Install a Laser Engraver on Ender 2 Pro

by Eli Liu 7/27/2022

Years ago, the Creality team and I developed the laser engraver kit that is able to attach to a 3D printer. it’s easy to install to engrave stuff. This product became one of the most popular accessories for 3D printers. But not all 3D printers can install this lovely tool due to their unique structures. Ender 2 Pro is one of them.

Background

The laser engraver kit is basically a laser head with magnets. The magnet attachment works well for most 3D printers with a metal nozzle cover. But, with more and more new models being released these years, some metal part of a printer turns into plastic, which would be a problem for installing a laser head. I have to design unique CAD files that work as an adapter for the laser head, so the users can add a laser head to their printer easily.

In this post, I will introduce the laser head adapter for Ender 2 Pro, which is a small-sized and lightweight printer. I love to take it from place to place for its convenience. Though it is small, and not as popular as Ender 3 series, I still want it to have the laser engraving function as I mainly use it to produce gifts for my friends and families. In fact, laser work is also a unique and great gift for many people.

Before We Start

There are other posts I wrote before that were related to laser engraving on 3D printers. You may need to look at the basic information if this is your first time trying a laser on a 3D printer.

Other Posts Links

Creality Laser Kit Basic

Install a Laser Kit on Ender 3 V2

Prepare Things We Need

If you have read the posts above, you probably know all the steps for adding a laser head to a 3D printer. All we miss here is an adapter that fits the plastic cover. Luckily, I designed one part so you can simply print and fasten it on your laser module and hook it on the nozzle cover easily.

Things We Need

Ender 2 Pro 3D printer.
Comgrow Laser Kit.
Print the laser adapter. Get the STL File Here.

Install the Laser Head

Now let’s introduce how to install a laser head on Ender 2 Pro. There are 3 basic steps we need to follow to make it work.

Step One: Print Parts and Install the Laser Head

Print the adapter plate
Take out the flat screws for magnets and mount the adapter plate on the laser head
Slide the adapter plate on the left side of the fan cover.

Step Two: Circuit Wiring

Warning

Make sure the power is disconnected when you do the following operations.
Wear laser glasses.

Open the controller cover and find the port for [blower fan]
Slowly take out the [blower fan]connection and replace it with the laser cable.
Close the cover and organize the laser cable.

Step Three: Adjust the laser Head

Follow the laser kit guide page to focus the laser light on the smallest stop of the workpiece.

Suggestions:

May use [Set Home Offset] to manually define the origin of the workpiece.
May unplug the Z motor cable to prevent it from moving.
No need to change the printer’s firmware in order to run the laser kit.
Arranger the cable, and make sure it’s not in the way of any moving components.
Do not press “auto home”. We do not need the printer’s home position.

Pros and Cons

Pros

The laser head allows a 3D printer to engrave. It is capable of engraving on most soft materials like wood, leather, and plastic.
It is really easy to set up and use. You can simply change back to a 3D printer by switching the cable plug.
Creality Workshop can turn .jpg pictures into G-code instantly.
Save money from buying a laser engraving machine.

Cons

Some mainboards and firmware don’t work well with this laser head(precisely, the M106/M107 Code).
Low laser power. It will not cut thick parts(not effectively), and it will not work on any hard materials like metal and glass.
Limited software. The most popular laser software( like GRBL）does not compatible well with Marlin Firmware.
The laser is dangerous.

Conclusion

A laser kit is an add-on item for 3D printers, and it uses a 3Dprinter structure and firmware to engrave objects. Therefore, we can add a laser to a 3D printer without complex modifications. In fact, this laser kit is able to achieve more effects on older printers that use Malin 1.x.x. While, When Marlin 2.0 is used on more and more new printers, It somehow lost the laser features like G2, G3, and other unknown commands.

At least, with the newly designed adapter, a laser can go on to an Ender 2 Pro. You can make many great engraving works with the laser kit.