Hi Doug,
Nice looking laser that you have.
The laser switching is the same if it’s CO2 or Diode it is probably just expressed differently.
Your laser has to be turned ON by applying power to the 12V+ and GND terminals then the beam switched ON and OFF by applying a PWM signal between the PWM and GND terminals.
If the laser beam is activated without any PWM connection then the logic is Active High (connecting the PWM terminal to GND will turn the beam OFF).
So…
For initial tests connect your laser PWM to your Output#1 Pin and GND to your BoB GND. Enable the Mach3 Output#1 Pin and set to the Pin number you have chosen Active High (if appropriate from above paragraph). Apply the 12V power to the laser.
Now run a test Gcode - perhaps Trispokedovetiles(laser).tap in the .zip file here;
https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=18345.msg126486#msg126486The above should switch the laser ON/OFF at full power.
There are various ways to control the laser power and the easiest I have found is to gate the Mach3 PWM signal with the M11/M10 signal and this is described here;
https://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php?topic=12444.msg265104#msg265104Cutting plywood is tricky as the bonding glue causes many problems. Air assist (at reasonable pressure) is usually required to keep the kerf free from carbon and mess from the glue. However, there is a special Laser Ply which does cut a lot easier than standard stuff but it still requires practice to get a nice clean cut.
Your Diode laser should be perfectly OK for cutting plywood (the feed-rate needs to be adjusted accordingly) you just need to practice.
Hope this helps,
Tweakie.