im planing on buying the jtech photonics laser kit of 2.8 watts, but i think it might be too weak, so i looked on ebay and saw a 6 watt laser diode for about 90 dlls, and was thinking if maybe i could buy the driver from j tech and put that 6w laser, but im just starting in this with laser and wanted to know any opinions or advices, thanks.
here is the driver
https://jtechphotonics.com/?product=2-0-amp-adjustable-laser-diode-driver-oem
and the laser
The J Tech driver can only provide 2.5 amps. It will not drive the six watt laser to full power, that requires up to 4.5 amps.
mainly to engrave wood and cut acrilics
This
(JTech 2.8w owner)
from the J-Tech site
5 Amp Dual Driver Setup
If you would like to have a little longer lifetime I suggest to run the diode with ~3,5A current.
You will obtain 6W anyway with this current.
Proper cooling is one of the most important things. I suggest to prepare a heatsink with the hole where you can press the 12mm diameter diode housing in (with some force) and use additional FAN with high CFM rate. Lower temperature makes the diode’s lifetime longer.
Proper lens are also very very important. Highest power does not mean highers engraving speed.
Very often three element lens gives you bigger power density.
About the drivers; there are many options, one is provided by our company for example:
For your assembly:
1: Laser Heads for CNC Engraving ⁎ Laser Systems, Drivers, Modules, Diodes
Or as a ready solution:
2. Laser Heads for CNC Engraving ⁎ Laser Systems, Drivers, Modules, Diodes
so i bought the jtech 2.8 watts laser, now im strugling with the universal gcode sender, i cant run it on my Mac, does anyone have a video tutorial, or other sender i can run on mac, thanks.
do you have java installed? if not then you need to install java for UGS to even start. if you do then you just need to click on the UniversalGcodeSender.jar file and it should work. if not then there is a problem with your java installation.
as far as other programs here is a link to a list of g-code senders
