Laser advice and set up for Jackpot CNC

LowRider CNC Advice
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Hi, I just put together the lowrider MPCNC with a jackpot cnc controller and in my head I’m trying to run through the process of installing/looking at buying a laser module for it specifically this one LT-80W-AA-Pro-Kit 24V because it is 24v(or does this voltage not matter? and only the pwm voltage is important?) and 5v pwm. From my understanding the laser module needs to be 5v pwm so it can be connected straight to the jackpot cnc controller and it can/should have it’s own power supply and if it does the GND(black) wire needs to be connected on both power supplies or does this get connected via the GND pin via the jackpot board?.

my question is how would you connect GND wire on each is there like a connector I could buy specifically? or can I run a wire from the GND pin from the jackpot to the laser module then put the GND (black cable) from the laser module power supply into the same pin onto the laser module board?

edit or should I use 12 volts laser? excuse me for all the questions just super confused on adding a laser engraver to the lowrider as there are so many different options and ways to do it.

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Let’s take some questions one at a time.

I have a JL-1 Laser that I converted to run with a Jackpot, and it works well.

The jackpot board can be powered with 12V to 24V. For my JL-1, the laser module is a 12V module, so I run my jackpot and the laser from the same 12V power supply to make things easy.

You don’t have to run the same voltage, but if you mix power supplies you need to be sure that you tie the two power supply returns (- leads) together.

If you’re mixing power supplies, you would tie the two power supply returns together, and then run one power supply +/- as a twisted pair to your Jackpot board, and the other +/- as a twisted pair to your laser module.

If your machine is already using 12V power for the jackpot, I’d make it easy on myself and use a single power supply. Make sure your power supply is properly rated for whatever current your machine can draw (we can help you size it if you provide more details about what you currently have)

It’s also completely legit to use a 24V laser module and convert your Jackpot to run from 24V.

One other note is that there are differences in the way you interface to the laser module, so we’d want to have some discussion about what you’re choosing. Some need an adapter board to hook up correctly, and some can be direct wired.

It’s all in the details, so let’s keep the discussion going to try and help you sort it all out.

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Blockquote you need to be sure that you tie the two power supply returns (- leads) together.

is this done via the GND pin from the jackpot cnc? I just ordered 3 way electrical connectors to connect from the 12 volt power supply(-lead), the GND pin(on the jackpot), and the - lead from the laser module because I was just going to go with a 12 volt laser module like in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoAEbPf3N7E&ab_channel=프랑코스미스](https://this video)

Blockquote If your machine is already using 12V power for the jackpot, I’d make it easy on myself and use a single power supply. Make sure your power supply is properly rated for whatever current your machine can draw (we can help you size it if you provide more details about what you currently have)

my machine is from the kit 24 volts jackpot cnc. so are you saying that I could just use the power supply I got in the kit (24v 2.5a) to power a 24v(1.7-2)A laser from one of the high current outputs on the jackpot? And use the router at the same time(with a tool change obviously), instead of using 2 different power supplies like in the video.

Because I noticed they don’t come with power supplies when you buy them in a kit from amazon so obviously I’m going to have to order something for that, but I’m really stuck on what to order like if it should be 12v or 24v.

If I was to go down the 12v (1.7-2)A laser route could I just use something like an old 12v 2a phone charger to power the laser and connect the 5 volts pvm cable to the gpio 27 pin on the jackpot?

Sorry if its a stupid question, just want to be absolutely sure I am doing it the right way

edit just so you know I only want the laser for engraving and not cutting so I might only get the 5w for now anyway. Is pvm (0.5 - 12v) the same as 5v?

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These are good questions. Never apologize here for asking questions, it’s how we learn and teach and for every question asked there are many more folks reading along in silence that can also learn from our discussion.

No, if I were using two power supplies I’d have a specific wire that went from the (-) on one power supply to the (-) on the other power supply. Each power output would then run to the load with its’ own twisted pair wires.

No, I would not do it that way.

First, an LowRider kit power supply is not sized for running the LowRider and also a laser module. If I were using 24V power for both laser and Jackpot (LowRider), I would get a single 24V power supply sized with some headroom above the max expected power of both loads combined.

If I were using a 24V laser module, I’d connect one twisted pair 24V cable to the jackpot and run a separate 24V twisted pair from the power supply to the laser module.

The control signals from the jackpot would be a separate wire bundle that joins up with the power supply wiring going to the laser module.

I would not use the low side switched FETs on the jackpot to power the laser module in any event.

I would not use a phone charger for anything related to the CNC.

There are lots of options, and to make confusion worse, there are really bad marketing gimmicks used by laser sellers. Some will list optical power (say 10W) and some will list input power (say 40W). You might be tempted to think that the 40W input power module is much higer power, but it may turn out that it only has 9W of optical power and may have a really crappy stacked diode and lens setup.

So, doing your research is key, and getting a module from a reputable supplier is also key.

You will also find that the laser module you get will be different for engraving vs cutting. For engraving you want as small a dot size as possible with decent optical power. For cutting, then you want enough power to cut through your material.

All of this is a discussion, and we’d be happy to keep having the discussion.

Those of us that have lasers can comment further. I’m pretty happy with my NEJE brand lasers, others here will have other brands they are using and trust.

I’d pick a laser module first for my application, and then deal with deciding on the electrical interface decisions you’re discussing.

We haven’t yet talked about whether your laser module will come with and need an adapter board- so that will be part of the discussion as well.

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Blockquote If I were using a 24V laser module, I’d connect one twisted pair 24V cable to the jackpot and run a separate 24V twisted pair from the power supply to the laser module.

So should I get one of these power supplies so I can connect it to the jackpot and the laser module at the same time? and then wire it up to a 24v laser?

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I use one of those to run both my Jackpot and my laser.

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That’s what I use for my Jackpot and laser.

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  • You can run your laser off the same power supply or separate power supplies, same voltage or different voltages. All work. The only two things to pay attention to are 1) do you provide enough current to run the devices (individually or combined), and 2) if you run separate power supplies, somehow the grounds of both power supplies must be tied together.

  • Given the longer run of power wires to the laser on the Lowrider, I recommend running 24V to the laser. You will end up with less voltage loss to the laser for a given gauge of wire. I’d also run larger wires to the laser, perhaps 18AWG, for power. The PWM wires can be small. Note if you are going to be running the companion board, running larger gauge wire will require you splice it into the provided cable.

  • The companion board is not required. You can wire your laser without it if it complicates your setup. The two things you get by using are, 1) simple power “wiring” for separate power supplies since it has a barrel jack for the second power supply, and 2) you get the grounds connected “automatically” since there are two wires for the PWM feed.

  • Connecting grounds together can be done any way you want. As mentioned, it comes “free” if you use the companion board. The ground connection between supplies also does not need to be the same larger gauge you use to run the current for the laser. Just a small wire connecting the two grounds will work.

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We haven’t yet talked about whether your laser module will come with and need an adapter board- so that will be part of the discussion as well.

Hi Jim, So nearly all the parts have arrived (just waiting on wire then I can begin) and it did come with an adapter board however I’m still a little confused. So do I connect the cable (that came with the laser) to the laser and adapter board and then adapter board to jackpot for the PVM( it says it is 0/3 - 12v, 0-5kHz)? and obviously wire the adapter board to the power supply.

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Hi Robert,

Note if you are going to be running the companion board, running larger gauge wire will require you splice it into the provided cable.

Im going to use the companion board. Would i just get a 2 pin connector and connect it from the driver adapter to the gpio27 and GND pins on the Jackpot CNC as shown in the manual for the laser? obviously subsitute the “engraving machine main Board” for the Jackpot cnc controller

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Yes, the two-pin connector will connect the companion board to the Jackpot as described. If there is a ground pin adjacent to gpio27, then I’d splice some wire into the provided connector to make it as long as needed. This connection does not carry any significant current, so the wires can be small.

As for the connection between the companion board and the laser, I’d use l heavier gauge wire for the black and the red wires, or I’d mount the companion board on the core and run heavier wire to carry the voltage to the laser.

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As for the connection between the companion board and the laser, I’d use l heavier gauge wire for the black and the red wires,

I don’t really want to mess with it but I think the wire that came with the laser is supposed to manage the connection between the driver adapter and laser ie the 3 pin cable that came with the laser as I didn’t get a cable for the connection between driver adapter and jackpot cnc controller. I got 16 AWG wire for connecting the power supply to the driver adapter?

Thanks for quickly confirming much appreciated!

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The three-pin cable connects the laser to the companion board. Most people mount that board near their control board (i.e. Jackpot board). If you do it that way, the provided three-pin cable won’t reach the laser, so you will need to extend the wiring. The alternate solution is to mount the companion board on the core and run the 12V or 24V to the core.

I’m surprised your kit did not include a two-pin connector. The pins are space such that Dupont connectors can be used. I use a bit of low-temp hot glue to lock in the Dupont connections.

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I switched the power supply so i can power the laser and the lowrider from one power supply, i crimped the power cables as a precautionary measure as not to have wires running out the socket. You think it will be alright?

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Edit in the config.yaml do i only need to uncomment the laser section and not the pwm section?

Am I also going to need two config files, one for laser and one for router?

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Yes, just uncomment the laser section. You only need one config with a router. If you get a spindle, you will need two.

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I fully admit it may vary based on the laser and/or spindle, but I run both my laser and spindle from a single config.

It’s trickier, so not the recommended starting point, but it is possible to define both and then select them by sending T0 or T1 to tell the Jackpot which to use. I think this is something that came along with the toolchanger stuff they’re adding.

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The crimped connection is great. A few years back I purchased a ferrule kit just for this kind of thing.

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Thank you! Just double checking as I don’t want anything to catch fire. I don’t have a micro usb long enough to directly connect to the jackpot. Is there anyway to export it from lightburn as an nc then upload to my machine via fluidNC? For now so I can at least test the laser works Ok?

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Yes, you can also set up the jackpot as machine in lightburn using its IP address if you’re running the STA mode. With the usual caveat that streaming code over WiFi has its risks.

I do it all the time

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Is STA mode on by default?
finding the machines IP is easy right? It’s just in the fluidnc interface.

I don’t actually have a Wifi router. I’m just wanting to connect to it directly on my computer like with fluidNC.
Thanks