A reverse engineered protocol for the cheap k3 laser engraver

WHY

The original software is windows only, no commandline interface or options, in chinese. So i tried to sniff the communication to build commandline version that accepts bmp files for engraving.

FEATURES

• simple commandline software with minimal configuration
• works on a RPI
• usable for automatic engraving

THE PROTOCOL

For a detailed protocol please refer to the commands.xlsx. All red marked commands are not implemented in the software, because i cant figure out what they are doing.

THE IMAGE DATA BUFFER

After starting the engraving process the laser needs image data. The first 9 bytes are fixed and containing information about the lasertime and img size The image width is devided by 8 and each 8 pixel will be combined to a single byte (0-255). This is the laserdiode enable time. These subpixel will be stored in the buffer after the config section (buffer[9..]). So the buffer size is 320px_image_width /8 + 9(config lenght) for each image line. Each line is send to the laser, until an Ack will be receieved. The buffer will be calculated for the next line in the image.

• buffer[0] - 9 command opcode
• buffer[1] - buffer.size() >> 8
• buffer[2] - buffer.size()
• buffer[3] - depth >> 8 laser on time/engraving depth
• buffer[4] - depth laser on time/engraving depth 1-255
• buffer[5] - 1000>>8 //laser power 1000mw cahnging has no effect
• buffer[6] - 1000
• buffer[7] - current image height position >> 8 //this will go from 0 to image.height
• buffer[8] - current image height position

To see the complete function to send an image to the engraver, see the int start_engraving( function in main.cpp.

Buffer size calucation

 if ((bwimg.width() % 8) <= 0) {
        ilbsize = (bwimg.width() / 8) + 9;
    } else {
        ilbsize = (bwimg.width() / 8) + 10;
    }

Converting an Imageline to the img buffer

  for (int current_height_progress = 0; current_height_progress < bwimg.height(); ++current_height_progress) {
        int num1 = 0;
        for (int index1 = 0; index1 < img_line_buffer.size() - 9; ++index1) {
            BYTE num2 = 0;
            for (int index2 = 0; index2 < 8; ++index2) {
                if ((index1 * 8 + index2) < bwimg.width() && bwimg.get_pixel((index1 * 8) + index2, current_height_progress).red == 0) {
                    num2 +=32;        
                }
            }
            img_line_buffer[num1 + 9] = (BYTE)num2;
            ++num1;
        }

        //SEND img_line_buffer over serial to the engraver
        _ser.Write(img_line_buffer,img_line_buffer.size());//SEND BUFFER TO ENGRAVER
        wait_for_ack(_ser); //WAIT FOR AN ACK

THE ACK

After each command the K3 laser engraver sends a one ack byte 9. After the ack, the next line can be send. I found out that at commands where the head has to travel long distances it makes more sense to wait 100ms until the next one is sent to avoid errors.

RUN THE ENGRAVING SAMPLE

• git clone https://github.com/RBEGamer/K3_LASER_ENGRAVER_PROTOCOL.git
• cd ./K3_LASER_ENGRAVER_PROTOCOL/src
• mkdir build
• cd ./build
• cmake ../
• make
• sudo chmod +x ./k3_laser_api
• connect the laser engraver to usb port and check the device manager or /dev for the serial device

ALL PARAMETERS

./k3_laser_api --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --if ./default.bmp --fan true --discrete false --bwt 100 --depth 50 --home false --offsetx 0 --offsety 0 --passes 1

PARAMETERS

• port - set the serial port on linux for example /dev/ttyUSB0
• if - input file path, bitmap file for engraving. max size 1600x1520
• fan - enable the fan
• discrete - enable the discrete mode. The laser dont turn off between 2 pixels with laser on state.
• bwt - Image will be converted into a black white image.
• depth - time the laser will be on for each pixel.
• home do a homing before starting *offsetx - offsets the head before starting
• offsety - offsets the head before starting
• passes - how many passes the image will be engraved (default is 1)

SIMPLE CALL with default settings

• ./k3_laser_api --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --if ./default.bmp

HOW REVERSE

3 wires (RX,TX,GND) for the serial connection of the stm32 and the USB2Serial converter to sniff the traffic

Using a DSO/Logic analyser to decode the commands and traffic between the host software and STM32