Our lasers are mainly plug and play for any 3D printer or CNC machine. They work out of 12-24V and have a TTL wire that has to be connected with PWM and then you are pretty much set.
Diode Lasers in CNC and 3D Printing
Q&A with George Fomitchev | Endurance Lasers
How did you get started developing Endurance lasers?
It was a long story. Started back to 2015 when I went on a business trip to California and then visited CES 2015. There were so many things going on in 3d printing industry and I was so excited to jump into it. I met a guy, Matteo Borrie and we started an Endurance company. At the beginning we were partners and we were selling L-Cheapo lasers. After a year Matteo did not want to continue since he was very much involved in (as he said) NASA projects so he was simply out of time. Another thing that Matteo did not want to listen to customers and meet customers’ expectations so we start losing money due to bad assembling quality of L-Cheapo.
After that we started our own R&D and later production of more powerful units. Right now we ship and deliver all variety of 445 nm diode lasers starting from 2.1 watt and up to 20 watt (double) beam laser modules.
At the moment we have two offices - one in Russia, one in the US (Fort Myers, FL) and more than 10 people are in our team.
What makes Endurance lasers different from your competitors?
Well, to be honest - diode (solid-state) lasers is a growing market and there are not so many players out there. But our key advantage - high reliable products, ultra-fast delivery (with DHL Express service) and ultimate tech support. We have a very friendly and supportive community. https://www.facebook.com/groups/endurancelasers/
Another important thing is that we help 3D printing and CNC guys learn more about lasers.
We are sharing a lot of interesting video footages on our channel https://youtube.com/channel/UCLVtLSTxwLPs74x1cUoAHzA
How many different options are available?
We mainly offer laser engraving machines and laser diodes to all maker communities.
I must say that this is our target market. We like to get people together, share interesting things. I've been to Germany 2 times on a big Make Faire (one in Berlin, the other one was in Hannover)
Will you be creating your own software to work with the lasers? If so, would it be open-source?
I must say there is a number of programs on the market such as LaserGRBL, T2Laser, Lightburn
and we make tutorials for them. Zax from T2Laser is a very supportive guy who does his best to help. . http://endurancelasers.com/manual-for-t2laser-software/
http://endurancelasers.com/lightburn-tutorial/
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As for our own solution - we have 2 free (open-source) plugins for Inkscape so anyone can make a g-code for laser cutting or laser engraving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HOxWk40Dds
Do you only make laser mods for 3D printers or do they have their own enclosures?
Yes, our lasers are mainly plug and play for any 3D printer or CNC machine. They work out of 12-24V and have a TTL wire that has to be connected with PWM and then you are pretty much set.
Mounting brackets are also quite universal and we have quite a few here on Thingiverse. https://thingiverse.com/endurancelasers/designs
For CNC machines are a bit more complicated so we upload pictures of the mounting brackets for them on our page. - http://endurancelasers.com/running-endurance-laser-on-a-cnc-machine/
A guy from Switzerland, David from Datulab made a video of how to make a 3D printer enclosure. It is a nice video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjH48V3uANE
If you don't sell a whole unit (enclosure, laser, and all), then do you plan to? If so, when?
As I said before - we do sell entire machines too but it is not our focus. We are more interested in building and developing stand-alone laser attachments that can be hooked to any 3D printer or a CNC machine. I think a lot of people already have 3D printers, CNC routers, XY plotters and other marking devices where they can hook our laser. I know that some people even replace a Co2 tubes on their big machines and install our 10 watt+ laser modules going with an air assist and TEC cooling.
What materials can Endurance lasers work with? Up to what thickness?
Our lasers can engrave on many surfaces including steel, stainless steel copper, brass, but you need to treat them with special chemicals first. Also you may engrave on wood, plywood, plastics, MDF, leather, etc. Cutting is available on dark materials including plastics, acrylic, wood, plywood, hardboard, cardboard and paper of course. The thickness of laser cutting varies from 1-2 mm up to 5-8 mm. But to cut thick materials you need more passes, a special laser cutting lens and, preferably, an air assist.
Does Endurance's process involve any harmful chemicals?
We made a special laser cutting guidance http://endurancelasers.com/laser-cutting-guidance/; and as you may see there are some materials that should be laser cut only with a fume extractor. It is important to know that a lot of plastics contain chloride that has to be removed since it is a very hazardous gas. Usually, laser cutting or laser engraving is not dangerous. But keep in mind that all Endurance lasers are class 4, therefore you need to wear laser protective goggles at all times.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of ManufacturingTomorrow
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