Update: I have taken my K40 apart and converted it to a whole new & improved machine: the LAYZOR! Read all about this project here. Want to do the same thing to yours? Check the LAYZOR website.

I have been using my cheap-ass lasercutter wit pleasure, but one thing that really annoyed me was the fact that thin cut pieces of wood tend to catch fire at slower feedrates. And even when they don’t catch on fire there’s usually some burn marks around the edges of the cuts.

So it makes sense that the air assist upgrade is one of the most popular upgrades performed on this fabulous machine. It had been on my list from the day I bought the cutter, but haven’t gotten around to it up until now. Since I have some projects in the pipeline that need extensive lasercutting i figured now is the time to finally do it.

I already have a large air compressor, so all I really needed was a valve to regulate air flow, some coupling pieces & adapters, and 5 feet of aquarium tubing. So all in all this cost me next to nothing.

Fitting all the pieces together as depicted above and then built into the case as depicted below.

The excessive space for the machine’s electronics once again proves very useful to house all sorts of modifications!

I am eventually planning to get my 3D printer set up and print an air nozzle for the laser head, but for now I made this temporary HDPE fixture to hold the air tube in place.

I miscalculated the available space a bit while milling :-). No worries, I corrected it manually on the bandsaw.

Then I drilled the hole for the air tube at a slight angle and sanded the piece somewhat. I also cut out a notch, so that I can tighten it real good.

And here it is installed directly onto the laser head:

The difference of cut quality between post- and pre-air assist is very clear from the very first try!

Just in time to start lasering the final version of my electronics enclosure during the next week!

Download the sourcefile for the tube holder here.