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How to Install an 8.5 Watt Endurance Laser on the Atomstack A5 Pro
If the spare laser on your Atomstack A5 Prois broken, or you're just looking for more power, adding an 8.5W Endurance Laser is a great option. Since the A5 Pro is already set up for PWM control and has a similar laser form factor, the transition is simple. The 8.5W laser is especially suitable for this machine as it is very small and lightweight, allowing for fast acceleration for fast engraving. Since the A5 Pro is built so solidly, you can easily install 10W on it too if you're looking for more power. The steps will be very similar to what is shown here, just the spacing of the mounting holes will be slightly different.
To mount the 8.5W laser to an existing Atomstack system, you will need a mount that will accommodate the hole spacing. For height adjustment, we can reuse the existing system as it offers various installation possibilities. All we need is a small adapter that will allow us to use different hole spacings. If your laser is still running, you can easily cut this part with some tinted acrylic, but don't worry about doing it by hand. The exact length you need will depend on the thickness of the adapter, but generally, about 8-12mm will do. By drilling slightly smaller holes for the bolts of the height adjustment plate, about 2.5-2.8mm, you can screw the bolts directly into the acrylic without the need for a thread cutter.
For electronics, the easiest way is to get the PWM signal directly from the cable used to connect the old laser head. Doing this means we don't need to modify the original laser at all, and can be reverted very easily if you wish. The wires of interest to us are the PWM signal and ground. Please refer to the pictures to see which wires are used. The middle wire on the Atomstackis ground, next to it is the PWM signal and positive voltage. Since the laser is powered by the Laserbox and not the Atomstack motherboard, we only need the PWM signal. If you are not sure which one it is, you can also check the PCB of the old laser head, the pins should be marked on the top or bottom.
You can also use wood or any other plastic if you don't have any acrylics on hand. Also, if you're drilling by hand, feel free to drill them slightly larger so you have more room for error. This part doesn't have to look super pretty, as long as it holds everything together firmly.
To connect the PWM and ground signals to the Laserbox, we need a small adapter cable. The connector on the A5 Pro is a 3-pin JST XH 2,54mm female, so you can look for a cable that already has a male JST 2.5 connector, or you can solder it to another cable. If you can't find a cable with the connector attached and don't want to make your own, you can also plug some jumper wires into the connector and hot glue them so they don't come off.
On the Laserbox we need the black PWM input cable, the black wire is ground and the red wire is the PWM signal. You can solder cables directly to them, crimp on connectors, or use some screw terminals. While there isn't much power going through these connections, you still need to make sure the connections are good for reliable operation.
If you want to use an Atomstack air assist, you can also hook it up at this point. Some good air sources are an air pump or a hobby air compressor for a spray gun. Both options should be easily available online from your local dealer.
With it, you are already there. You can power up the Atomstack laser engraveragain and plug in the Laserbox. At this time, it is very important to wear laser goggles to protect your eyes when the laser is turned on. To activate PWM mode, simply select the middle position of the selector switch. Finally, you have to focus the Endurance laser, turn it on at low power (maybe 5%) and turn the lens element until you get a perfect spot focus. One trick to make it easier to find focus is to use one of these blacked-out metal cards. They are included in many lasers, or you can buy them very cheaply online. They make it easier to see the laser spot, and if you move them around, you can hear if the laser is engraving. If you set the power low enough, the hiss will only be heard when the laser is fully focused.
If you don't want to focus the laser every time, you can use something around 50mm and adjust the height of the laser so it just fits under the heatsink. You can then adjust the focus once, then adjust the distance to refocus the laser, just like you did with the orange acrylic sheet and the spare laser head. To prevent the lens from spinning on its own over time, you can use one of the extra rings that come with Endurance lasers that snap on the heatsink and lock the lens in place.
Following these steps, you should be able to convert your Atomstack A5 Pro laser engraver to use the Endurance 8.5W laser in no time. If at any point you get stuck, please take another look at the pictures here, or feel free to contact us via LiveChat at Endurance.
https://www.atom-stack.com/blogs/news/a-protective-cover-for-laser-engraving
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