7w laser & PowerRoute assembly question

[freik]

Finally getting around to trying to use the 7W JTech laser kit, but the installation instructions say nothing at all about the PowerRoute. I've tapped a hole in the motor mount (learned how to do that from assembling the PR and have the laser attached (using a bracket I had laying around, because the included bracket definitely didn't fit the PR). I'll be routing the cables through the drag chain next.

So, question: What pins do I attach the laser control line to inside the control box? I'm going to route them through one of the 4 pin screw on connectors that have a couple extra pins, but I don't want to break either the laser, or the PR, so I'm just gonna wait, instead of guess which pins to attach it to.

Final question: What kind of thickness and what kind of stuff can I *cut* with a 7W laser? I'll be etching some stuff initially, but I'm wondering if I can use it to cut nice 90 degree corners in things like opaque plexiglass or if it will cut through a copper clad PCB...

Thanks in advance!

-Kev

[Derek the Admin]

Hey Kev. It won’t cut any metals. It requires a lot more laser power for that. You could however paint a pcb, burn the circuit traces with a laser, and etch it with ferric chloride. Some do that. You can probably get through 1/4 acrylics and soft woods in a few passes with it.

Did you get the laser at the same time as the PR? If so there should be a white lead coming out of the box that plugs into the laser signal port on the laser driver. If you got it after you got the Power Route, then there is a white cable that plugs into the laser driver board with a red wire and black wire inside the white sheathing. The red wire goes to PWM on the breakout board and the black wire goes to any ground (GND) has n the breakout board.

Side note; I’m curious to hear more about what you mean about the included bracket not fitting the PR. We have used that same bracket on every one we’ve sent. Are you talking about the small aluminum bracket that looks like a square with a rectangular section sticking up?

[freik]

Thanks, Derek! I'll wire it up tomorrow morning some time. I got the PowerRoute on pre-order, so no, no laser with the PR . Yes, that little aluminum bracket looks like a T with 4 holes in it. I didn't have any pre-tapped hole for the laser to attach to, so I also may have put it somewhere that wasn't going to work. The 7w laser wires were coming out the side of the heat sink with the holes to screw into, so I just improvised. Maybe I'll take pictures tomorrow, after I get it hooked up.

I did find that bit about using the laser to etch a PCB, but that seems about as much work as just routing the paths, but messier, so I'll stick with my current PCB mechanism, and maybe try out some (not ABS) plastic and softwoods to see how it fares.

-Kev