Hey guys,
I’m wondering if anyone can give advice or guidance on installing a laser diode to the k40?
Does anyone have it installed themselves?
I mostly cut and engrave thin metals and plastics so I rarely use the center cut hole (Spring adjustment). But I’d like to start doing thicker objects. Problem is there’s no real guide if u want to something precisely.
Just curious how others tackle this issue. Did u install a diode? Or just figure out the coordinates of the center where the spring holder is and move the laser head to that point on the software?
You can always make an origin jig. Put a piece of plywood big enough to fit into the back left corner of the bed and extend through the home origin position. Do two perpendicular cuts starting from the origin (0,0). This will let you place the corner of your cutting piece at the 0,0 position each time. Plan your cutting/etching in the software relative to the 0,0 position. (see piece of wood in the pic below)
Having a positioning laser is nice but not completely necessary. Some people 3d print diode holders. I got one off ebay that had a metal mount, just had to mill the clamping ring out a bit to get it to fit over my mirror mount. I’m sure there are lots of instruction out there for mounting a diode.
I did something similar which works great for engraving in the top corner. But to use that center hole (which i covered cause I wasn’t planning on using it) I need either a diode or to figure the 0,0 for that point…i believe
@Nathan_Thomas yes the bed is custom. I have some info on the bed here in my K40 collection. https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/I7D_VB
There are 2 separate posts there that deal with height adjustment and an upgraded honeycomb bed. It’s very basic. Most people end up just removing the stock bed.
