I’m sure this has been discussed but can I add a laser to my PRO4896? If so could someone point me in the direction of what type of laser I can add to my machine? I would absolutely LOVE to add CO2 laser engraving to my setup.
Thanks in advance
There are many and may be some newer ones since I last conducted a search.
Just use this as a search string and add to it in Google or YouTube . youtube video avid cnc laser
I’ve been fooling with Opt lasers:
They make this 6W one and a beefier 15W one as well.
@jjneeb has at least a few laser on his machine that I believe are all Opt
Thanks, I’ll start poking around and see what I come up with.
I would love to have a laser attached so when I’m done carving my project I could laser something into the project
Check out the Opt Lasers Facebook group to see examples of what people are doing with these lasers on all kinds of different CNC machines. Nicky Norton has some awesome examples of photographs burned on tile, anodized cards and wood that are phenomenal. Most people are not aware of just how good the image quality can be with a good laser and getting the settings dialed in.
CO2 lasers are difficult to integrate because the liquid-cooled glass tubes are affected by vibrations - they’re physically fragile and require precision alignment. Laser diode is the way forward for adding on to a larger machine - which is why it’s pretty much all anyone uses.
That’s good to know about the laser selection, I was assuming a CO2 laser
I added an OptLaser 6w model to my machine and so far I like it a lot. I need to spend a lot more time familiarizing myself with it but so far I’ve been able to cut thin materials and do some basic engraving. I have a bit harder time becuase I use UCCNC and they have use M10/M11 to turn the laser on and off, however many of the popular laser software programs don’t support that (like lightburn). I will say that if you are considering a laser, think about fume extraction as well. I thought opening my garage door and turning a fan on would be enough, but it’s not. It smells like campfire in the shop for at least an hour or two afterward and now I’m thinking about how I can maximize fume extraction for my setup.
Check out jtech. You can get ones that either mount next to your spindle or one that goes in the collet. They are up to 14w and at the vectric conference Jay said that within the next year they are working on an even stronger one.
Thanks for the info I’ll check it out now
LED Lasers just make bad smells. Get something that can do real work. Here is this guy with a nice system that won’t break the bank and it cuts 1/4" steel like its “butter with a warm knife.” You can get it up to 1.5kw for a little bit more;
Mainly only looking to engrave and cut 1/4” wood with the laser
My sense of humor is hard to get sometimes, sorry 
If the Opt Laser product was around $500 it might be worth it. For what they are charging you can buy a 30 watt complete purpose built system and have two separate machines.
You can be spindling at the same time you are lasering 
That’s another viable option I’m looking into also
1 Like