Thanks again! This is the laser I’m getting Atomstack M50 50W Double Ultra-Fine Compressed Spot Laser Module With – AtomStack
According to the the sales page, “If you own other brands of engravers such as Ortur, NEJE, Two-Trees, etc., you can also install our Atomstack M50 laser module, which comes with a free adapter in the box.” I’m guessing that the “free adapter” will allow you to hookup your laser to the 5V laser pin.
It comes with a control board to use with other manufacturers which I am assuming will work with the 5v pin already set to pin 45.
I just saw they have a reference to a manual on the sales page. In the manual they show “Input B” for other laser manufactures. This is a two pin input, and almost certainly will handle a 5V PWM signal since a lot of other manufactures use 5V PWM. Connect the TTL pin to pin 45 on the Rambo and the ground to a ground, and you should be good to go.
Perfect! And the gcode controls would be the same that Ryan listed?
I don’t understand the question. If by “goose controls” you mean “g-code commands,” then the answer is probably no. Older documentation uses M106/M107 fan commands to control the laser. Pin 45 is controlled by inline commands but M03/M05 will also work. The first post at the top of this forum topic has a g-code file attached that has in-line commands.
If you follow my advice and get LightBurn to control your laser, you will want to setup your laser as inline:
If you have a voltmeter, you can (carefully) test pin 45 before your laser arrives. If you have the LCD for your Rambo board, you can use the LCD to turn the pin on. The wording is funny. I think you have to turn the laser off in the menu in order to have manual control of the power. I’m not near my machine to check the exact method. Or you can send g-code commands. “M03 S255” turns the laser on full power, so you should see 5V on your meter. “M03 S128” is half power and the meter will read around 2.5V. “M05” turns the laser off.
Apologies I corrected that typo, yes I meant the “gcode” commands in my last post. I tested pin 45 earlier and it has 5v on it constantly. Should it not e constant? I do have a voltmeter and I do have an LCD on my Rambo board as well. I will take a look. But I will try to test it out with commands.
It should not be constant 5V. Are you sure you tested the right pin…and before running any g-code? It in the middle row in the red box.
You’re right, I was just testing the + and - pins only on the MX2 row. I just tested pin 45 and the - pin and it shows 4.98v at full power. See picture attached.
So Lightburn will create the correct gcode file to use without me having to edit the file before burning with the laser?
No g-code modification is required. Note it took a few YouTube tutorials before I understood how to setup LightBurn in a way that mimicked my CNC workflow where cutting is relative to the piece.
I just received this from the Atomstack manufacturer.
The laser working voltage is 12V, PWM level is 3.3V.
You don’t want to drive a 3.3V PWM device from a 5V source, but I’m guessing the adaptor board they should have provided will allow you a 5V PWM signal. You need to read any materials that came with your laser module and/or contact the manufacture about driving the laser from 5V. If 3.3V is required I think a simple voltage divider circuit using two resistors would do the job safely, but you should run the idea past someone on the list that knows more about electronics than I do before implementing a voltage divider.
Check the stats on that…
Some of them only require 3.3V, but will work on 5V or sometimes even 12V. Basically, find out if it’s 5V tolerant to see if y our 5V source is OK.
The manufacturer got back to me last night that a 5v PWM will also work.
Thanks! I really appreciate all the information and help.
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So I finally for the Atomstack M50 laser mounted up and wired, I did test fire and it seems to be working as intended. I will try to run my first test burn tonight or tomorrow!
Thank you for all of your help and guidance.
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Curious, how is that M50 cutting? I am curious if it is more effective than the Nehe A40640 module.
It’s been working quiet well so far. Have cut 1/2 inch wood. Pine, birch plywood with ease. After 2 or 3 passes. Engraves at 6,000 mm/m pretty well.
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Wow, those look like some clean cuts in 1/2 pine! Just 2-3 passes for 1/2 pine, at what speed?
It already is looking at least like a competitor to the Neje, if not way better. AFAIK, the Neje can do like 3mm ply in one pass at ~80mm/sec.
I was running at 300 mm/m @ 90% power (5 passes) but I can run it a little slower and cut it in two passes with full power. I haven’t had the time to keep messing with the laser as I have had some family issues to tend to. And I was running my MPCNC wires through a new cable chain, so I haven’t gotten back to laser cutting and engraving in a week or so. Soon! Here is a link of it running https://youtu.be/LX2xhnmWbVk I did add corner supports to my MPCNC to make it more rigid since I have a pretty large build with a work area of 20 inches x 30 inches.