I recently purchased a new Ikier K1 Pro Max 48W unit and have had a number issues straight out of the box.
These are my comments based on my experience and issues that I have noted and found when unpacking the unit and when starting to use the unit.
Poor quality assurance - loose screws, threaded screw heads, missing screws. I ended up scavenging screws from the removed Y-axis unit to supplement the missing screws and to replace the threaded heads.
Improper assembly - loose components, components falling out of the frame etc. One of the Y-axis shafts were not correctly installed
The main issue - poor engraving quality caused by excessive laser module vibrations.
The QA issues aside it is my option based on my unit that the new 48W unit (larger) appears too heavy for the carriage/cradle causing significant vibrations when used resulting in engraving lines that are not straight. When you view the video you can clearly see the vibrations. This translates into lines and graphics that are blurred in areas.
I am currently trying to solve the issue with Ikier but no fix/answer yet.
I also have a CREALITY 2 (22W) laser unit which with the same designs and cutting speeds performs perfectly out of the box so the issue is not the design or the software but a hardware issue.
I have found other videos or Youtube where people are commenting on poor QA and fixes for things that should not be an issue right out of the box.
I understand that things do go wrong at times but I also believe companies should be made aware of issues in their assembly lines and in their quality assurance.
Considering the price/cost of the unit I expected better. The CREALITY unit was cheaper but at the moment performs better that the new Ikier 48W unit.
Please see the video. If you have any thoughts/ideas please comment.
Hi, I just received my Pro Max plus Y axis extensions . The Pro Max stock 410x410 was mostly assembled apart from x-axis and appeared to be well assembled. The y axis extensions were a big problem . The guide rails had shifted in transit to the extent that I wasn’t able to fit either x-axis frames to them. Only one screw held the the guide rails to one of the two the mounting blocks. This issue occurred on both y-axis frames and rails. Spent quite some time getting the guide rails properly fitted to the frames and then the x-axis gantry to move smoothly along the y-frame after everything assembled.
With the y-axis extensions , I found another minor irritating issue . Although there’s a working area of 410 x 710 if I send the laser out to any value beyond y=610 and then press the home button, it will return short of home on the y axis by the distance the laser went beyond y=610, so I have to hit the home button again for it to fully home . The firmware obviously has a travel limit of 610 on the y axis before it kicks up an error for not hitting the home sensor.
It took me a while to sort out vibrations caused by rubbing metal on the y axis , I spent a few hours troubleshooting the home issue on the y-axis which I believe it is a firmware issue that I can live with until an update is released.
The Pro Max is now working very nicely and I’m getting impeccable engraving results .
I shall email Ikier with all the issues I have found with my shipment , so at least they won’t view your issue as a one off. There is clearly a QA problem and also discrepancies in Pro Max documentation. They’ve changed the legs on the Pro Max frame resulting in the right hand side transfer shaft joint being totally obscured and inaccessible without screwing the leg off. Thats not a big problem if they are shipped out mostly assembled but it’s cause for concern for those wanting to fit y extensions. Yup … a rush job to get the Pro Max onto the market.
Thanks for your post. The QA is definitely a problem. Found other guys that needed to “fix” things. Ikier are now sending me a new unit. They cannot figure out the vibration issue. Still think it is a structural issue as the weight of the laser module with the autofocus results in a more “stressed” bending moment on the x-axis. They even blamed my “static” power which is total nonsense. They even asked me to slow the unit right down even though these issues are happening at 5000-6000mm/min when the unit is capable of 54000mm/min. The y-axis issues were the same for me. My “bars” weren’t even in. They were falling out of the rails - no screws installed. Will keep posting. H
I also had a vibration issue that resulted in non-straight diagonal lines in a specific area on the y-axis. I found that one of the y-axis rail mounts that you screw the x-axis gantry onto was rubbling against the frame at the location where the jagged diagonals were appearing. I loosened the screws holding the two in place and re-positioned the mount a fraction so it would no longer run along the rail without touching the frame. Everything appears to be ok with my setup now but it took a lot of time to work through the issues. Ikier blinged up the atomstack to compete with the “nice looking” x-tools and they messed up, especially in QA.
Massive vibration on my brand new machine caused by screw heads on underside of x axis gantry rubbing and scraping on y axis rail. Removed gantry and x axis motor cover and increased countersinks to allow screw to go deeper into cover. seemed to solve problem straight away.
It sounds like a few years ago when I bought a K40. The entire machine was dismantled, checked and optimized and reassembled. Most electrical installation, incl. the controller was replaced, it was simply too miserable. But, we all knew that and calculated the necessary design/product changes into the acquisition price. I thought it had gotten much better with time, my last CO2 laser (OMT) and a 20 watt diode laser from Longer are a lot better in the electrical and mechanical assembly of the machines, but not perfect either. Bottom line, it’s also a matter of price. The logic itself, why the most simple things are sometimes different in China than in the West, I have long since given up understanding.
I’ve had nothing but problems with the K1 Max Pro.Right out of the box my control panel was never attached and no screws to do so. Or so I thought. I did find one in the Y area of the frame, after some nasty grinding noises. 2nd one never appeared. The downdraft fan simply forces any smoke and debris into the module and quickly clogs the fan and everything else inside the module requiring a full dismantle to clean after a relatively short job load (in hrs). I clean the lens when I notice any change in power or scorching and yet this last time I did notice dark spots that can not be removed. Although between the difficulty in removing the harnesses and the tiny screws (just waiting for them to strip) and making sure the air assist hose is seated correctly, I cringe everytime I have to clean it.
The auto focus is kind of a joke to me. It NEVER works right the 1st time. Always 2 times and sometimes 3 to get it to correctly focus. The cross hairs are nice…BUT considering the huge module (to be expected in a high wattage diode) and the offset needed, you are losing a huge piece of workspace. Truly misleading advertising. I don’t think you even have 400mm working space. In fact, I am sure you do not.
I am also now getting vibrations like others. I did not buy this at almost $2000 at the time to tinker with and trouble shoot. Their Customer Service may as well not exist. They could send me another and I would not want it. I won’t bother to post other issues and my initial post to them and their response. Suffice to say, it was non-sensical and showed no desire to address any issues. Maybe Atomstack is OK…maybe. I will never own one…but their aquisition of Ikier is terrible. I can not recommend enough for people to not buy these machines. And imagine, they are now coming out with a 70 watt version. Why bother? I am sure it will have the same issues or more.
I seem to have had a similar problem after adding the extension kit. Some other changes occurred at the same time, upgrading to Lightburn 1.6. I suspected software was the problem.
It turns how that somehow my offsets were misconfigured. I wound up running the
G10 L2 P1 x0 y0 to reset it to zero and now all is well. I can send the machine off to x410, y750 and it goes. Hit origin (or home) to return and it goes back.
Also, I am having an issue with rapids speed in Lightburn specifically. The K1 Pro can do 54000/mm/min according to iKier. I have verified the latest firmware and machine settings are as such in config.
With jogging, it does not go at full speed in Lightburn. If I close Lightburn, open OpenBuilds Control, it moves the K1 at lightspeed comparatively…
Is this a known problem in Lightburn software as a defect? Or am I missing something?
It’s such a shame Ikier/Atomstack is bungling these with colossally poor support and QC. The basic design of the machine is pretty solid. If they could just put them together properly (including proper optical alignment of the various module parts) they would have a real winner.
Check your firmware settings, at Longer e.g., they promise a higher speed, but at the same time they lock max. speed in the machine’s firmware. Can you run the desired speed with the included software?
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However it´s not advisable to run at that speeds.
54000 is likely the scanning speed but a safe speed is less than 18000 maybe.
For Y speed maybe [10000-6000].
I am familiar with those settings, and have changed them all repeatedly trying to explore and discover how to get lightburn to play nice with my machine. thanks.
the machine is rated on the iKier website at 900mm/s…
As I understand it, no. Machine setings and firmware are different things and I stated about Longer, here it is not possible (for me) to manipulate Longer’s firmware.
IMO, jogging wouldn’t seem to be a valid test.
Program a job with that speed and a power of 1% and see what it does.
I have the 24W version of that machine and I can say with confidence that you won’t be doing any work anywhere near those speeds anyway.
That’s a statement based on the matter of power over time and laser PWM response.
As far as mechanical limits, I believe the practically unusable “fast” mode uses an accel value of 4000mm/s². It’s got so much bounce and ringing that nothing looks good. My testing shows “standard” mode (2000, IIRC) is near the practical limit with the much lighter 24W module. Mine still shows ringing at this level of acceleration.
Plugging those numbers into a calculator gives the following… Even at 4000 (which will look terrible) you’re using half of your total bed for acceleration. At 2000 (probably still too aggressive), it reaches full speed for about 5mm before needing to slow down again.
I can guarantee it is not a Lightburn issue at all. And in no way can gcode override a firmware setting. What exactly are you trying to do? Have a faster jog speed? Open the MOVE tab in Lightburn. On the left hand side, set your speed
From same panel, you can set the distance each jog makes…10mm, 20mm, 100…etc. If you expected a sub $2000 USD machine, and diode at that, could actually engrave at 54,000 mm/min, you just bought into their hype. Almost all manufacture’s either lie or give 1/2 truths. I’ve engraved nicely at 7000 mm/min, and sure I could go faster, but that was with a 30 watt Roly Lasermatic which had all settings preconfigured. No way…NO way does Ikier/Atomstack give you this. You will get sloppy and fuzzy engraves at 3000 mm/min without figuring out and adjusting the offset scanning yourself. 54000 mm/min is not reality. It is max speed the steppers can do theoretically…not practically.
