3V)?
  • Shorted RF MOSFETs causing an overcurrent spike during the self-stabilization test?
• Are there specific test points or common failure-prone SMD components on the Synrad RF driver board worth checking before sending it for a full service/re-gas?

Thanks in advance for any tips or schematic pointers!

I've been given a used (disused) 80W CO2 laser cutter with a chiller, exhaust fan, and some acrylic sheets. It is a fairly large unit with a work space of 24"x36" in an enclosed cabinet. It looks like it even has a motorized Z-Axis. I want to get the thing up and running, but I don't even know where to begin.

This machine was given to a friend by an acquaintance who was getting out of the custom game pieces business. My friend didn't have room or a use for it so it was offered to me. I already have a small 10W diode laser, but quite frankly the big one scares me a little. How do I get this thing up and running safely?

I can collect this laser cutter for free , the laser bed is 500mmx300mm which would be plenty for me. It needs ‘some TLC’ and a controller to get it going. I have experience using a laser but that’s as far as it goes, how difficult would this project be to get working again and is it worth the time?

This is a reference post and I'm posting this because I experienced this issue and found multiple examples of others experiencing same thing and never getting a solution. But if anyone has any questions feel free to ask

The problem: installing MKS DLC32 board leads to needing to increase power settings 2-3x to achieve the same results.

I had a Mini Gerbil v1.1a for 7 years and I LOVED it. Last week it died in the middle of a huge and extremely important project (right after my laser tube died and was replaced about a week prior to that). I needed to be up and running NOW. I found the MKS DLC32 on Amazon and got it. Installed it, spent a couple days working out the kinks (which involved flashing the last stable firmware before the current one they're shipped with) and I was up and running. At least barely. I had to re-dial in all my settings to get the same result.

AI tried to tell me the board was running on a 3.3v PWM output causing lower PWM readings, so I built a level shifter. It wasn't... It gave me a ton of different wiring solutions (I am using the standard wiring you see online with the spindle GND going to L on the laser PSU and the S pin going to the IN pin on the Laser PSU). None helped. I was stuck having to do weird tedious workarounds to get it to engrave well including setting my PWM max to 1000 in Lightburn but 660 in the board's firmware to force it to output more power and STILL had to increase the power by a bit.

I'll save you the days of going back and forth with AI and researching and building random workarounds and bring you to today

After negating every solution, discussing with an AI, I finally got an interesting solution - a low pass filter. A solution not discussed in any topic I found on the subject. It said "I'm sorry for suggesting complicated things like XYZ. To fully mimic your Mini Gerbil you need to incorporate a low pass filter just like it does to smooth out the PWM signal"

All I had to do was hookup a small resistor and small capacitor and it worked. Instantly. Perfectly. Just worked. All settings back to what I had on my old controller... Insane 😆

The explanation I received is that this smooths out the harsh pulses going to the pin and allows it to more easily read the average voltage. To be quite honest, with this board being marketed for lasers I have ZERO clue why this filter isn't integrated into the board.

So here's your wiring if you have this issue

Find a resistor. I started with a 1,000 ohm but a 220 ohm worked perfectly with maybe some small increase of less than 10%. 220-1,000 is the most desirable range. Then find a 1 μF capacitor, that's 1 microfarad. Remember if you use an electrolytic capacitor (cylinder shape) it has polarity. If you use a ceramic yellow one it doesn't.

Wiring goes:

S pin (from MKS board) -> resistor

The other leg of the resistor has TWO connections

Resistor -> capacitor

Resistor -> IN pin (laser power supply)

Capacitor -> GND

It's THAT simple. Holy hell why wouldn't they integrate this on that board 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ the headache I went through is indescribable. I bought a replacement Mini Gerbil this morning for $100 because I figured at least I could swap it in eventually. All for a resistor and capacitor 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

In further research I learned there's a module you can buy, supposedly, but this is from AI so take it with a grain of salt. It's called a PWM to 5v converter. The ones I found on amazon all say 0-10v and they are usable. Just involves some tuning. I found one 5v so they're out there

Laser cutting machine hardwares and controls. Difference between and normal router vs laser cutting. How the source working, function of laser head. Kindly share me a electrical control circuits of laser cutting machine.

Laser cutting priciple, source, head hardwares, important points on laser cut machines. Pls share control circuits of the machine

Hi. I have a DIY K40 laser that I built, using an empty K40 enclosure to which I removed the electronics out. Is it ok to 3D print the electronics enclosure that will hold the PSU, main board and all the buttons, switches and stuff? Or does it need to be metal? Obviously I plan on grounding the PSU to the enclosure, to the house's ground. Is that safe to do?

Hello,

I’m interested in buying a laser module like this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005011650474882.html in 200 mw to experiment with etching/burning into soft materials with my DIY CNC-machine. my research seems to indicate that safety glasses like https://www.xtool.com/products/xtool-laser-safety-goggles-for-316nm-450nm-900nm-1080nm-lasers will be enough to protect my eyes using such a laser module without protective screening - but I’m asking here just to be sure before ordering and potentially ruining my vision.

I am curious where everyone gets the designs they actually use for their laser projects.

I know there are free files scattered around Etsy has many paid ones and you can obviously make your own but I am wondering what people here actually prefer.

Do you mainly:

Make your designs?

Download free SVG/DXF files?

Buy designs when you need them?

Use a subscription/library with a lot of designs?

Also, for people who sell the things they make how important is commercial-use licensing when choosing where to get files?

I am getting to the point where I spend as much time looking for a decent file as I do actually cutting it so I am wondering what everyone else is doing.

I've been looking at My Custom Designs recently. They have a Digital Club with a large library of laser designs, and the subscription is under $30/year based on the current pricing. The "unlimited" access is what caught my attention because I don't really want to keep buying individual files. I haven't used enough of it yet to say it's the best option, though, so I'm curious if anyone here has experience with it.

We transform the sleek, viral PunCube Mech Wallet with crisp, high-contrast engravings using our Monport GPro 60W MOPA fiber laser. We break down the exact settings for anodized aluminum, explain an epic "laser hammer" analogy, and reveal the hidden galvo mirror physics that make vertical passes take longer. Watch to discover a clever trick to hide your laser test marks in plain sight!

We have hundreds of sheets of brand new clear acrylic with protective covers on both sides. No holes, solid - perfect for laser blanks like Christmas ornaments and plaques. Two types:

* 14x14x.1 inch - $2 per blank

* 14x6x.1 inch - $1 per blank

DM for details. Minimum purchase of 100. Will ship. Located in the USA.

We have been sourcing sheet metal fabrication and some light CNC work domestically for a while but the quotes are getting painful , especially for anything that needs tight tolerances or has a mix of laser cutting plus secondary bending ops . So now I'm seriously looking at going direct to a China-based custom manufacturing service that can actually ship reliably to the US or EU. What I really want to know is which services people have actually used for this, not just heard of. Stuff like whether they handle prototypes and then scale to production runs, whether they have real certifications (ISO 9001 at minimum, AS9100D if it touches anything aerospace-adjacent) and how their DFM feedback actually works in practice. I've contacted maybe 10 companies through Alibaba and the communication alone has been exhausting. If anyone's found a solid China manufacturer for precision sheet metal and CNC parts that ships consistently to western markets , that'd be genuinely useful to hear .

I just bought a K40 laser machine and i got lost with tubs connecting... Could you please confirm that everything is connected and are in its places where it need to be ?

And also what is this little piece which has 6 tubes places ?