K40 Laser Cooling Guard Build / This may save your Laser Tube 

Congratulations Brandon you won the first PCB! Please contact me on Instagram on my “Mancave Effects” Profile, i will get back to you in the next days! :-D

Contact me on Instagram if you want one.

Congratulations Steve, you won the third PCB! Please contact me on Instagram on my “Mancave Effects” Profile, i will get back to you in the next days! :-D

I hope Mr Mancave doesn't mind me jumping in here, and I hope I haven't missed anything! I don't see why not, but you'd have to change the code for the ports you use, plus IIRC the ESP32 is a 3.3v device so you'd need a relay board, flow sensor and LCD that are designed for 3.3v, or use level converters. Of course the ESP32 won't fit on the custom PCB. To be honest an ESP32 is a bit overkill, one of these little nano boards is perfect. I order them 5 or more at a time!

The ESP32 will not fit the pcb and even you could tether an alert via wifi to your phone (if thats the idea) while working the next room, i would recommand to always keep an eye on your laser... to many people showing pictures of their machines that went up in flames ;-)....

Thanks everyone I am going to do some testing and follow up!

Let me see what i can do as this varies from machine to machine. Some K40‘s cut thru 3mm ply in one go, others don‘t. I depends on the actual laser tube. For 6mm my machine needs up to 4 passes to cut thru, of course this leaves a nice charing though 😂

@@MancaveEffects I brought special 3mm laser ply off ebay... Got air assist.. Fancy cloudray Lens holder with zeze lens... Still takes 5 passes and sets fire lol.....

Though i have the same issue, good that you meantion this! You know this wood is made for fancy lasercutters that have a tighter beam angle and higher output. The cuttingline width of these machines is 1/10 of a mm. The mid of this material is made from hardwood to give it higher strength when you cut very small parts. The K40 is not powerful enough for this material, i got rid of this stuff as it does not work. I get my ply at the home improovment store, in Germany there is a brand called „Pappel“ their 4mm plywood is way softer and easy to cut even with my machine. You will probably find it at Michaels in the US or other crafting store. Here they sell it in all differend sizes (A5,A4,A3 EU Paper norm) and costs like 3 bucks for a pack of 5. If i need strength i use acrylics. But for most of my work this simple softer plywood is ok considering the price of this machine. Try if you can dent it with your fingernail when you are at the store, this should be the right stuff.

@@MancaveEffects ahhh that explains it... Im in Ireland i work in a warehouse.. I got some thin ply about 5mm that cut in 2 passes from a packing case...

Let me check tomorrow

Congratulations Joe, you won the fourth PCB! Please contact me on Instagram on my “Mancave Effects” Profile, i will get back to you in the next days! :-D

@@MancaveEffects ah yeah thank you so much!

I knew you would ask that, so i travelled in the past making one in April 2020. You find it on my channel

Thanks. Have not seen any yet 🤔

It does cut the laser from working when no flow is detected.

@@MancaveEffects ah, ok. sorry, I must have misunderstood something 😂👍

I tried them, turned out they are better in the trash bin as they leaked everywhere 😂😂😂... it was a bad idea beeing lazy on that point, just spend these couple of bucks and get some from the store

@@MancaveEffects I did wonder, but with a bit of silicone sealant on them I get you could get them to work!

Well for my experience everything involving some sort of air or water pressure, 3d printed stuff just isn’t dense enough to keep up. Maybe with some sealant you can make it air or water tight but after some days it will start leaking again and due to gravity it will spill two gallons of cooling solution thru my Mancave. Therefor i decided to get me some metal parts and use my non exsisting plumbing skills to fit this thing in safely ;)

I use an 240v-110v adapter, but these guns are basicly hot glue guns with a compressor hose attached to it, you can simply build your own by getting you a 240v rated gluegun and a piece of 3mm pipe that adapts to an air compressor

@@MancaveEffects Thanks :) I have some parts laying around, only need to find a 3mm pipe with adapter...

3..,2...,1... and the last and fith PCB goes to you Michael! Please contact me on my Mancave Effects profile on Instagram for the shipping adress! 😁💥

Because a flow sensor measures the flow rate continously and gives an estimation of how much fluid runs thru the system. Over time build up in the pipes may comprimise a proper flow rate... You could use a flow switch and hook it straight up to the laser switch if it should only toggle when the pump is running.

What is the issue?

@@MancaveEffects with fresh install of arduino, i go to open the sketch and get "could not create the sketch"

sorted

Congratulations Ralph you won the second PCB! Please contact me on Instagram on my “Mancave Effects” Profile, i will get back to you in the next days! :-D

@@MancaveEffects don't have Instagram EMail ok?

Email is ok, can you give me yours?

@@MancaveEffects didn't receive a mail yet, don't know if you send it already or not

I need your email adress.