I’ve been using the Opt XT 8 45 watt laser with the Avid deployment system and it works great. I also have the Opt 6 watt laser and would like to switch between the two when needed. I’m using the Opt Pro Dock so they just pop on and off quickly. My question is, can I just swap these lasers when needed or do I need to change anything in the setup of CNC12 to go between them?
I know Jim Neeb uses them both as well so I thought I’d ask before I switched the 6 watt on and fried something.
Thanks
At the laser head level, a laser is a laser, is a laser…..except for the power requirements. So if they will work on the same voltage, and you have enough available current you can switch back and fourth with no changes in CNC12 since it doesn’t really know the difference. If the 6w laser you are referring to is the XT-50, then it will run on the same power as the XT-8.
Since these lasers are different size physically, the X, Y, and Z offsets from the spindle are different. So if you are using that feature of the AVID build, you’ll want to write down the coordinates for each laser so you can update them when switching to avoid re-running the calibration each time you switch. You can update the parameters directly in CNC12, or in the wizard. I do it directly in the parameter tables because its much faster. After you change the parameters, then you just have to do the laser height calibration quick to get all the offset calculations done and loaded.
Jim: Could you just have a profile for each of the lasers. I realize you would have to close cnc12 when switching but if you don’t power down it looks like the machine stays homed. You might have to exit cnc 12 not having the laser selected as the current tool. I could be totally wrong though.
Thanks for the confirmation Jim. That is what I was thinking but wanted to be sure. And yes, it is the Opt XT-50 6 watt laser. I went on a buying spree after finding your Youtube channel.
Last night I came across a post from a year ago where you mentioned the need to add a 10k ohm resistor from the power to the ST connection. I also seen Eric’s reply about just turning that off in the controller. I’m assuming I will have to turn the function off in the controller as my system only has 4 wires going from the laser controller to the laser head.
I’ll give it a try this afternoon!
As always, appreciate the support!!!
Yes, I think that would be a good solution. Just calibrate each laser in its own profile and all of the settings should remain in tact. This is one of the nice things about AVID’s profile manager, it is so easy to make a duplicate install, rename it, and then just tune any of the parameters as you need for that version.
Sorry 
Yes, you can fix it with the resistor, or just turn off the whole check in the adapter as Eric said. If you are going to use the LaserDock pro, then I’d recommend the resistor. That will go on the XT-50 side of the LaserDock and allow you to have power checking on both lasers. Here are the details on that: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vV3K41h1-e8g9Wqipbjhr_9ZVPS-JtSG/view?usp=drive_link