Laser quit burning

[Grossarosa2]

Howdy Folks!

So my no-name Chinese laser quit burning in the middle of a job - still lights up just not enough juice to burn.  It is a 3W laser = so I am guessing it is toast.  Thinking of replacing with a 5W - but not sure if the cnc controls would work right.  Any thoughts on what to do???

[Grossarosa2]

To add a little more detail,  the cable to the motherboard is a 2 pin plug that goes to a control box, them 4 wires to the laser head.  Which is the dilemma in getting a replacement.

[Zax]

Does the control board have a 3-pin laser output?

The older 2-pin does not have a TTL signal which is required for most laser modules, so either you can manually wire it to D11 on the Nano or get a replacement controller as well as a new laser module. The controllers are cheap and then you would have spare stepper drivers.

[Grossarosa2]

Thanks Zax, you are always a big help. Appreciate the assist.  It is a 2 pin - I think I'm going to step up to a bigger laser.

[ggallant571]

My 2.5W started failing (3 years) and I changed to a fixed focus 5.5W. Month later I bought a replacement 2.5. Used the power supply that came with the 5.5W module. Turns out the old 2.5W still works as expected, just seems to consume more current than the new one. The old 5A supply does not supply enough current to burn with any of the 3 diodes.