Now that the higher-powered diode laser modules have come into fairly common use, can anyone relate their experience with how these are holding up in actual use conditions? Are we seeing premature module failures? Particularly for the multi-diode modules, are these having any issues with the higher power that must be handled by the lens assemblies? Anything else that comes to mind?
These are very interesting questions and I just asked the same in another thread.
However, I think it will take some time before relevant feedback can be expected. We are in the process of combining experience with a 20 watts diode laser with 4 diodes, the laser beam is relatively large, otherwise I am posedly surprised, so far.
Me as well. I’ve got a three-year-old Ortur LM2 Pro with a 5.5W module, and I’d like to put something with more power onto it. I was hoping that a consensus had formed as to which ones were holding up and which ones weren’t. To your point, since I mostly engrave tumblers and pens/pencils with it, I wonder what kind of result I’ll get with a bigger spot size (or if it will really matter).
Not only are you increasing output power and spot size, you are also increasing power input, module size, and mass significantly. A simple swap onto an older machine may be ill advised. Going from 5 to 10W while staying at 12V may not be so bad, but I think going from 5 to 20+ @24V would be significantly more involved.
Considering the cost of a standalone 20W+ module ($400-ish), adding the extra couple hundred for the rest of the machine already configured for the larger module really isn’t all that much. Of course, if you’re doing this to a spindle machine or something similarly stout (and expensive), disregard. 
That is correct, the machine and power supply must of course match the new laser. The weight is massive and thus also determines the speed of the engraving itself. At the power supply you can almost hear it if it is underpowered, it should be seriously checked to make sure there are enough Amps for the machine.
Chris, you make a good point re. greater mass of the laser head unit when upgrading just that element in the CNC system. I upgraded twice, from 3W (single diode) to 12W (dual diode), and from 12W to 24W (quad diode) over the past 4 years. In each case there was more than a doubling of mass due to heat sink and fans. Fortunately I have a CNC machine that is capable of handling the added mass and then some.
re. durability - my latest laser unit is the Neje E80. So far so good. I like the near doubling of power output from the A40640 dual diode, clearly makes for faster run times. In the previous laser units, I kept the max power output to 85% or less to keep the diode temp cooler, which I understand to be key to long duration/life of diode(s). Neje has a temp monitor built in, and I find with the E80 that it runs 10degC cooler at 85% than did the previous model, and at 100% pwr it’s still 8degC cooler than previous. The mass of the heat sink and dual fans likely explains that.
to note- For 3-5mm BB and luan ply, although the E80 is capable of cutting through in 1 pass, I find multiple passes at higher speeds to be better, it results in less pitch/tar condensate on the underside of the cut, both on the wood and on the metal bed shield.
Lastly, one down side is, the beam divergence at the focal point seems to be greater based on the kerf width at full power vs. less pwr. below 70% and diminishes width as pwr decreases. Perhaps someone more familiar with optics can better explain the physics. I found this post and video to be quite revealing on what this phenomenon may be: 👁 EXCELLENT READING - Russ talks about Laser Lenses
Many thanks for this insight on the newer laser modules. In my case, I’m not thinking about adding one of those massive modules to my Atomstack A5, but instead going upscale to something that is built to handle one of those beasts.
I’m beginning to suspect that I will eventually end up with multiple modules, since it seems that some are excellent for fine detail work (usually low-power), others for fast engraving and/or cutting (higher power), and possibly something in IR or UV for specialized work.
My greatest concern with the high-power modules is about how they will last in actual use. Depending on what source you read online, a laser module may last something between 1,000 and upwards of 10,000 hours of engraving time. With the high-power multi-laser modules having up to eight lasers, are we seeing failures of the individual lasers within the module at low hours? Or do they all pretty well last for the overall life of the unit?
A related concern is with the lenses, since at the power levels being used, a little condensation on a lens could quickly result in its destruction at those power levels (lost engraving power due to smoke on a lens is the same as heat being delivered directly to that lens).