Benbox Laser Machines/CO2 Lasers/3D Printers

I just run mine til the job is done. Technically speaking if you run it at a lower power setting it helps the lifespan of the laser as well as if your project doesnt have a lot of huge solid areas. If you were to cut a box with the laser as the laser will stay on the entire time its doing the box it is more damaging than doing some of the longer projects I do where it takes a long time but as the laser gets to shut off even if its only for a really short bursts.
I have had my 2500mw for several years now and if I have run it for a total of 500 hours of projects if I had to estimate the numbers. I dont run projects back to back though accept in certain cases.
My typical project involves running a "fast light burn" to check on the sizing of said image and location to make sure that the item is going to be where I want it to be etc... Short runs for me usually take about an hour using things like 2000-2500 speed 60% max laser power. This all done on my plywood board
After I am satisfied i usually do the same on a blank of my material I plan to work on only this time I do it a little bit higher so if I know my project is going to need to go at about 1000 speed I change my new speed to 1500-1800 and set power max to 80% using a blank of my material. If all looks good I carefully mark my location and put the final piece I plan to do. Putting my final values I tend to never use maximum on my laser 90% is usually my max if its got a lot of solid spaces where I know the laser will be on for longer periods of time.
Thats pretty much all I can say personally as I never use it to do any cutting dont see a point. I if I wanted to cut materials i would just buy a CO2 40 watt and expand the bed with some of the tutorials out there.
Hope that helps I am sure Zax has more experience as he seems to have all the toys and spend a ton of time with engravers.
Cheers

The board revisions are pretty standard. The newer boards tend to switch over to a PWM/TTL connector for the laser but still offer a 2 pin connector that you can connect up with. The latest Eleks Mana for instance now offers a bluetooth module pinout so you can connect an external bluetooth up to it and remove the need for cables while you engrave. I personally wouldnt do it unless I had a reason I couldnt have my laptop that close just incase some signals are missed etc...
For connecting up without TTL you would need to use the motor connector instead of the laser connector.
You may find it tough to find anything other than the eleksmaker mana se boards as most people have stopped making the older boards and selling them by themselves.
I believe in one of the other sections of the forum there were indepth discussions on the very specific details to the differences in certain older L board revisions. Feel free to look around there.

Thanks good to know what it does so I dont "test" it and break it

Its funny you mention this as I ran into similar issues when I upgraded to a larger rail set. You have two other options in my opinion without breaking the bank depending on how much space you need.
You can buy other wheels but the prices get crazy expensive from my experience. If its just the a-axis you can have someone 3dprint you an adjustable x axis which will allow you to make it slightly larger https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2767575
Otherwise there are some Eccentric Spacers might do the trick for you.
I think when I bought some new wheels the $%(*^ers cost me 40 bucks with shipping for 4 wheels of different sizes.
Otherwise https://openbuildspartstore.com/wheels/
Measure your original wheels to the best of your ability and see if any of the sizes they carry work for you and your needs.
keep in mind the ones at openbuilds are much thicker so they wont sit in the channel as much.

Well if you are close to any of these hackerspaces (really they are maker spaces) Get to know them join and I am sure someone has a 3d printer and could assist or they might even have the tools necessary to help you build a new one if the vendor isnt going to fix / replace the issue.
https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/Croatia

That also might assist you in finding someone to print the adjustable setup. I have a coworker printing me one up just to make this smoother on my machine.
Good luck!

Thanks for the response Zax. Any idea what the maximum is going to be on that Nano?
Wondering what my best option is going to be at this point. Are you using the 4988's still on your rig or have you upgraded or swapped out for something different?

You could print up some of these or pay to have someone print up these adjustable roller axis. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2482004
The guy in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzO9skEYqwY shows similar but not quiet the same issue of it just being kinda tough but not sure if that will fix your issue unless its tight everywhere and not in just one or a few spots. Just realized these were designed by another forum member Nottingham82

I ended up spending 40 bucks on a few different size bearing wheels 20 for shipping 20 for the bearings 2 different sizes going to try and replace one side of the bearings to see if that gets me what I need to fit in there.
I did like the shaving idea but I think if its not as precise as the machine milling that is already there it might not move and or engrave as well was my concern. I almost ordered from a Chinese manufacturer but didnt want to wait the 3 weeks to get it so hopefully I will get all the components I need to get the new rig up sooner.
Wish I had saw the eccentric spacers that might have given me what I needed for a much lower price point but enlarging the holes just like shaving makes me afraid that it will not have the accuracy as the laser might not sit as well is my only concern.

Thanks though guys and I dont have a 3d printer or I would consider printing a new mount for all of this. Atleast that would be fairly accurate compared to other options.

Cheers,