A 5,000 mW engraving head with the same compressed 0.08 mm spot as LASER TREE's 10W, drawing a modest 2 A at 12 V from a standard 3018 laser port.
The LASER TREE 5W swaps into a 3018's spindle bracket and turns the router into a diode engraver. Its body is faceted to sit in the 3018 and 3018-PRO clamp, and it plugs into the board's three-pin laser port.
Five watts of blue light is an engraving power first. The 0.08 × 0.08 mm spot, squeezed by the built-in FAC lens, puts that power on a very small point, which is what fine lines and small text need.
Where the 5W is at home:
For cutting, LASER TREE claims 3 mm plywood in one pass at 1.5 mm/s with the 45 mm focus. Thicker sheet is still possible in several passes, lowering focus a little between them, but each pass widens the kerf and chars the edge more.
The body is 44 mm across its flats and 128 mm long, and the whole head weighs 1.16 lb. That is in the same range as the 10W head, and well within what a stock 3018 Z axis lifts.
Swapping between the laser and the spindle takes a few minutes and one GRBL setting. The 3018 laser rundown walks through the whole 2-in-1 setup.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Brand | LASER TREE |
| Model | LT-5W-F45 |
| Optical output | 5W (5,000 mW) |
| Wavelength | 450 nm (blue) |
| Beam optics | Built-in FAC, double compressed spot |
| Spot size at focus | 0.08 × 0.08 mm |
| Focus length | 45 mm |
| Cutting claim | 3 mm plywood in one pass at 1.5 mm/s |
| Engraving claim | Mirror stainless steel without black paint |
| Input | DC 12 V, 2 A |
| Power control | 5 V PWM |
| Connector | XH2.54-3P socket: VCC, GND, PWM |
| Air assist | Built in |
| Cooling | Built-in fan, 10,000 rpm |
| Power drop at full output | 300–400 mW after 30 minutes at 100% |
| Diode life | Up to 20,000 hours |
| Dimensions | 44 × 44 × 128 mm (1.72 × 1.72 × 5.04 in) |
| Weight | 1.16 lb |
| Laser class | Class 4 |
| Machines named | 3018, 3018 Pro and frames with the same bracket size |
The 5W's electrical side is its strongest selling point on a stock 3018. It wants DC 12 V at 2 A, which is what most 3018 GRBL boards were designed to feed through their laser header.
That makes it close to plug and play. CNCTOPBAOS, for example, rates its board's laser port for 12 V three-pin modules from 0.5 W to 20 W, and the Genmitsu 3018-PRO board takes three-pin and two-pin lasers.
| Pin | Carries | Note |
|---|---|---|
| VCC | 12 V supply | Must be 12 V for this head |
| GND | Ground | Shared with the board |
| PWM | 5 V power control | From the spindle PWM output |
Two pin layouts turn up on 3018 boards. Most use a single three-pin header; some split power onto a two-pin plug and PWM onto a separate pin, and then a short adapter lead joins them to the head.
Two jobs show what the 5W does best: greyscale photos on light wood, and clean profile cuts in thin sheet. Both depend on focus and on GRBL's laser mode.
Focus comes first. The head's focus length is 45 mm, so the lens should sit 45 mm above the stock surface. A spacer block cut to that height makes it quick to set; fine-tune by burning short lines and lowering or raising Z until the line is narrowest.
Then set GRBL setting 32 to 1. Laser mode keeps the beam moving smoothly through corners and fills, dimming it as the head slows instead of pausing, so photos do not get dark blotches at the end of every row.
Air assist earns its keep on cuts. It clears smoke from under the lens and keeps flames down, which leaves a cleaner edge and less soot on the face of the part.
Run cuts on a scrap surface or a honeycomb, not directly on an aluminium bed. A reflective bed bounces the beam back into the underside of the part. The 3018 software notes cover LaserGRBL and LightBurn settings.
The 5W sits at the gentle end of 3018 laser heads: easy on the board's power, easy on the Z axis, and precise enough for fine engraving.
| Head | Optical power | Spot or focus | Input | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LASER TREE 5W | 5W | 0.08 × 0.08 mm, 45 mm focus | 12 V, 2 A | 1.16 lb |
| LASER TREE 10W | 10W | 0.08 × 0.08 mm, 45 mm focus | 12 V 3.2 A or 24 V | 1.25 lb |
| Genmitsu XCFL55-33 | 5W | 0.1 × 0.15 mm | Driver in the head | 0.43 kg |
| Genmitsu FL55P | 5.5W | Fixed 20 mm focus | 12 V, 2 A | Not stated |
The 10W cuts roughly twice the thickness per pass and engraves faster, but it asks for 3.2 A at 12 V or a 24 V port. The 5W runs from a standard 12 V 2 A header with no questions.
Genmitsu's heads suit Genmitsu machines. The XCFL55-33 carries its own control board and fits the 3018-PRO and PROVer V2; the FL55P uses a fixed 20 mm focus, which saves focusing but sits the head close to the stock.
Running costs are low on all of them: no tube, no mirrors, no chiller. LASER TREE quotes diode life at up to 20,000 hours and a 300–400 mW fall-off after 30 minutes at full output, so long jobs at 80–90% power stay closer to their starting strength.
Checks before ordering:
If the board's laser header supplies 12 V on a three-pin VCC, GND, PWM plug, yes. Measure the header before connecting.
LASER TREE claims 3 mm plywood in one pass at 1.5 mm/s. Thicker sheet takes several passes.
It marks stainless steel, which LASER TREE says needs no black paint. It does not cut metal.
Set setting 32, laser mode, to 1 for laser work and back to 0 for the spindle.