Laser Modules from one brand on another brand rig and controller

Community Laser Talk
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Hello everyone,

I’ve got a question that i can’t find a straight answer anywhere online.
I bought a Neje Master 2S with a N40630 (7.5W Output) laser module with a usefull area of 170x170mm, i’ve modded it quite alot over time installing air assist, i extended the original frame where now i have a usefull area of 325x860mm and i’m looking to upgrade my laser module to someting more powerfull to be able to cut better some materials and trying to keep the same engraving quality or even step it up a bit…

My real question is: Since i have the Neje motherboard am i limited to Laser Modules that Neje sells or can i install any other Laser Module from another brand that meets my necessities, and if so wich would be a good module with more optical power, fixed focus and good engraving and cutting capabilities??

TIA!

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I don’t know precisely about your controller… mainly how temperature is handled…

Generally speaking, you only have power, ground and pwm going to any of these ss lasers.

You should be able to put any kind of laser on it.

If the new laser draws more current than the board can supply, you might have to deal with that. However the pwm laser control is the same.

NEJE isn’t very clear how they deal with the temperature sensor.

This is a jl1, previous with 4030 head next to original and after the change.

old-new-laser-module
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Good luck

:smile_cat:

1 Like
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Neje uses 4 pin jst most lasers only use 3 pin connectors… as far as I can tell when connecting to the Neje Software you have the laser temp always displayed on screen.

This is a quote from Neje shop page for the said module: "Input Voltage：DC12V 3A
PWM/TTL Input：DC3.3V-12V
Input Interface：PH2.0-4Pin (+,-, PWM/TTL, Temperature), 3Pin (+,-, PWM/TTL) , 2Pin+2Pin (+,-) + (PWM/TTL,-)
NOTE：Temperature interface can be disconnected，NEJE provides text instructions for temperature acquisition on the wiki. "

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This is from the wiki…

Screenshot from 2023-01-04 09-05-15
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Great instructions on how to deal with the temperature… :face_vomiting:

A replacement may not have this available… don’t know what your control board does with no temperature input … ?

:smile_cat:

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So the solution is going to be something along the lines of:
If the other module is a 3 pin the temp will be ignored, and if the module is a 4 pin the temp will be used. But assuming I connect the 12v, gnd, pm/TTL right it should work without hassle (or if a bigger power is needed I need to use the circuit board to add external PSU)

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I would assume so… What I question is if your NEJE control board actually ‘looks’ at the temperature and uses it in diode control.

If it doesn’t then it should work fine…

:smile_cat:

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Well I can tell you that both in the desktop Neje app and Neje mobile app it shows the module temp, if it uses it to do anything I don’t know. Thanks for all the clarifying :muscle:t2::muscle:t2::grin: it’s not gonna be anytime soon the new module arrival since I used all the funds to do this:

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Extended the area of the 170x170 to 325x860, got a new counter top to bolt it on and be able to have the laptop at the side and a new protective steel surface plus a 1000*500 mesh to make a custom bed.

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Easy way to check is to remove the temperature pin from the connector and try it…

You can use a sharp pin or other object small enough to pull the temperature pin out of the connector.

If it works, you’re in like flint.

The pin should push right back into place… Ensure you get the locking pin oriented correctly.

:smile_cat:

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Another question that you might help me is: if I plug my laser on a ungrounded outlet can there be weird behaviors regarding axis movement and laser pwm/TTL?

I ask this because after a few test of cutting a circle the shape was not a perfect circle but a more oval shape and I have the laser at 0% except when framing and sometimes on moving he would blink randomly and I cannot even cut 3mm plywood at 100mm/min with 100% and perfect focus…

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In the US our ground is wired to the mains ‘neutral’ which is wired to ground out in the power cabinet and that’s all wired to a ground rod driven into the ground…

Generally if the devices are all on the same feed you probably won’t have a problem… this is generally…

Anytime you use equipment that is designed or required to have a legitimate ground and you don’t, the results can be ‘unpredictable’.

Is there some reason you can’t get a grounded outlet?

You should get no laser output…?

Usually when you have issues like your circles, it’s a belt or pulley issue, so check your mechanical parts.

:smile_cat:

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There is also the issue of static buildup on the gantry, because the gantry rides on plastic rollers that make great insulators and convert it into a mediocre van de Graff static charge generator. When the static voltage gets high enough to produce an arc to an adjacent metal part, the jolt can cause all manner of unpredictable behavior.

The fix is to bond all the moving parts together with “ground” wires, then connect the frame of the machine to the power-line earth ground. That ensures the static charge will not build up on any of the parts and the frame is properly grounded.

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I’ve managed to fix the shapes issues, had some binding and a little loose belt.

Regarding the second issue, yes the laser has no output when at 0%, but sometimes when traveling you can see some blinks of output

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@ednisley @jkwilborn No need to create another post to solve this tiny question, i feel like my laser is not cutting like it was before i did a extension on the frame, could it be because i used too small of nominal seccion wiring and its chocking up the Amps fed to the module?

EDIT: i dont think i need replies i just found out i used 26ga/0.14mm2 cable that virtually supports almost no current at all and has high voltage drop, that seems to be one of the reasons the laser is acting up!