Laser Attachment??

[Steve Wojo]

In the Q&A section on the Rockler site for the Piranha FX a customer states they have a Piranha and would like to just get the the Laser. The reply from Rockler says that Nextwave will soon be releasing a stand alone laser attachment this fall.

Anybody have the scoop on this? Will it also work for a Shark if you do have info, or just a Piranha?

It would be silly stupid to not off laser upgrades to existing customers, I just hope they also offer for Shark users and are pretty reasonably priced.

Steve

[NewAgent45]

New found Interest in Laser engraving:

I recently completed a Gunstock inlay project and posted details on this forum.
http://www.cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4566

I have a customer very interested in this work as a service. Besides the inlay projects he is also interested in checkering.

Yesterday I was browsing the internet and stumbled on the attached impressive laser engraving video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVUsxIW5JlU

I’m aware the CNC Piranha FX offers the laser engraving technology. As I read in our forum NWA will soon offer a stand-alone laser attachment to fit larger machines. I also searched on the NWA site but didn’t find anything. Like Steve stated here (10-23-2015), it would be a shame for NWA not to take advantage of the existing customer base that already have larger machines.

Can anyone provide updated information on this possible new offering?
Product release date?
Ball-Park pricing?

Have a great Day!
… Rod

[bill z]

Just yesterday, October 28, I got an email from NWA about the laser attachment for the Shark.

This is what they said:

Afternoon,
At this time, the laser attachment will made available to our CNC Shark machines after the first of the year.
The laser that we offer is a 3 watt laser and will only burn into the material you are using creating more of a surface engrave.

Thank you
NWA Technical Support

[NewAgent45]

BillZ:

Thanks for squeezing a little info. from NWA. Why the secrecy? They are holding us captive only because of the interface. I don’t believe the interface here would be very complex.

I’d like to open this discussion up to 3rd Party options by asking the forum community is anyone already using 3rd party supplied lasers on one of the CNC Shark products. We may want to look at higher power lasers too.

Please note I'm note nocking the NWA products at all I'm actually very happy to have my machine. I welcome some collaboration here that's what forums are good for.

I’m a retired engineer with a lifetime experience in process control industry. But no laser experience. I assume we would have two modes of control (1) on/off (2) modulated intensity (power). Simple devices would likely be fixed power.

A quick search yielded several devices on eBay including this one. It just happens to be the same power ratting as listed for the NWA offering.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/focusable-real- ... Sw3ydVm9UU

I’ll list the specs. incase the link doesn’t work:

Focusable real 3W 808nm laser diode module / wood carving / CNC cut 9V input - $229.00

Features:
(1) High power output. Can adjust the focus. (With fingers)
(2) Wood carving, can light matches, pop balloons, black plastic, Cigarette.
(3) good cooling to ensure lifetime.
(4) Coated glass lens,driver constant current and voltage, high quality.
(5) Output dot diameter <1mm（The smallest Focus) ; Set focal length <300mm
Note: Focal length ~11.8 inches - Probably means we would need to mount the device higher then the router.
Depth about 0.05 ~ 1 mm, according to the material.
The output beam is IR .

Specifications:
Wavelength: 808nm
Power output: 3W
Working Current: <3A
Voltage supply: 9V
Working Temperature: +10dgC-+60dgC
Storage Temperature: +10dgC-+50dgC
Modulation Mode (TTL ) 0~20KHz);
Lifepan： >10000hours
Module Size: 30mmx30mmx90mm / (1.2” x 1.2” x 3.5”)
This could easily be mounted in place of the router or in front of the router.

Have a great day!
.... Rod

[NewAgent45]

Some additional thinking on laser control on CNC Shark. I’m wondering how this is accomplished on the Piranha. Piranha users please chime in with some details.

I see in the Piranha description the laser is specified as variable power. I would assume the laser module is fed power data based on the G-Code. Perhaps the z position data normally used for spindle position is used to modulate laser power.

If this is the case I would expect NWA would implement the same control scheme in their unreleased stand-alone laser package intended support their other CNC machines. I would expect a controller upgrade will likely be part of the package.

… Rod

[meb]

The power of the laser for vector engraving will be regulated by the spindle speed you set for the toolpath and will be constant during the engraving. This can be done in the VCarve or Aspire software when calculating the toolpath.

The power of the laser for raster imaging will be regulated from high to low during engraving by a .tap file generated by a special software routine in software provided by Next Wave Automation independent of the Vectric software, so you will have to have that software to engrave raster images. It is still under development at this time.

[NewAgent45]

meb:

Thanks for your response. Sorry it prompts some more questions! You may not have the answers.

Some details of my machine for reference.
VCarve Pro 8.x
CNC Shark HD/Black Diamond
Dewalt 618

The Dewalt 618 is variable speed by manual dial setting and the speed is not read from controller. The router only gets the start and stop through the router power cable.

In the existing G-Code I see the motor control commands exist. ( S=speed, M3=Start, M02=stop end program) But I don't see where these alone could be used to stop the laser when moving to a different position. You may be able to use z position (raising or lowering) to cycle the laser on and off. Anyway you do this it looks like you would need to add a control signal interface from the Shark controller to the laser.

Anyway I'll continue to look with great interest.

Have a great day!
..... Rod

[meb]

There is an interface box with the laser that plugs into the auxiliary jack on the CNC control box. This allows the CNC machine to read the special .tap file generated by software to control the laser output.

When vector engraving you save the toolpath using a special post processor in VCare and Aspire to generate the .tap file and the power is set by the spindle speed you choose in the toolpath. The power of the laser is set to one power on/off.

When raster image engraving you generate your .tap file with special software that looks at the image and determines how much power to use at each location and uses less power at the lighter areas and more power in the darker areas and the .tap file is generated with the code to adjust the laser power.

Your router is plugged into a power outlet on the control box so the only thing the control box can do with the router is turn it on and off. It is not connected to the speed control of the router so it can not be adjusted by the .tap file.

[rayray]

Woodcraft supply, (also a registered dealer and has the Shark machines) lists the laser as a separate attachment for the Piranha for $799. (Item #161352 Next Wave Automation). They also list the 3-d printer attachment for $899. This is Woodcraft Supply's web site; I talked to the local dealer and they don't stock any of the stuff. I called the central office and they had the Piranha in stock and could ship same day... didn't ask about the laser or 3-d.

[NewAgent45]

meb:

Thanks for the detailed interface information for the Stand-a-lone laser module underdevelopment for CNC Shark machines. I understand the proposed interface design. It is good to hear that the device is scheduled for release in early 2016.

RayRay:

We were not asking for information on the existing laser module for the Piranha. I would expect the pricing to be more for the laser module designed for the Shark as it will need to include an interface box to interface the laser to the CNC Shark controller and a special post-processor will be supplied for VCP and Aspire. See meb's post for additional details.

RayRAY: Do you already have the Piranha without the laser? I'd like to hear what people are doing with the laser. Did you see the impressive video I included in my first post?

Have a great day!

.... Rod