Im connecting a 80 watt diode laser to my shopsabre 4896 .i was wondering if I can bench test it and what is needed. I connected 12 volts to the unit and the fan come on but no lasing. I assume i need a pwm signal to fire it up? also wincnc is worried that a laser that shares a gnd with pwm might at some point send 12 volts back to the controller and ruini it. Some suggested a opto coupler to isolate the pwm. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
surelly is a 80W input power and not 80W optical power
also are you certain this is a 12v module, very unusual such a high power module to be 12v? What brand is it, can you share a link?
Hello…it is a Aenbuslm from ali-express./Yes…not a true 80 watt.they play all kinds of power games with these Chinese lasers…I think they start as 10 watts of power they are available in 12 and 24 volts. I have a synrad 20 watt c02, but it needs rebuilt. Im just starting back up after some back issues, so my machine has not been used in a while. We sell figured lumber and have a sawmill and we are going to start making a few items to sell.I have tons of spalted maple that i want to use on some projects with the cnc and laser.
Thanks,
Ben
Understand
Now we need to establish a few guidelines
a) on the laser module there should be a label that has a couple data, or should
Input power, Optical power out
It might also show the Pinout of the JST connector (don’t assume is standard, rarely 9s
b) on your CNC machine, what type of output do you have available?
Sharing Ground shouldn’t be a problem, but would be ideal if you could share it without consequences assuming your CNC controller is also running 12v? (Probably 24v though?)
c) there are 3rd party small boards you can buy to isolate the laser side and controller side, which would also give you a great advantage on cable conversions
A few pics of all ends that have to go together might help greatly me, or the forum mindhive to give some advice
cool…let me gather some info and take some pictures and ill post later today
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https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806222632458.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.3.708c2ee9d9AqQ4&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=f1fe3574-d9ba-417a-84a0-7a4b8a788cec&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:f1fe3574-d9ba-417a-84a0-7a4b8a788cec,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238112%231997&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21106.25%2180.75%21%21%21767.17%21583.05%21%402101fb1917121678179177209e9d76%2112000037356968375%21rec%21US%21%21AB&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller%7Cquery_from%3A
here is the link to the laser that a purchased…I will get some info on my contoller…the controller card in the pc is from wincnc
here is the info on the wincnc cardhttps://www.wincnc.com/webfiles/CNC%20Windows/Manuals/WinManual_3.0r14.pdf
This is a pci card that goes into the pc, not what’s expected here for a controller…
Appears to be some kind of proprietary controller. I don’t see this working with Lightburn.
Good luck
Yes…this is a proprietary unit. wincnc is used on many commercial cnc machines. I just read a post where one of the techs at j-tech has a program that will alter the g-code of lightburn to work with wincnc.
I will ask the j-tech guy about the common ground issue. As the laser they sell has pwm isolated. I would have just bought theirs, but I’m just starting back up and trying to get running on a limited budget. Do you only use lasers or do you machine wood as well? I got started with cnc using a carvewright machine. a very cool little machine, but the first ones had issues with dust getting into the optical sensors which was a pain, but they have a new one out that has resolved most of those. Their design software is very easy and intuitive…
I’ve not seen a hobby laser that didn’t have just power and pwm to control it. Exception is a dc excited co2 laser. Even most commercial ones I’ve seen, which isn’t many, use pwm from a separate controller…
Some include a temperature sensor output pin, but they don’t tell you how to use it… 
If the controller produces pwm then it should be at a ttl level and should be able to use it directly. That’s commonly the idea so all of this stuff will talk to each other.
Some of the spindle controls use an 0 - 5V analog dc control signal for spindle speed. This isn’t going to work, directly on these ssl.
You’d have to post some technical information, such as the pinout names/specification for both source and destination.
Most of these have information on the output of your controller and the input for you laser… Without that, we can’t off you much help.
I did look at your link, it’s rater sketchy what they are saying… and little technical information about wiring it up. With that, I’d have to say it’s likely a normal - power, ground, pwm laser module.
Good luck
oh…quick question…I’m attempting to bench test this laser first. If I apply the 12 volts the fan comes on but no lase. Does it need to see the pwm signal to even fire.?? I did buy a cheap little pwm generator off of ebay. The module I purchased is like the laser it only has one ground, so I assume it shares a grounds as well.it has 4 pins…v- v+ Gnd Pwm
This is what tells it to lase. If there is no pwm it should not lase.
Any pwm generator should work… as long as it’s within the proper voltage range… Usually 0 to 5V or it’s labeled TTL
It is quite dangerous to use these, by hand, so to speak. When off any kind of mount, ensure you know where it’s going. This is true with even low pwm… it will lase when the pwm signal goes high.
Usually V- and V+ refer to split supplies when there is a separate ground pin included. Are you sure you have the proper connections and supply voltage?
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Thank you!
Ben