If you need to engrave wood, paper, plastic, leather, printed circuit boards, aluminum oxide, non-reflective plating or lacquered metal, you surely need a professional engraving machine, and today we have been presented with one that really attracts attention, also capable of cut cardboard, non-woven fabric, light wood, acrylic material and thin plastic boards.
It’s about the LONGER RAY5the first engraving machine with built-in touch screenused to record and cut offline, without connecting to the computer.
We are talking about a machine of just over 300 dollars (with the coupon RAY5 $20 cheaper), available at this link, with support for 5.5w/10w laser heads. The 10W laser head will be released in May, and can be purchased separately in due course.
Before continuing, let’s watch a summary video:
Remembering that these machines are not designed to engrave PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), Lexan / Thick Polycarbonate, ABS, HDPE, Polystyrene Foam, Fiberglass, Polypropylene or Coated Carbon Fiber, they can help to customize products of practically all kinds. , being widely used in various stores. Here are some examples recorded with the LONGER RAY5.
And here are some examples of cuts made with the same machine:
Ultrafine laser spot size
LONGER RAY5 is suitable for users who have already used an engraving machine, and stands out for its ultra-fine laser point, 0.08 x 0.08 mm, which gives it greater engraving precision and is capable of drilling thicker materials. .
It uses FAC laser technology to compress the laser spot, thus achieving that small size. In general, in the industry, the sizes are 0.15 mm x 0.15 mm, so we are talking about half that. By reducing the size of the spot, the energy is more concentrated and the precision of the engraving is achieved.
LONGER RAY5 touch screen
LONGER RAY5 is equipped with a touch screen, while most products at the same price use UBS connection.
This touch screen can be used to engrave and cut without a computer connection, ultimately saving time and money. In this video you have an example of how it is used:
How to use the LONGER RAY5
The user manual is quite explanatory, indicating the points that we must carry out before using the machine and informing about the precautions, since we are talking about a laser. You can start assembling the machine with this introductory video.
one – Calibrate the laser: Put the machine on a flat table and the wooden board to be engraved or cut under the laser. We will loosen the two thumbscrews at the front of the laser head and put the focus column vertically at the bottom of the laser head from the rear, manually lifting the laser head so that the bottom is close to the upper surface of the calibration column. Then we will tighten the two thumbscrews on the laser, and remove the focus column.
2 – We turn on the machine and connect the computer through a USB (or insert a Micro SD card). You can use the lasergrbl.com program to design what you want to burn (you can also use LightBurn if you don’t use Windows).
3 – We will use the touch screen to configure the variables, such as speed and power, to start the engraving. The ideal is to start with the test file, to verify that everything is well calibrated.
In case of doubt, you have a Facebook group where users solve other problems.
LONGER RAY5 hardware
As far as hardware is concerned, it has a 32-bit motherboard for smoother and faster engraving, a board that works at 240mhz and is cheaper than its competitors (it is faster than that of an 8-bit motherboard). and the command transmission speed is higher).
On the other hand, the 8-bit motherboard doesn’t support SD cards, so going up to 32-bit makes a lot of sense, as offline recording is only supported if you have an SD card.
LONGER RAY5 Safety
When it comes to security, it has:
– Thermal protection: When the carved material is on fire, ray5 recognizes it and stops working automatically. It also emits an alarm. Here it is on video:
– movement protection: When the engraving machine shakes a lot, ray5 can detect it and automatically stop working and issue a warning. Here is the corresponding video:
– immobile protection: Ray5 can automatically recognize and stop working while giving an alarm when the laser head is still for 5 seconds.
– emergency stop button: To stop the engraving machine in an emergency, just press the power button.
– eye protection: ray5 laser module is equipped with acrylic cover which can shield 99% of laser and protect eyes.
Links, price and discounts
You can get more information at the following links:
facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/longer3d
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/longer3dprinter
Youtube channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/Longer3D
purchase page – at this link with coupon RAY5.
