OPPP: Back to the Laser

The control panel for my Chinese K40 laser cutter is very very Chinese. That's not a truism, condemnation, or praise. It is what it is.

To be fair, it works, and that's no backhanded compliment. But it has a number of functional and design sins my Western eye simply can't leave be.

First and foremost, it spreads precious little functionality over the entire available space. I need to add additional controls and an entire DSP panel, and there's simply no room to do so.

And that's not for the jam-packed functionality. Pretty much the entire 7x5 square in the middle is doing the job of a single knob or thumbwheel. But a single knob would not be 'cool', and so we have this monstrosity of an ampre control that's not even calibrated in amperes/milliampres (despite the legend).

It has three (three!) 'ON' switches wired in series. A rocker, a key switch, and a stop paddle. They all do the same thing.

The temperature gauge, at the top, is simply a little LCD-readout battery powered number. It works, and it's reasonably accurate. But it is hard to read. And it's smack in the middle of space that could be used more efficiently.

I will give this particular kudo: It uses sans-serif fonts, which gets a 'well done!' And there's no Comic Sans.

I won't even complain about the pastel lavender gradient, except I just did.

OPPP: Laser Fist of America

For contrast with the Chinese control panel posted earlier, here's a mid-80's control panel for an American-made laser supply.

It's about the same size, and roughly comparable, though there's more diagnostic functionality here than on the laser cutter.

Although I do think it's better overall, the big difference is really the aesthetic design. This is an unabashedly '80s American instrument panel. It fills an American geek with warm fuzzies.

BTW, thanks for the panel Taylor! :-) And thanks to me partner Fox for bringing it home for me.