Just a simple question that maybe can be answered with details. I have now for three weeks owned a brand new Monport K40 Pro 40 watt CO2 laser and no issues as of yet… but the built-in air assist seems very, very weak, but I’m getting by. Since I primarily used this to etch acrylic and glass, I’m not overly concerned because I use my diode lasers with powerful air assist pumps to work on wood and if I wanted to work with wood or more materials, I know I could simply add a stronger air pump with a little bit of configuring to get it to work as there is a side access plate on this laser to access the air pump motor that’s built-in. My question is this. The CO2 tube is produced by ZYE [Yongli] which based upon research - appears to be a reputable brand. Researching information I see that they also make higher wattage CO2 tubes. Can one simply substitute a 40W CO2 laser tube with say, a 60W, or 80W CO2 laser tube to have more power? Would there need to be a change of controllers or anything else to accommodate a stronger tube? All help and information is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I typically associate ZYE with laser power supplies. Are ZYE and Yongli actually the same company?
In simple terms, yes. In reality there are some other considerations. For example, you’d likely want to pair the tube with the appropriately rated laser power supply. Additionally, higher wattage tubes will be physically larger and need to be accommodated for in the machine’s housing. Higher wattage tubes typically use larger mirrors and lenses, etc. Higher wattage tubes may be better for cutting vs engraving and could prompt a change in lens strategy to optimize for that.
Aaaand they require more capable water cooling than supplied with a K40-style laser.
Both @berainlb and @ednisley are correct. Especially about upgrading the laser power supply (lps).
Once you get into the 60W and above power ranges the tube diameter size increases. Most 60W tubes are 55mm in diameter, so you’d have to lower the tube mound by 2.5mm to keep optical alignment and the 60W tube length would be ~1200mm in length. Even a 50W tube is 1000mm in length…
An 80W tube is not only larger, but it has an increased diameter of 80mm. For this to work just the tube would have to be lowered 15mm to keep optical alignment.
I only needed a couple inches for a tube extension, couldn’t find any, ended up 3d printing my cover…
More power is only useful for thicker materials. I’ve used this chart and it’s pretty accurate. For example, my 50W tube from OMTech was only 880mm in length and produced only 43W.
Most K40’s appear to be in the 30W or less range, with tubes that are ~700mm or less in length. A K40 is a type and doesn’t mean it’s a 40W machine. Power out is based on the physics of the lasers operation, so you can’t get more power out of a short tube.
Thank you for your prompt replies. According to Monport - my K40 Pro is a 40w laser output machine. If and when down the road I need to go up and power which, I may not need to, I will just get a more powerful CO2 laser and not deal with all the modifications. Thanks everybody.
According to OMTech, my machine has 60 W output. The fact it has a tube physically sized at 50 W according to @jkwilborn’s chart is irrelevant. 
So, yeah, maybe the tube are just really really enthusiastic.
According to OMTech, mine was 50W but it wasn’t – it matched my chart pretty closely. I measured mine with a Mahoney watt meter, it was 43W and 880mm in length.
Not everybody is truthful.
It’ll probably work fine, just enjoy what you get.
If you’re really worried about the power out, you can buy a watt meter and check it for yourself.
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