FoxAlien 20w diode laser - Setup, testing and review

[@amillard264]

James, you have been hugely important to me in this work. Everything you put out there is very helpful and you have a knack for answering the right questions before they are asked. Thank you for sharing your experience and expertise! Lots of Intelligent information. Luv ya.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Glad they help 👍

[@saltedatheart]

Been dreading setting up the laser because of all the complaints I had been seeing. Watched this video and realized that this was going to be easier then getting the FoxAlien to cut my 3D projects correctly. Extended my cable and set up the laser and 1 hour after I started, I had a nice test cut. Instant Patreon. Thank you sir

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Thats excellent news! Glad it's all worked for you. I'm probably going to extend my own cable as I much prefer to run it through drag chain

[@mbued4078]

Thanks James. Your info and insights always come handy, making the art and science of CNC-ing a lot less of a drag..

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Thanks 👍

[@garethwilliams648]

Hi James. Love your videos. Question, where can I find a longer lead for the laser or an extension. Been looking no success at the moment. Cheers.

[@optikon2222]

The output power is what matters and its 5W - 5.5W just like the Sainsmart one. Except the fox alien one is a lot more expensive. Hows it better?

[@jonathanreyespuentes201]

Hello, thanks for the video. I am considering buying one for engraving mirror but in my particular case, I might have to work on mirrors that are bigger than the 40cm work area of the machine. I kindly would like to ask what do you think if I put the machine above the mirror and remove part of the spoilboard since the area I need to engrave is no biger than 5 sq cm, can the 20w laser engrave the surface of the mirror?

[@Q5Grafx]

as for focal point you want the focal point right on the surface for etching but about 1.5 mm below the surface for cutting.

[@richardsandford1607]

Excellent!! Thank you!

[@LumberZack]

James, as a fish keeper, you may get a better air flow from your aquarium pump by only using one side. The diaphragm pumps behind each nozzle are not in sync and when you join them together they tend to work against each other instead of making 2x output. Enjoy your videos while waiting on my OnefinityCNC and J-Tech laser to arrive...

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Did not know that! thank you

[@מאירבוגץ]

Hi, great as usual. I also not sure if to buy the Foxalian or the Sainsmart one.... Could you compare them, please? I need the laser for cutting 4 mm birch wood for puzzle parts......

[@foxalien_official]

Thanks for sharing with us this video which is full of details. Great video as always.

[@albertdrew7235]

Great video, question: how are you cleaning the white painted black after lasering? Thanks

[@thanhletri7256]

could you please tell me the height of the diode to the material, is it as closer as better

[@mneofthestate3515]

Thank you for taking your time to make all these wonderful videos. I just got my machine, FoxAlien Riezer 20W, set up yesterday. I am setting up my FoxAlien Masuter 4040 300W CNC today. I do have one question. Where is the link to the custom buttons you mentioned?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Oh thats odd. Leave it with me and I'll have to relink it tomorrow as its not there

[@mneofthestate3515]

@@JamesDeanDesigns Thank you for this and all your videos. I joined your Patron page and look forward to seeing more. Enjoy your day.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

@@mneofthestate3515 thank you very much 🙏

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Sorted. The link should now be there.

[@geraldhinterleitner9568]

Hi there and greetings from Austria. Love your videos, they are clear and straight forward so thet afterwards I feel myself well informed and ready to start. Do you have your testing-suite (% and speed) somewhere for download? Thanks in advance!

[@Redmudmarine]

where can i get the honeycomb shaped metal underlay? And explain usage!

[@RikKarDING]

hi james, can you cut and engrave an aluminum texture lamacoid material with that laser?

[@dougreichback1607]

Another great tutorial video James! Now that you've had both the FoxAlien & ProVerXL 4030 for a while, which do you prefer? I'm weighing the pros & cons of each, but it's a difficult decision.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

It is a difficult decision, they are both good machines (and good companies) the only piece of advice I can really give to help is if you plan to do laser then I would say go FoxAlien, if you plan to machine harder materials like aluminium then perhaps go with Sainsmart, everything else inbetween they more or less do equally.

[@dougreichback1607]

@@JamesDeanDesigns You don’t see an advantage in one over the other in regards to the screw drive versus belt drive? Since the FoxAlien laser can be added to the ProVerXL, is that a configuration you’d prefer?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

@@dougreichback1607 that is essentially what I was getting at. The FA is belt driven so better for laser work. If you look at CO2 lasers and 3D printers they are all belt driven for those faster traverse moves. Equally on the flip, machines doing harder materials are typically screw driven or even ball screw. Its not a case of one being better than the other, its a case of what do you as a user want to do more of. Yes you can install a laser on ProverXL but it will not work as well as the FoxAlien. Equally you can drop a large router onto the foxalien but it may not perform as well (although I haven't actually tested it)

[@saavedance]

What is the deepest depth it can cut? I want to be cutting 2inch blocks of wood for kids toys; can this do that? If not what do you recommend?

[@weslow80]

Is there anyway you can tell me the wavelength of the 20W output FoxAlien? Could not find any info on website. Was looking for some resources and want to be safe. Looking for quality eye protection over-glasses and proper film for enclosure. I'm building my first cnc table, just getting into it and new to lasers as well. Thank you for your time.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

It's 450 (+/- 5) I believe.

[@weslow80]

@@JamesDeanDesigns Thank you so much for the quick response. Do you have a reputable website to order proper eye protection and film or polycarbonate from?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

@@weslow80 I've recently just ordered these buy not tested them yet. They comes in different styles and are OD6+ rated. You probably don't really want to go lower than OD6. Beyond this the prices really start to jump up, something like $180 for a decent pair. amzn.to/3YGcheW

[@weslow80]

@@JamesDeanDesigns thank you so much for the info. I’m worried that a lot of the products that populate when searched aren’t what they say.

[@learntodriveproperly1357]

Hello James,I would to ask you about your laser enclosure.How did you build this?It looks so awesome.Everything is perfectly setup.can you tell me this please?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

It's a fairly basic frame with MDF board on the outside for the most part. Nothing fancy with the joints, all just cut square and screwed. Where the windows are, I used a circular saw to cut a channel and in the wood, assembled 3 sides of frame and then slid the plexiglass in before adding the 4th side to the frame. You can use clear plexiglass or even clear Amber orange sheets which helps protect your eyes from the laser

[@davidcole7606]

Hi mate. Great vid. Like a lot of people can't decide between this fox alien and the other price wise competition. How loud is it when cutting with the 300w spindle. Max laser cut???

[@johndiego3105]

I have the foxalien 4040xe , I haven’t set up the laser yet. But I did do some carving with the 300w spindle and it’s amazing how quiet it is. You can have a conversation with somebody standing right next to it! Hope that helps

[@melhowes3733]

Can I upgrade my 3018 laser to higher wattage. Mine is 33mm square. Can you get holders for bigger lasers.

[@trishacloutier5297]

James, do you have a link for a download of the testing boards you made. I'm just starting out and feel that this may be a bit difficult for me to do myself. I do feel as though I'll really need it though.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Do you mean the powerscale tests? This video shows how to make them kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoWZc5d_pN6hhac

[@troysingstoo]

Hi James, thanks so much for these videos they are super helpful. Wondering how u did the test file for the laser. Did you run them what at a time or was it a template? and also for the image (the lion) what did you use to create the svg? i'm having trouble creating a high quality image to svg

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

You need a good quality photo to begin with, you cam either just load them straight into lightburn or you can run them through imagr.com which process the images ready for laser

[@mikewade329]

Which file did you use to make the nozzle for the laser? ive tried a couple and they arent correct. Thanks

[@d1-unlimited]

I would love to know this as well! I have ordered the brass nozzle but would like to play some as well before it gets here. I have a new 3d printer to use as well!

[@stormnation6387]

Hi James, Can you tell me where I can get the holder from for my Genmitsu 3018 Pro that will accept a 35mm Laser unit please. Or possibly a link. Many thanks.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Hi Storm, good to see you on here instead of Facebook 😁 on a 3018PRO, in order to take the larger lasers you will need a larger Z axis like this. They can be found cheaper on places like Aliexpress amzn.to/3H0ulbd

[@stormnation6387]

@@JamesDeanDesigns thank you buddy

[@8mmmauser896]

What settings did you use for the lion?

[@bonniehawkins6033]

What software would you suggest to work with my Mac?

[@rango_unchained]

The actual laser optical output power is 5W-5.5W which is no better than any other 5W diode laser module on the market. Does FoxAlien plan on selling a 20W optical output power module now that XTool and AtomStack have them available. If so, when and how much?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

At the time this was launched, it was better than others on the market as it had a better focal point than most of the others. I dare say FoxAlien are working on new lasers but the technology is nothing new in the 20w output lasers, its essentially just multiple lasers adding up to 20w but that creates issue as well because the focal point is not as small

[@rango_unchained]

@@JamesDeanDesigns Thanks for your reply and info. I appreciate it.

[@Marvin7724]

Can this be installed on 3018pro if upgrade the spindle

[@Paul-E0102]

Hey I watched your video on the for alien 20w laser and we got one a little few weeks ago but we have been having some troubles we’ve asked some people and they’ve given us some basic suggestions can you maybe suggest anything else

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

It really depends what the issues are. If you're on Facebook then I would strongly suggest joining their Facebook group and asking in there as you will probably get a really quick answer

[@Paul-E0102]

@@JamesDeanDesigns ok thanks I’ll look into that and also our problem was not being able to get enough detail on certain images and we tried a bunch of stuff

[@bonniehawkins6033]

How do I use LaserGRBL with my Mac?

[@vhoward1122]

Can this be put on the Sainsmart 4030 ProverXL?

[@dragonsflame2536]

I have the exact same laser, but a masuter pro cnc. I can’t get my laser to do different shades. For some reason it always makes everything the same shade. I use lasergrbl and use the m4 setting. Does anyone have any suggestions? (New to laser engraving)

[@roboticb4l206]

I did all those steps but my laser doesn't turn on it sounds clicking but no laser.

[@MrE1963t]

Hello do you think this laser will cut 6mm ply?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

It will take a few passes but should do. This 20w laser is only a 5w output which is pretty low rated now. For cutting you would ideally want a 10w or 20w output laser

[@ksatsgroup123]

Can all CNC be converted to Laser? I am not seeing some of these laser features on my CNC

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Not all do but basically if it has a small connection saying laser or PWM then yes it can

[@charleshetrick3152]

Is the 25% output from input wattage rating standard throughout the industry?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

It varies depending on how efficient they are but that's a good ball park estimate

[@charleshetrick3152]

@@JamesDeanDesigns between Fox Alien, XTool and Atom Stack which would prefer? And or what’s your ideal Diode kit?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

@@charleshetrick3152 not really fair of me to compare as I've not used all 3. I can only comment on the FoxAlien one. They are built well with great customer service. They also seem to be more efficient than some others, for example I've seen other manufacturers need 50w or 60w to achieve what FoxAlien do with their 40w.

[@charleshetrick3152]

@@JamesDeanDesigns solid copy, it is surprisingly hard to find anyone who’s done a proper comparison between all the different brands. Usually KZbin is awash with folk stress testing machines and trying to prove one is better than another. I may have to just buy one of each and start my own channel.

[@vhoward1122]

The link for the 4040 XE with 20W laser isn't working.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Thanks! All updated now and yes this cam work with other machines that take a three wire laser 👍

[@REEFHUB-Official]

Can someone tell me the size of that focus block that comes with the FA 20W laser? I bought one but the block wasn’t included. I can always just 3D print one.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Think I already came back to you on Facebook but for anyone else who may need it, its 30mm

[@LarryThomson]

For your testing grid, do you have a file for us to download? Thanks in advance.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Hi Larry, I show you how to make them and download them in this video. I hope it helps kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoWZc5d_pN6hhac

[@mahbodtabaei3528]

Hi Do I need a different software for cutting?

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

No, you can technically do it lightburn or LaserGRBL. Just about finding the right power and speed to cut through

[@kainalu86]

Can I install this laser on my 4030 Pro.

[@kainalu86]

Never mind you just explained it...lol

[@johnmacaulay1695]

Can you only buy it from China?

[@vernonwilson9268]

Does any one know why the laser on a foxalien 4040xe turns on full power when i turn on my controller

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Make sure it is set to laser mode on the control box. Also make sure the wiring matches. There have been instances from other manufacturers where they have put the wires in the wrong order from one end of the cable to the other. This can cause your laser to stay on when ever it has power

[@calebboudreaux6704]

My machine turns on but the laser itself won’t turn on

[@marketoqtiq4481]

looks better than smartsain

[@JeffBenedict]

James. Now that you have reviewed both , what is your preference for a laser machine? SainSmart Laser or FoxAlien Laser? Or something else? Feel free to FB Messenger me if you don't want to answer here. :)

[@micha0001]

20? 5!

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Yes as covered in the video, 20w input, 5 watt output

[@binky1135]

Surely in 2023 now they made the cable long enough to feed through the wiring loom lmao

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

Ever laser I have ever received from any manufacturer still comes with a fairly short wire...pretty frustrating to be honest

[@muskokamike127]

Just going to say: thumbs down on ANY company that lists the power consumption of the laser instead of the optical power. That's no different than VW fudging the fuel consumption numbers on their vehicles.

[@JamesDeanDesigns]

But they list both so it's actually giving the user more information. The issue is not the manufacturers, its the market. Your average consumer just getting into lasers will not know the difference between input and output ratings. I agree its misleading but sadly it's not going to change until something is put in place to force companies to state the optical rating first 😕

[@muskokamike127]

@@JamesDeanDesigns Yeah, that's the issue: newbies and those "not in the know" will get ripped off. I know I almost did on more than 1 occasion and I know what to look for. The true optical power was hidden in very fine print. Not to mention you can increase the power consumption to any level you want just by adding in resistors to the circuit. "our laser is 200W diode" (yeah it has 10 20W resistors in the power circuit).