SOO… I just cooked my OEM controller. So I will be getting that new motherboard upgrade, but I think my faulty PS cooked it. When hitting the test button I was hearing some crackling, so I took the PS case off to look at it and see if I could see if anything was getting hot. Hit the test button and LED 2 and LED 3 where blinking as if it had a error/misfire and then a second later the OEM board released the magic smoke.
Does anyone know of a good place to buy a high quality PS since I am getting the new controller board?
Uh oh sorry. You have something seriously wrong to blow the board. That means something likely happened to the DC supply in the LPS.
I am not familiar with that supply so I am not sure how the dc is connected. (picture of supply).
I suggest you take copious pictures of all the components and th wiring back at about a foot and then at each connector so that you know what was the stock configuration. Include the control panel and its wiring.
What controller are you thinking of getting?
You will need to be sure you get the right supply. @K1111 I think you bought a new supply. Do you have a recommendation for a vendor you are happy with?
I was thinking of the cohesion3d mini as it looks like an easy swap or the smoothie v4.
The light object looks solid, but its almost 3x the price of ebay. Would you guys suggest upgrading to a larger capacity such as a ps that could supply up to 60w to allow case mods for a 60w later?
@Abe_Fouhy I think the Cohesion 3D takes minimal effort and a good choice for you. @raykholo
I haven’t bought a LPS yet but if I did I would size it for a 50-60W tube, if affordable. @K1111 did you also buy a bigger tube.
So I finally will be getting some money to do this right. After thinking about it, I’m going to replace the PS, get the cohesion3d board and a new interface for it and replace the stock digital input power meter with test button. Any suggestions for a new interface and should i get two PS’s a 24vdc and hv ps for the laser or a combined one like mine?
@Abe_Fouhy below are some choices for LPS, DC power & control panel to select from depending on your budget and longer term plans for the K40:
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1.0 Buy a new quality LPS supply without 24VDC.
1.1.1 Buy LPS wattage for future expansion of laser power. Depending on your budget and the possibility to upgrade your tube to 50W. I would consider buying this one for $35 more. (a 50W tube requires cabinet modification). http://www.lightobject.com/40W60W-PWM-CO2-Laser-Power-Supply-AC110V-P72.aspx
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2.0 Buy cheaper direct replacement with 24VDC. You can get these LPS cheaper but I would expect typical Chinese quality:
You could poll this community to see ab out the best place to buy the cheaper supply.
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3.0 Use the internal LPS 24 vdc supply. If you are upgrading the controller to a smoothie you can save some $ by using the internal 24VDC. Many have converted this way but the DC supply in these LPS are marginal (some conversions would disagree with me). If you do not plan to add anything to the 24-5 VDC (like rotary etc) you may be OK. Also I do not like the DC power on my controller coming from a HVPS could fry your controller, like just happened :(?. If you do this I would add a fuse when you install it.
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4.0 Add a 24 VDC supply. This is the route I used because I get plenty of 24 VDC capacity for expansion and isolation from the HV LPS.
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5.0 Reuse the current panel. I do not have a wiring diagram nor schematic for that panel (does anyone?). However if you are careful taking it apart we can likely be successful with the conversion without changing the panel or its switches.
5.1 Take a clear front and back picture of the circuit board, from above, so that we can trace or create a schematic if needed.
5.2 Trace the wiring from the panel to the current LPS and other K40 points and draw that on a piece of paper, using the labels on the current LPS. Label/tag each wire that connected to the LPS or other points in the machine as you remove them so we can put them back in the right place.
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6.0 Design a new panel alike the typical K40 without the PCB for the control panel. I or others can provide you information to do so.
I feel a bit like an ambulance chaser. That supply is a vintage that my LPS lab does not have. If you are in the US you could elect to donate it to the research work I am doing on LPS where I can diagnose what happened.
@donkjr you are awesome, you took quite a bit of time to work out the details in this post. I truly appreciate it. It is hard to know what to do next starting out, especially in a new hobby and then to have your maching crap out was unfortunate.
I think I am going to try for the 60w light object HVPS, get the 24vdc amazon LPS to isolate the two, the cohesion3d and buy a standard digital control board as it had a blown solder joint and may have other issues (mostly because its $25 and i don’t want to be worried it’s the issue, when i could go all new). So I’m looking at $235, $17, $25 and going to fuse all my components for another $20. $303, that’s not too bad to have more control and higher quality components.
I may be able to budget more, what would be handy to have for the interface? I have a pi and arduino if that helps. Do you have a link to the 50/60w case modifications? For the fuses should I use slow blow ceramic, fast blow automotive blades or fast blow single filament tube fuses to protect the gear?
You can absolutely have the PS, you’ve been a huge help bud. You can have all the components I am replacing.
@Abe_Fouhy after looking at this machine more closely it seems not to have a laser current measurement. I would definitely add that in any of the cases above.
I saw an old post to about using a voltmeter and cooling regulation, guess thats going on the list
How important is cooling at this level? Thats another $200 I may for go unless critical.
@Abe_Fouhy that meter is 0-30ma and so is the stock K40? FYI: this meter is a totally separate function than the rest of your digital panel.
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I posted the voltmeter whose purpose it to shows the pots position more granularity. I am guessing that your digital panel already does that??
I think the cooling regulation post that you referring to is not “regulation” rather measurement and alarms.
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Adding a cooler will improve you tubes life if you are planning heavier (higher duty cycle) use of your machine but depends on your ambient. You can run low duty cycle stuff with standard bucket cooling and enhance that with ice etc.
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Can you post pictures (from above) of the front and back or your panel PCB. Also a clear picture of its functions.
This may be the post on the digital meter and temp controller add.
sorry. You have something seriously wrong to blow the board. That means something likely happened to the DC supply in the LPS.
