First cuts!

Well here it is my first few cuts with the j48-1. Pretty impressed so far. I can't run it for long as I still have cooling and extraction to sort out, but the laser seems to cut well and marks anodised aluminium well too! Happy :)

J48-1 Laser mounted to cadet CNC

So there it is, mounted to the pacer cadet :) so far so good! I've also finished the electrical looms so should be able to test it this afternoon.

Synrad optical mount

Fitted the ULO optics mount ready to take the head. I found ULO optics to be much cheaper than the Synrad options I was looking at. I got the compact laser mount (C-LMC), and the compact lens nozzle assembly 38mm F.L. (C-LN38) Both for £300+VAT which is less than half the price of the Synrad setup.

Added connectors to control box

From left to right:

Power and PWM

Interlock and laser warning signals

Control input from CNC machine.

Laser controller

Rather than buying a Synrad UC-2000 controller from eBay, I have modified my existing controller design to supply the required PWM signal to the laser.

This is a PWM frequency of 5khz, with a minimum tickle pulse if 1uS and a maximum PWM ratio of 95%. All according to the Synrad spec sheet.

Laser lasing!

Well I received the PSU a few days back and have rigged up a CW test to fire the laser. I'm happy to report it does lase!

27v PSU adjusted to 30v

Here you can see the laser spot at the top right burning into the plywood. This straight from the output, no focusing head.