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I recently decided that I was going to take my first step into CNC lasers. I decided on Jtech because they have a X-carve specific adapter kit and I’ve seen good experiences with their products here on the forum.
I was wondering if the drivers in their kits were compatible with all their lasers. My plan is to buy the 2.8 kit and upgrade to the 3.8 laser in a following month. But I wanted to make sure that would work. So I sent them an email and asked.
They assured me that the drivers work with any laser they sell. But they also told me that when customers wish to upgrade their kit, they are given a $100 discount toward the purchase of the 2.8 or 3.8 laser diodes.
They said I could share that coupon code here. So if you’ve purchased a kit from them previously, enter “laserupgrade” to get the $100 discount on a 2.8 or 3.8 laser diode. (www.jtechphotonics.com)
Nice! The driver does work with both but you may need to set the jumpers and adjust the current pot so you don’t overdrive the smaller laser. I went ahead and splurged for the 3.8W and love it!
Very nice! That’s one interesting quirk about the lasers on here, versus my Epilog. These lasers appear to char and burn a lot more, where the epilog tends to sublimate the material away. Means that these leave a much “blacker” line than my Epi without having to come back and fill later. Rather cool! I’d imagine you had to seal this to keep the char from spreading around?
Yes, albeit not one as effective as the one on the Universals. It’s a non-axial air jet. Does a pretty good job of controlling flaming and helping to drive smoke into the collector, but doesn’t do much for cut quality or clearance.
I was wondering if it was part of the reason for the additional charring on these lasers vesus the Epilog. I suppose the power difference alone is enough to get sublimation rather than burning though. You can get the same amount of energy by going slower, but the power is what counts here.
I suspect it’s the lower power being applied for longer, really. The air assist doesn’t seem to make any difference at all during engraving, I’ve cycled it both on and off. It helps clear the smoke a little so the area around the engraving doesn’t end up with quite as much re-deposited sap and gunk, but doesn’t really change the colour or character of the engraving itself as far as I can tell.
This is what the engraving looks like on birch plywood off of the Epilog:
After I engrave I send it through my drum sander to remove and streaks. I can scrub my fingernail across and nothing really comes off; however, this cutting board is sealed with Watco Salad Bowl finish which locks it in nonetheless. I’m about to laser engrave a cutting board and use a mineral oil finish. I’m going to be interested to see how that works.
Sorry the pictures aren’t that great but it turned out nice. The board is 12"x16" end grain Maple. It is conditioned with mineral oil and beeswax. Usually when I engrave at full power I get some streaks that I sand off. Either because it was maple or because it was end grain I didn’t have to sand after engraving. I rubbed my fingers across the engraving and no visible char rubbed off. I’m very happy with my laser. This design was done with VCarve Pro: pocket, offset , 40 ipm at full power. It took about 35 minutes to engrave.
