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Onefinity CNC Upgrade

The folks over at Onefinity have made a truly amazing new machine with linear rails, integrated controller, and the ability to rapidly take apart and move the machine. We have been working with them for years on the Suckit line of products, so it was easy for us to partner with them to provide a new laser solution for their machine.

Lets get going on how to get this installed!

Installation Video Standard Machine

Installation Video Elite Series Machine

7W PRO and 14W Dual PRO Kit Contents

The laser kit will contain:

  • 7W PRO or 14W Dual PRO Laser with High Resolution Lens
  • 5amp or Dual PRO Laser Driver with Integrated Safety Features
  • 10′ Laser and Fan Extension Cables
  • Onefinity Laser Input Cable
  • 6amp 12V Power Adapter
  • Onefinity magnet laser mount
  • Laser Goggles
  • Focusing Tool
  • Zip ties and zip tie holders
7W PRO and 14W PRO Mounting Kit Contents

24W Quad PRO Kit Contents

The laser kit will contain:

  • 24W Quad PRO Laser with integrated air assist nozzle
  • Safety Interface Board with Integrated Safety Features
  • 10′ Laser Cable (the laser and fan cable are combined into one)
  • Onefinity Laser Input Cable
  • 5amp 24V Power Adapter
  • Onefinity magnet laser mount
  • Laser Goggles
  • Focusing Tool
  • Zip ties and zip tie holders
  • 12′ of air hose
  • Material riser blocks (small black plastic blocks to lift your material)

Note that the 24W kit now has the fan and laser cable combined into one kit.

You will mount your laser driver on top of the control box using the two holes provided. The screws for mounting the driver will be taped to the laser driver electronics package.

Wiring the Laser and Driver

The laser driver will be on top of the Onefinity control box. The laser extension cable will be on the left and go to the laser. This cable is the thicker cable with the white connector. On the 7W and the 14W this will be a two pin cable. On the 24W it is a 4 pin cable.

The input cable to the Onefinity Controller will be the thinner cable with the black connector. It will go to the black dot header on the laser driver to the onefinity controller port marked “laser”.

7W and 14W Laser

7W and 14W Laser driver connections to the Onefinity controller

The fan cable will connect to the port listed as “fan” in this picture below.

Back of the 7W and 14W laser driver

24W Laser Connection

The 24W will have slightly different connections with the one 4 pin cable to the laser head. The input cable will be exactly the same as the other lasers going back to the “laser” input on the Onefinity controller.

24W safety interface board connections to the Onefinity controller

There is no fan cable on the 24W as it is integrated into the 4 pin cable.

The extension cable(s) will go up to the Z gantry routed along the Axis to make sure they are not caught in the linear rails. The laser or the laser and fan will hook into these cables.

Enabling the laser driver – The Red Reset Button

To enable the driver you need to follow a sequence for safety. There are two safety features required by the Federal Government that you will need to know about. The key switch and the red reset button. Here is the sequence you need to follow to turn the laser driver on.

  1. Plug in the power adapter to a known good outlet. You should see the LED on the power brick turn on.
  2. Put the key into the laser driver and turn it to the right.
  3. Press the red reset button. You should hear a slight “click” with the interlock engaging.
  4. Turn the power switch on by pressing in the “|” mark. Your fans should turn on and you should have one led on.

Mounting the Laser

The laser comes with a “two piece” mounting plate. One you install on the Onefinity machine and the other is attached to the back of the laser. This allows for the laser mount not to hit the dust shoe and you can leave the mount on the machine without interfering with clamps or dust boots.

The laser will mount to the front M5 holes on the spindle holder. We have included M5 screws for this.

Attach mount to the spindle holder with provided M5 screws

Try to get the mount level so the laser will be 1/8″ above the material for the 7W and 1/4″ for the 14W. You might need to move the Z axis down in order to accomplish this.

Adjust the mount so you get the laser at the 1/8″ height for focus on 7W and 1/4″ for 14W.

The 14W will be 1/4″ above the material for engraving. For cutting, set the focus to the bottom of the material. For example, if you have a 1/8″ plywood, set your focus to 1/8″ above for the 14W or at the surface for the 7W.

7W focus at 1/8″

The 7W version on the front mount set to 1/8″ focus.

14W focus at 1/4″

The 14W version on the front mount set to 1/8″ focus.

24W focus at 1/4″

The 24W version on the front mount set to 1/4″ focus.

Magnetic Connection for the laser

The 14W and 7W lasers will connect to the mount with just magnets as in the following video. The 24W will have extra holes that require you line up the laser and “latch” it to the mount.

The 24W will connect to the mount with two screws that will latch it in place. Put the laser onto the mounting plate and then push down to secure it. You can tighten the screws to increase the tension on the mounting plate or you can lock it in place permanently if desired.

Adjusting low power setting for the 24W laser

Because every machine is different, you may need to adjust your input to get your laser to fire with the input.  You can adjust it, so it also is at a perfect level for framing as to not burn the material.  Potentiometer R1 is for this purpose on the safety interface board.

Prepare your laser head to adjust the input power by moving it to an area with a scrap piece of material and put it up high in Z so it is not in focus.  In the Onefinity MDI, type in a low power command of M3 S10.  We recommend setting this low power to about 1% for this adjustment.  Press the “play” button to fire the laser.

Now, adjust the potentiometer R1 to have the laser turn on, but also not be so high that it will burn the material when using it to find your zero in low power.

Adjusting the R1 potentiometer on the safety interface board.

The potentiometer is located on the right side of the safety interface board.  Adjust the level, but don’t turn it down too much as it will cause inconsistencies when cutting if it is too low.  You will see the laser flicker if it is too low, so adjust it right above this.  When done, press the stop button or type in “M5” and press play.

If you still are having issues with locating your zero or framing and burning material, then put the z axis up a known amount of distance so it is out of focus slightly (like 1”) and then turn it on in low power.  After you have located your zero, then you can use the spacer to set your proper distance from the board.

Setting Up the Controller

Select the “Tool” option in the menu of the controller. (Three horizontal lines in upper left of display.)

If you have the newest version of the firmware, then select the “J Tech Laser” option. Click on the “Save” button on the top to save the configuration.

This should work for all of the newest firmware versions and you are done. If you have a previous version of the firmware that does not have the J Tech Laser option, then do the following:

For use with the J-Tech laser this needs to change to “PWM Spindle” with the following settings.

  • Max-spin = 1000
  • tool-enable-mode = disabled
  • tool-direction-mode = disabled
  • rapid-auto-off = enabled
  • dynamic-power = enabled

Setting Up Vectric for Lasering

Using the laser in Vectric software is as simple as getting a new post processor. If you don’t have the new laser module plugin, just set up your laser as an end mill. If you do have the new laser module plugin, then put the laser as a laser tool. Here is how to set up both.

For the Non-Laser module users. Follow this link on how to set up the post processor and your tool:

For the laser module users, follow this link to set up your post processor and your laser tool.

The 7W laser tool will be set up like this:

All you need to do to create your laser file is to generate your laser toolpath with the onefinity laser post processor.

The 14W Laser will be set up like this:

The 24W will be like the 14W, but you can increase the speed when engraving.

The speed and power will need to be set for your desired depth of engraving, darkness, and look. The slower you set it and the higher the power the darker and deeper it will engrave. The faster you set it and the lower the power the lighter and less deep it will engrave.

For cutting, you need to go slower, but not less than 10 inch/min per pass. On all of the lasers when cutting, be super vigilant as there is the possibility of flare up of the material. Never leave the machine unattended.

Setting Up Lightburn

Lightburn is an all in one laser program that does pictures and vectors in the same program. It is very functional and easy to use. You can download a free trial or purchase it here:

Download Lightburn Software HERE

If you choose to use lightburn, then here is how to set it up.

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