[Rolf_K]

Obviously there are 3-D printer controllers used as CO2 controllers, check the link below:

GCODE M104 processed with delay?

However any further information I have not been able to find.

Regarding the blackmail and backup, the software was somehow linked to the computer footprint, of course that changed when when the new hard drive was installed, which rendered my backup useless.

[Retroplayer]

Obviously there are 3-D printer controllers used as CO2 controllers, check the link below:

GCODE M104 processed with delay?

However any further information I have not been able to find.

Yes, of course. The RAMPS board I am using is a 3D printer controller. In a laser cutter, you need to take the G-Code, translate that to stepper movements and turn the laser on and off when appropriate. So a 3D printer controller is fully capable of running your laser. Just about any 3D printer controller will work hardware-wise. Even the cheaper GRBL CNC shield. The secret sauce is, once again, the code running on that controller.

The reason it needs to be customized is because the controller doesn't know the size of your movement stage. It doesn't know the steps/mm the steppers require. It doesn't know which pins you have the laser on/off attached to. It doesn't know if that signal needs to be HIGH or LOW Etc... These are all things you need to change in the config.h before uploading the code to the controller. That's the hardest part to it.

It just not plug and play. With commercial controllers, you pay for that plug and play. But you also are stuck with whatever evil limitations the vendor forces upon you like requiring a software key tied to your computer that doesn't work anymore when you change a hard drive.

So your options are:

1. Commercial solution: Plug and play. Easy to install. Get support. But you are at their mercy
2. Open-source: Not plug and play. A little harder to install. Has a sometimes steep learning curve to set it up for your machine. You are at nobody's mercy and once you get this far, you know enough to customize things how you like.