40W Chinese Laser - Engrave and Cut Leather - Discuss

[Wedgetail]

Ok this thread is pretty big and I'm on a train so I'll give you some of my experiences with my K40 laser I bought from ebay.

Wiring was fine inside the unit

Earthing, it tells you to connect a wire to a ground probe... screw that. In Australia we have 3 prong power sockets. The bottom one is an earth. I connected the earth wire to a specially designed cable that has an earth wire running to the male end of a lead. It also has a female one on the back of it and operates like a double adapter. Just plugged that into the power outlet. Done.

The pump works fine, but just any old aquarium pump will work fine if you wanted to replace it. It is dangerous from the perspective that you typically have an open water container next to an electrical outlet and equipment (in my case, the pump is in a bucket on the floor. But the hose isn't long, so you don't get much reach, which means it'll usually be right beside the laser.... which becomes a serious hazard when the hose pops off the pump and water starts spraying all over the place (i.e "power board")like a fountain... I recommend using a compression clamp to hold the hose in place.

Also, use only demineralised water. Otherwise you'll get mineral buildup in the laser and tubes. I pour mine into the bucket, operate the machine, and then funnel it back into the container to avoid evaporation loss of my demineralised water.

The fan is junk. Mine died early, and even when it worked it didn't do much. It also has a stupid way of fitting it, including a rectangular attachment to a round fan... which leaves everything pretty open and the smoke escapes. I sealed it with duct tape. Done.

The laser is dangerous when in operation, so always keep the lid closed and wear safety gear if necessary.

Aligning the mirrors sucked. Took me a long time, but once done holds its own.

The rails appear to be sliiiiightly out of square on my unit. Not enough to worry about, but cutting a large acrylic template it was off by about 1-2mm

I removed the lense and turned it upside down, because it wasn't cutting well, now it cuts better.

For software: have a look at K40 whisperer. I just switched to it, and it seems really great. I think they may support mac? Not sure though... k40 whisperer  does some cool stuff, like enabling you to run cut, vector engrave, and raster engrave using different colours in your design file. It will also run with any DXF file, so you can download draftsight for free and make all the things you need, and feed them straight to the laser. MASSIVE improvement, and no need to touch Corel draw...

Now lets talk about cutting and engraving.

3mm extruded acrylic: loves it.

3mm cast acrylic: nope.

Thin stuff like pigskin or kangaroo, or leather around 1.5mm (3-4oz): no problem.

I have not tried much thicker than that since I first got it and worked out most of the kinks. I will have a go next I'm in the shop and let you know. But as a general rule: the bigger it is, the more power, the more charring... but I'm still learning.

Engraving, is good. I use mine for doing initials mostly, and sometimes cool logos and things. It's pretty fun. But you are basically vaporising the leather, and that leaves soot behind. Cleaning it out is easy enough, but then it gets soot all over your leather.

So, if you plan doing cutting or engraving with natural veg tan, I'd recommend using something like frisket film, or any other low adhesive contact film to protect your work surface... which will vary in success depending on the patterns you are engraving!

The smell... oh the smell... it's horrible. BUT it dissipates over time. The leather itself will smell pretty bad for a bit. Less so when you clean it and apply finishes.

If I missed anything, or if you want to know more, or if you want me to try something, let me know!

Just in time... train is pulling in at my station

Edited October 25, 2017 by Wedgetail

[KingsCountyLeather]

I was only curious about the lazer...

Brillant review! Thanks.

What was the total cost of the lazer and any other extras?

[OLDNSLOW]

As far as getting one in some where in Europe you might check with ebay shippers or Amazon for pricing and shipping to you, now for the laser again.

What you will find even by looking at the photos posted of the k40 machines, they all very just a little in build (old stock new stock) as for me I tried K40 whisperer and it became a real nightmare and still haven't corrected all the software problems it created for me, I am going to buy a new usb board made by a guy over in Auzzy land it will make it easy to run, but I do understand that a lot of people have had good luck with whisperer but again even the person that wrote it indicates it is experimental.  I did upgrade mine with an air cutting laser head, removed the funky air duct for exhaust removal.  The new cutting nozzle and the removal of the air duct made a big difference, in cutting and engraving but I have not done as much as would like at this point.  I did not have a problem with mirror alignment and I checked the rails and they are square to the housing that is one thing that helps. 

[OLDNSLOW]

a few other little tidbits not sure how many people are aware  of www.thingiverse.com it is a website for 3d printer people that make and post their ideas on the site.  There are several makers who make different parts for the laser machines if and when you want to make changes to your laser,  I found a guy in my location who has posted some of his creations as well as making a few items for my laser cutter. Hope this helps for anyone looking for ideas in changing or upgrading their machine.     

[Wedgetail]

16 hours ago, KingsCountyLeather said:

I was only curious about the lazer...

Brillant review! Thanks.

What was the total cost of the lazer and any other extras?

Yeah cool,

I bought the laser from ebay. In Aussie dollars, it was bang on $500 delivered to my door. 1 aud currently buys around 75c USA.

The only extras I bought are the earth cable adapter for the power outlet, a bucket, and a zip tie that is serving as a compression clamp. I haven't bothered replacing the fan yet but my shed is well ventilated... in all, probably $20 worth of stuff. Maybe 50 if you use an in-line extractor fan and upgrade the pipe too.

The unit is pretty big, and you won't want to move it around much, so I built a little desk for it with a sheet of plywood and 4 off the shelf legs.

[OLDNSLOW]

I am in about 75.00 as this point and that is for an air cooled nozzle and the lens and mirror for the air cooled nozzle.  I changed out the cutting table as well for an expanded metal table top that was around 15.00, the next upgrade will probably be the USB driver board with shipping from Aus will be around 125.00.  If look around will find that some of the higher end models come with some of the upgrades that I am stepping up to hence the higher cost for a more equipped machine,  there will also be an ongoing cost of deionized water that will need to be changed based on the use of the machine, the higher the usage the more often the need to change water

[KingsCountyLeather]

Thanks guys.

Do you actually make money from the laser or is it another addition to a good hobby?

[Wedgetail]

Oh yeah, it has totally paid for itself.

I have used it to engrave nameplates, and things like coffee sleeves with logos and names. People looooooove personalisation. I charge a few bucks extra for it too, but more than anything it helps make a sale. I'll post some examples.

I also make all my small parts templates. Everything from wallet backs and T pockets, to rounds, and I just finished some designs for belt end templates in various sizes for one of the members here who lives nearby (just need to get back to the shed to cut them).

I also use it to cut stencils for spraying dye with my airbrush... I'll post some examples on that too.

It's by no means perfect, but all in all, I would buy again: any day of the week.

[Wedgetail]

Nameplate on a handbag. Etched onto veg tan leather directly.

Laser etched coffee sleeve

[Wedgetail]

Examples of stencil dyed custom orders.

The crow silhoette on a coffee sleeve was one of the first I tried.

The book and cover were for fellow wargamers. Even the words on that bookmark are stencil cut using the laser and then sprayed on with dye... just need to find a font with bridges to each of the voids... like e's amd p's for example... pretty damned durable, and really cool.

Anyway, just some ideas.