├── neje_laser_trigger.fzz ├── images ├── CNC Shield Power.png ├── Stepper Motor Connectors.png ├── laser_trigger_breadboard.png ├── laser_trigger_schematic.png ├── PC Power Supply Connector.png ├── CNC Shield Annotated resized.JPG ├── Stock Laser Power and Control.png ├── IRF520 Module Annotated resized.JPG ├── neje_1000w_laser_engraver_large.jpg └── neje_1000w_laser_engraver_small.jpg └── README.md /neje_laser_trigger.fzz: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/neje_laser_trigger.fzz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/CNC Shield Power.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/CNC Shield Power.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/Stepper Motor Connectors.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/Stepper Motor Connectors.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/laser_trigger_breadboard.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/laser_trigger_breadboard.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/laser_trigger_schematic.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/laser_trigger_schematic.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/PC Power Supply Connector.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/PC Power Supply Connector.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/CNC Shield Annotated resized.JPG: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/CNC Shield Annotated resized.JPG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/Stock Laser Power and Control.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/Stock Laser Power and Control.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/IRF520 Module Annotated resized.JPG: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/IRF520 Module Annotated resized.JPG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/neje_1000w_laser_engraver_large.jpg: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/neje_1000w_laser_engraver_large.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /images/neje_1000w_laser_engraver_small.jpg: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xunker/neje_laser_upgrades/HEAD/images/neje_1000w_laser_engraver_small.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # neje-laser-upgrades 2 | How-to's and resources for upgrading the NEJE (also sold under the HICTOP brand, and others) desktop USB laser engraver to full GRBL compatibility by replacing 3 | the electronics. 4 | 5 | Last updated January, 2018. 6 | 7 | ## Full grbl upgrade with Arduino CNC Shield 8 | 9 | ### Videos 10 | 11 | I have uploaded a video of the whole upgrade process at [youtu.be/2rbzI-d-bOA](https://youtu.be/2rbzI-d-bOA). 12 | 13 | A second video with specific focus on the wiring, and that covers use of a 14 | MOSFET to switch the laser, is also available at [https://youtu.be/MuKYvifYnYs](https://youtu.be/MuKYvifYnYs). 15 | 16 | ### Links to resources 17 | 18 | #### Software-only upgrade 19 | 20 | If you are lucky enough to have a machine that can be upgraded without replacing 21 | the board, you can follow [these instructions](http://diyhpl.us/laser_etcher/NEJE_Laser_Etcher/) 22 | to flash a new version of grbl to it. 23 | 24 | #### Hardware 25 | 26 | ![NEJE DK-8-KZ Engraver](images/neje_1000w_laser_engraver_small.jpg "NEJE DK-8-KZ Engraver") 27 | 28 | The engraver pictured above and in the video: [KKmoon NEJE DK-8-KZ 1000mW](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EACK7UG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s02) 29 | 30 | The Arduino shield used to control the steppers: [Arduino CNC Shield](http://blog.protoneer.co.nz/arduino-cnc-shield/). 31 | I think I mistakenly referred to this as "grblshield" in the video. 32 | 33 | [Arduino Uno](https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardUno), the board that connects to the shield above. 34 | 35 | [Laser focus adjustment ring](http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1939313). 36 | 37 | [IRF520 module](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z8UF6AQ), the board that 38 | controls power to the 5V laser. 39 | 40 | #### Software 41 | 42 | [Universal Gcode Sender](https://github.com/winder/Universal-G-Code-Sender) - 43 | Used to send commands to the laser. 44 | 45 | [J Tech Photonics Laser Tool](https://jtechphotonics.com/?page_id=2012) - 46 | Used to convert images to laser commands. 47 | 48 | #### Wiring diagrams and schematics 49 | 50 | ##### Connecting PC power supply to Arduino and Shield 51 | 52 | The CNC shield can accept any DC voltage from 12V to 36V. Because the stepper 53 | motors used here are very small, the 12V does not need to be high amperage; 54 | 500ma or larger will probably be sufficient. 55 | 56 | ![CNC Shield Power schematic](images/CNC%20Shield%20Power.png "CNC Shield Power schematic") 57 | 58 | ![CNC Shield Connections annotated](images/CNC%20Shield%20Annotated%20resized.JPG "CNC Shield Connections annotated") 59 | 60 | To power the upgrade, I used a power supply designed to run an internal PC 61 | hard drive, although a full-size PC power supply would work. 62 | 63 | ![PC Power Supply Molex schematic](images/PC%20Power%20Supply%20Connector.png "PC Power Supply Molex schematic") 64 | 65 | The most important part of the power supply is that is can give 5V at several 66 | amps to power the laser. 67 | 68 | The CNC shield electronics can then be powered from 5V as well, but I chose 69 | to power them from the 12V rail of the power supply. If you choose to do that, 70 | you will want to adjust the current-limit on the drivers to avoid damaging the 71 | stepper motors. Details of how to do this are in the video. 72 | 73 | ##### Connecting stepper motors to the shield 74 | 75 | The connector for the stepper motors are between the "drivers" (the red square 76 | circuit boards [in this image](images/CNC%20Shield%20Annotated%20resized.JPG). 77 | 78 | With the white wire facing up, match the 4-pin connector on the cable to the 79 | 4-pin connector on the board for both the X- and Y-axis. 80 | 81 | ![Stepper motor connections](images/Stepper%20Motor%20Connectors.png "Stepper motor connections") 82 | 83 | ##### Connecting laser to power supply and CNC shield 84 | 85 | The `SPNEN` (SPiNdle ENable) pin on the shield cannot power the laser itself, so 86 | I use a circuit with a transistor to power the laser from the power supply, but 87 | still allow it to be turned on and off by the CNC shield. 88 | 89 | First, you will connect the positive wire of the laser (coloured red on mine) to 90 | the 5V power line from your power supply. It *MUST* be 5V, any more will damage 91 | the laser! 92 | 93 | We will switch the laser on and off by connecting or disconnecting the 94 | negative/ground wire. This technique is known as "[low-side switching](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/transistors/applications-i-switches)". 95 | 96 | Here are two ways to do it, though there are probably other ways too. I 97 | recommend using a MOSFET over a TIP120. But if you only have a TIP120 it will 98 | still work though your laser power may suffer. 99 | 100 | ###### MOSFET circuit 101 | 102 | An efficient way to switch the laser on and off is to use an N-Channel Power 103 | MOSFET. Currently I am using an [IRF520 module like this one](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z8UF6AQ), but this is not designed for logic-level switching so if you have the option I would 104 | recommend using [a logic-level MOSFET](https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/512-FQU13N10LTU) instead. 105 | 106 | But, regardless of the voltage, if you want to solder one yourself then the 107 | circuit will look something like this: 108 | 109 | ![MOSFET Laser Trigger schematic](images/Stock%20Laser%20Power%20and%20Control.png "MOSFET Laser Trigger schematic") 110 | 111 | This will switch the laser on and off with a minimum of voltage loss. 112 | 113 | If you use the same IRF520 module that I did, here is how the wires are 114 | connected: 115 | 116 | ![IRF520 module connections](images/IRF520%20Module%20Annotated%20resized.JPG "IRF520 module connections") 117 | 118 | ###### TIP120 circuit 119 | 120 | Before using the MOSFET, I was using a TIP120 Darlington transistor. This works 121 | but it is a poor choice because the voltage drop on a TIP120 can be as much as 122 | 2V in some cases. If we were switching 48V then that wouldn't be a problem but 123 | for a 5V laser, losing even 1V is going to severely impact laser power. 124 | 125 | Here is the TIP120 switching circuit I used before: 126 | 127 | ![TIP120 Laser Trigger schematic](images/laser_trigger_schematic.png "TIP120 Laser Trigger schematic") 128 | 129 | ![TIP120 Laser Trigger breadboard](images/laser_trigger_breadboard.png "TIP120 Laser Trigger breadboard") 130 | 131 | The transistor I used is a TIP120 "Darlington" transistor. It is a very common 132 | "power transistor" that you can find at any electronics shop (Radio Shack, 133 | Fry's, etc) and everywhere online. You can use any similar NPN-type power 134 | transistor (such as the TIP31, etc) as long as it can handle the current. A 135 | standard 2N3904 transistor can't handle it, and while a 2N2222 *may* be able to 136 | handle it for lower-powered lasers, I would still recommend using a TIP-series transistor because they are still very inexpensive. 137 | 138 | **Note**: I should really upgrade the above circuit to use a MOSFET instead 139 | of a power transistor. It shouldn't be that hard adapt it using 140 | [the example from this page](http://www.sensitiveresearch.com/elec/DoNotTIP/index.html). It may also 141 | let us use PWM to control the intensity of the laser. 142 | 143 | ### Orientation 144 | 145 | The origin (X/Y at 0) coordinates should be at the lower-left of the of the 146 | stage. "Lower" here means nearest to front. Make sure moving each axis 147 | negatively will move toward that point, and moving each axis positively will 148 | move away from that point. 149 | 150 | ### configuring grbl to work in positive space 151 | 152 | For J Tech Photonics Laser Tool (in Inkscape), make sure to set the machine 153 | coordinates system to operate in positive space. You will do that by 154 | uncommenting the following line in `config.h` before you upload the grbl 155 | code to the Arduino: 156 | 157 | ``` 158 | #define HOMING_FORCE_SET_ORIGIN 159 | ``` 160 | 161 | ### grbl 1.1 settings for Arduino CNC Shield upgrade 162 | 163 | ``` 164 | Grbl 1.1e [‘$’ for help] 165 | $0=10 166 | $1=25 167 | $2=0 168 | $3=0 169 | $4=0 170 | $5=0 171 | $6=0 172 | $10=1 173 | $11=0.010 174 | $12=0.002 175 | $13=0 176 | $20=0 177 | $21=0 178 | $22=0 179 | $23=0 180 | $24=25.000 181 | $25=500.000 182 | $26=250 183 | $27=1.000 184 | $30=1000 185 | $31=0 186 | $32=0 187 | $100=108.000 188 | $101=108.000 189 | $102=250.000 190 | $110=5000.000 191 | $111=5000.000 192 | $112=500.000 193 | $120=500.000 194 | $121=500.000 195 | $122=10.000 196 | $130=27.000 197 | $131=37.000 198 | $132=200.000 199 | ``` 200 | 201 | ### Reset default work area 202 | 203 | You will probably need to reset the default "work area". Do that with these 204 | two commands: 205 | 206 | ``` 207 | G10 L2 P1 X0 Y0 Z0 208 | G54 X0 Y0 Z0 209 | ``` 210 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------