I notice that several of you use a laser in addition to your router. What is your feedback on the subject? I am thinking in particular of the following issues:
Feed rate. I have a Creality Falcon 2 Pro 40W and the head movement speed is significantly higher than the head on the LowRider. And I get the impression that we can hardly go faster than 30 - 50mm/s on the latter (limitation with motor power?)
Use for engraving only or also for cutting?
Cutting possible without a honeycomb grid or also on the spoilboard?
Use with/without air assist?
Sharing fume extraction with chip extraction?
Managing the offset: I imagine it is fairly straightforward
Switching between router and laser in the Gcode: is this possible? Or do you run 2 separate Gcodes?
What are your concrete use cases? Part marking?
What optical laser power do you use? Which model?
What material can you cut? Personally I have quite a hard time cutting plywood… Perhaps because of the glue which might be fire-retardant?
I use air assist but I haven’t figured out where to mount the pump.
I have to tweak the offsets a bit but this is how I’m handling it.
The mount for my laser let’s me adjust the height so I keep it up when using the router and lower it when using the laser. So, I can handle it from a single gcode. I just need an M0 pause to move it down.
I ran some engraving tests at up to 9000 mm/min (150 mm/s). It seems fine. That’s the max feedrate set in the default V1 Jackpot configs. With a router you’re dealing with cutting forces that don’t exist with a laser.
I thought about maybe trying to use the dust collection to suck up the fumes. Although sucking fire into a bucket of dry wood chips seems highly questionable. I think I’ll just open the garage door and turn on a fan.
I’m not sure what my use case is. I mostly like trying new things. My general thought is to use the router to cut through thicker wood and the laser for cutting thinner material and some engraving. The sharp corners with a laser has value. Basically if I need smaller than an 1/8 inch endmill, I should consider using the laser.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I have a 1.6W Creality laser lying around, and I’m really eager to give it a try. For much the same reasons as you—not for any specific purpose, but just because it’s possible !
I’m not too worried about the fume extraction. Last week I accidentally drilled through a metal screw with my router bit. It worried me a bit at the time to see all those sparks being sucked into my (transparent) exhaust duct, but they cool down and go out quickly—nothing that would cause a fire… so I imagine it’s the same with smoke (especially with a 1.6W laser)
Feed rate
it’s mainly a weight issue, LR4 is heavy so you can’t accelerate fast
It’s only a problem for engraving though, as cutting speeds with diode lasers are slow
Both are possible
You will need a more powerful laser for cutting
I started without one and wouldn’t recommend
Cutting directly on the spoilboard will give massive charring on the underside
You can use makeshift spacers (i used aluminium corners) but that’s cumbersome
With.
Never hurts, gives you cleaner cuts, won’t break the bank
Maybe you can share the vac hose on the core side, but you’ll need to switch setup on the vac side
Remove the dust bin, and replace it with an air filter box
Shop ventilation is much needed too
Never used an offset, I make 2 gcodes and re-align the piece i want to engrave with a mark on the work surface made with the laser
I also do not like to have the laser mounted when milling, dust tends to ruin the laser’s lens
I usually use the laser for:
christmas ornaments, puzeles, or various boxes in thin plywood (5mm and less)
some engraving on milled pieces
cutting out cardboard templates for test-fit
Plywood is usually fine, mdf is tricky because of the glue/résine
