🇺🇦 We stand with Ukraine! 🇺🇦

Octoprint for K40 laser

General
#1

Hopefully it is ok to ask this here..

Many makers own the budget K40 chinese laser cutter.etching machine.
I reckon that the Octoprint system using the OctoPi program on a Raspberry is a brilliant product, especially when set up to work across my home network.

I own a Creality Ender 3 Pro, and before owning it I couldn't understand why anyone would need a 3D printer... now I would be lost without it. The 3D printer and Octoprint/Octopi setup has become a permanent bit of gear in my hobby/workshop.

I also own a K40 Laser etcher/cutter. These are very popular with hobbyists. Although, I can fiddle around and get a program up and running using a Raspberry Pi, it is nowhere near as good as the OctoPi setup on my 3D printer.
The Raspberry Pi is great to use as a dedicated computer on machines like the 3D printers, and I really wish that a similar system could be set up easily on a K40 laser.
How many of you own one of these lasers? What do you think.. would an OctoPi/Octoprint setup on a Raspberry Pi for a K40 laser sound good to you?

#2

What specific software have you tried with your K40 laser?

LightBurn is often associated with laser hardware but it isn't free. Here are some alternatives to LightBurn.

Here's a couple of links to Raspberry Pi software for a K40 laser, Run a K40 Laser Cutter from Your Raspberry Pi with K40 Whisperer – RasPi.TV and Improve Your K40 Laser Cutting Experience with a Raspberry Pi and K40 Whisperer - Hackster.io.

If neither of those options are acceptable to you, OctoPi and OctoPrint are designed to connect to 3D printers via a serial USB connection. The communication between OctoPrint and the printer is a Marlin based subset of gcode. How close the subset of gcode used by your K40 laser etcher/cutter is to Marlin will determine how successful you will be using OctoPrint to communicate with the K40.

#3

It would be possible to write a plugin for communicating if you wanted to. Here's the one for GRBL:

#4

Thank you, Charlie.

#5

Yes, I have setup those programs on Raspberry Pi OS and have used them. My post was regarding a Octoprint type setup to suit the K40 laser (dedicated to the K40, and able to work across the network).