My chinese laser cutter won't work at all, software doesn't see the cutter

[Sasa1234]

I have the JL-K3020 Chinese model which works, powered on, tested and laser is working.

It's plug into the computer, the computer recognizes it as "USB-EPP/12C ..CH341A"
also included and plug in is a USB drive that came with it, it's recognized as "USBKey"

The DVD disc it came with has CorelDrawX4 on it but it's in Chinese or Thai and it's not usable, so I downloaded some free trials..

I've vectored some images and when I go to print them in either CoralDrawX7 or Sheetcam, I'm unable to as the laser cutter isn't showing up, it's nowhere to be seen.

What am I doing wrong?

Thank you!

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[fixtureman1]

What other software came on the dvd. I had to add the corel plug in to mine by installing the laserworks software. there is a drop down to choose the language

[Sasa1234]

What other software came on the dvd. I had to add the corel plug in to mine by installing the laserworks software. there is a drop down to choose the language

I have a DVD that has no label containing a Chinese or Thai? version of CorelDrawX4, which I've installed (no drop down language option), and a unmarked USB drive read as "USBKey" by my computer which is a Dell i7 now running Windows 10. The laser cutter test fires, mirrors are aligned. Just it's not syncing up with my computer ..

[Sasa1234]

Is this usual to have the computer not recognize the cutter?
Thanks for the help, Fixtureman1, i'm still having problems..

Do a percentage of cheap Chinese laser cutters need to have new electronics?

[herby08]

hi sasa
it could be windows 10, try to run it with previous version like windows 7, most Chinese manufacturer does not have upgraded there software to windows 10
greetings waltfl

[RCaffin]

I've vectored some images and when I go to print them in either CoralDrawX7 or Sheetcam, I'm unable to as the laser cutter isn't showing up, it's nowhere to be seen. What am I doing wrong?

I have no idea, except that expecting Corel Draw or SheetCAM to actually RUN a CNC machine is probably your mistake. They can't and don't, afaik.
You need to create an output file (of g-code) and then feed that file into something like Mach3.
And THAT is a whole new ball game.

Cheers
Roger

[Stigoe]

I have no idea, except that expecting Corel Draw or SheetCAM to actually RUN a CNC machine is probably your mistake. They can't and don't, afaik.

Yes, that's correct on both counts...

Normally, these cheap Chinese laser engravers / cutters come with a program for controlling the laser. Earlier it used to be MoshiDraw or NewlyDraw(?). Nowadays, it could be LaserCAD or something similar. These programs normally open several different formats, like .dwg, .cdr, .ai, etc and then you set the cutting / engraving parameters in this program and send to the machine. None of these machines read g-code or use Mach3, unless that has changed recently, but I doubt it. The USBKey, unless it's a normal USB stick, is probably a dongle for the control program.

[RCaffin]

None of these machines read g-code or use Mach3, unless that has changed recently, but I doubt it.

ERK!
Also YUK.
Sigh. Rebuild?

Cheers
Roger

[Dean448]

G-code and Mach3 would only allow you to vector cut on a laser. DSP controllers are for raster or vector cutting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[electronrancher]

First of all, corel is just an art program like RCaffin said. After installing corel, you probably have another tool to install called corellaser, which installs a plugin into corel. It is the plugin that does the cutting. Running corel standalone will not give the laser toolbar, at least on my system. I run the corellaser app, which then launches corel with a new laser toolbar. After that I draw something and choose engrave or cut icon from the toolbar, at which point the data is sent to the laser.

I assume sheetcam is like (my) laserdraw, a really junky program but better laser integration - ie the toolbar is always there. You should get that running first, as using the corel plugin is less ideal for initial setup. Try running sheetcam or whatever crappy native tool they gave you, and start looking for the settings.

Once in settings, you typically need to enter a serial number from the mainboard into the software before it will connect to the laser.

Then, draw a square and cut it out. Then, measure it and begin investigating any mechanical problems you may have. I didn't. Mine was aligned perfectly and cut like a dream once I got the damn thing talking to the PC, but I've read enough horror stories to be thankful for my good luck. At worst it's usually just a bit of mirror alignment, but I can understand the frustration of each slow step towards getting the thing to actually cut!

I often look at these initial setup issues as a bit of an IQ test. Makes it fun!

[RCaffin]

A brief alternate idea for 2D work.
I make DXF files, clean them, feed them through LazyCAM (free w Mach3), filter the result, then feed that into Mach3. Makes very nice PCBs.

Cheers
Roger

[jcanner99]

What other software came on the dvd. I had to add the corel plug in to mine by installing the laserworks software. there is a drop down to choose the language

hello, i have corelDrawX5. As my k3020 does not recognized computer software. How do i get to laserworks please.

[endurance_robots]

we have software dowload center

try
http://endurancerobots.com/download-center-lasers/

and video guidance http://endurancerobots.com/en/video/...-about-lasers/

[endurance_robots]

we have software dowload center

try
http://endurancerobots.com/download-center-lasers/

and video guidance http://endurancerobots.com/en/video/...-about-lasers/

[Minemine]

I have the Chinese machine and in the middle of of a job imy computer says the machine malfunction and now it keeps giving me a communications error. Mine uses RDWorks to run the machine. What could be the problem?

[ozeguru]

I had to connect using the ethernet port, could not get the serial/usb connection to communicate