k40s and all that in 2017

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maaltan
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Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2017 4:20 pm

k40s and all that in 2017

Post by maaltan »

I have been looking at laser cutters for quite a while. I was considering the glowforge but the no-refund, hype laden, walled forum, cloud based, hidden TCO, solution doesn't sit right with me. $3500 is more than all my other household appliances combined and as i sit here looking at my pebble watch i can't conceive of what i would use a 80 lb paperweight for....

That brings me here. I have been reading about the k40 "chinese laser cutter" which based on my calculations is a $250-$300 laser tube encased in a $25-$50 shell and a barely functional XY cartesian robot. Also, a lot of the guides out there are several years old. I wonder if there are any new cheap cutter options that are better, etc.

I am not adverse to tinkering, but i like to have a feeling for what I'm in for. I am still tuning an old solidoodle 2 3d printer.

I have read various k40 tuning guides and read a lot about various conversion and upgrade options. I have some specific questions i am hoping some of you can help me answer.

1. final expectations: I ultimately want to cut/engrave things like this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:124291
I would also like a good variance of engrave depth/color in wood. Is this something possible with the k40?

2. Laser safety. This seems to be an unclassed (by USA at least) laser product. Is this product reasonably light tight? Can it be made so? There are lots of videos of people using the laser with the case completely disassembled. I presume i should invest in some good IR blocking laser goggles before i get into major tweaking? Is there a governing/certification body's logo i should be looking for on these goggles?

3. Necessary out of the box upgrades. What would people reccomend? So far my list include mirrors, air assist, vent ducting, and a PWM laser driver(which probably also requires controller conversion). Also, is there any possibility for tube upgrades (to a 50-60w maybe?) Again i expect that to require a new driver as well.

4. Expected lifetime. I see a lot of complaints that the laser can burn out after 20-30 hours of use. How typical is that?

5. Where should i actually buy one of these things? I searched around ebay and there are only a few very shady posts for "k40" laser cutter gives slightly more. I would like to find someone that ships from US and has some decent warranty/customer service record. There is one i can get from amazon prime but it runs about $450 which seems high compared to others and only gives me a 90 return window.

Thanks for your help.
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