1. The Laser Cutter Itself

The biggest thing is to know what flavor of the Ray5 you are getting. There are, by my count, 4 variants1. The particular variant (“geneotype”) you have is based on the presence / absence of two features (“chromosomes”):

  • Software Controlled Air Assist - If you have this, there is a round silver connector on the top of the control box. This has circuitry to turn on / off the air assist.

  • Power to the laser - If you have 5 pins (?) on the laser module, you have high-power (20W, 40W). If you have 4 pints, you have a low power laser module (5w, 10w)

If you have the air assist capable motherboard, you should use the air assist firmware, even if there is no air assist on it now.

  1. The extension Kits

I had a bad experience with the extension kits. I got the Y-extension, and an air assist. I got the wrong one for each. The Y-extension was my fault. You want to get the “old” Y extension kit if you don’t have the software air assist control, and the “new” if you do.

The air assist was not my fault: I got a kit of engraver + air assist + base board, and I got shipped the old air assist. That does not have the lead for the software-controlled air assist.

  1. I am not counting the Mini, because well, it’s just weird. ↩

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