Phil's 2.8w Jtech Laser Journey

X-Carve Upgrades
505

Yes. I have 1.1f

1 Like
506

Larry, have you built your Laser enclosure yet, I want some advise, I am also paranoid about this

507

Hi Phil, where is the previous video of adding a post processor in Vcarve, I canā€™t seem to find it

509

X-carve has not even arrived yet and a laser is on the way now. Awesome info guys.

1 Like
510

Sorry, I missed this. No enclosure yet.

511

Not sure if anyone has asked this question in here but has anyone tried the 2.8w jtech on slate and if so how did it turn out, very curious as that will decide which laser to buy.

512

I used the 3.8w from J-Techā€¦take a look at this and read down a few posts for my thoughts.

513

Thanks for the info, guess it will be a decision on if I want the build area with the jtech for wood on the xc or the detail and speed of a 40w 12x8 area in a Chinese laser system. Prices are almost the same thinking I would do more wood projects than slate but in Pennsylvania I have access to a lot of slate roof shingles tough decision but thank you for your input

515

Thanks for all the work you put into your page Phil!

3 Likes
516

Iā€™m also interested in hearing more about this cone technique.

518

Hey Phil, I watched your video on focusing your laser, how do you measure your laser dot then? I would assume a digital caliper. Do you measure with it on pointed at a black surface, or do you have it draw a line then measure the width of the line?

I have tried both of these methods and just donā€™t feel like Iā€™m getting the exact measurement of the dot.

520

Ok Philā€¦ now that you have had a laser and 3d printer for a bitā€¦ if you had to do it againā€¦ what one would you get first? Laser or 3DP?

522

Hey Phil, have you played around at all with taping the surface you are laser engraving to keep the surface around your engraves from becoming charred to remove the need for sanding?

524

I use Krylon Easy-Tack with graphing paper instead of tape. Tapes usually leave residue that makes more mess. Easy-Tackā€™s adhesive comes off easily without leaving much residue and I donā€™t need to sand (used it with Ikea chopping boards for Christmas gifts, JTech 3.8W)

525

Hi Phil, in regards to your laser mount, can you run the laser through easel as if you were doing a carve, but not running the router?

Thanks

527

You can run the laser through Easel.
I use it only for burning outlines.(no halftones)

Make sure you are familiar with the spindle control commands and the wiring between the controller and the laser.
make sure you figure out what the laser power output will be when you send the M3 command.
I use a Jtec 3.8 W laser with an x-carve and an arduino controller no problem.

  1. Follow all the safety precautions.

  2. I usually create all the Gcode in Easel and export it.
    I make sure the depth of cut is set to the same cut depth, so the G-code exported only represents one pass.

  3. Using a text editor, find all the Z ā€œupā€ lines and replace them with M5 (this turns the laser off).
    Find all the Z ā€œDownā€ lines and replace them with M3 SX (X to be the value of the laser output. Get familiar with the use of the M3 command) to turn the laser on.
    I make sure the G-code starts and ends with M5 to make sure the laser is turned off at the beginning and end of the carve.

  4. Save the file and import the G-code back into easel.

  5. Run it.

If you want to set the focus, you can go to the machine inspector and manually send an M3 SX (where X is the lowest value that will make the laser emit a dim beam) so you can focus and locate the laser.

Before you run make sure the safety height is a very small number 0.001" so the Z axis does not move and you lose the focus of the laser.

529

Thank you Phil, can I ask what program you use to run the laser? Also, do you focus the laser each time you run a project, or can you save the Y location on your X-Carve?

533

Phil - keep meaning to ask, when youā€™ve shown UGS screenshots of the Macros tab you always have several (8 or 9) and Iā€™m using a year old build that only has 3 or 4.

I downloaded the latest but it looks like the latest build only shows 3 now. Is there a setting to increase the number someplace I havenā€™t found, or is it just your build version? If so, what build are you running?

Thanks in advance.

534

Fill in all three Macro linesā€¦ Hit applyā€¦ and then an additional blank line will appear. Repeat for anotherā€¦ etc.

3 Likes
536

Thanks, didnā€™t even think to try thatā€¦

1 Like