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Laser cutter, start slicing stuff for under 50 dollars
by lamedust on December 28, 2007 Table of Contents Laser cutter, start slicing stuff for under 50 dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Laser cutter, start slicing stuff for under 50 dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Get your supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Putting the laser cutter together electronics edition! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Programming the laser cutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Update, easy way to make a Flutterfly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THIS IS AN UPDATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Demonstration of a small detailed cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4 6 7 7 8 9
File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Step 6: Follow me as I discover a laser cutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Author:lamedust
author's website Bilal Ghalib is a computer science student / silk screener. I run the company modati.com. I make stuff because it's a lot like giving birth but with minimal pain.
Intro: Laser cutter, start slicing stuff for under 50 dollars
There are many out there that are making things to win a laser cutter. Here is a project for those 500 that don't win, but still want a laser cutter for simple stencil cutting needs. This project was conceived during a chat with Alex where we wished we had a laser cutter and thought we could make one out of an etchasketch. Alex, this instructable is for you. Keep on inspiring me. --Update: Samuel just built one of these things! He did a much better job t han I did ; P I can't wait for video!-Here's a video showing the basic setup: This project demonstrates a simple hack to create a large format laser cutter utilizing all the scrap electronics you may have lying around. If you have a broken scanner or two, the cost can be just about 30 dollars for the entire project.
Image Notes 1. The spray painted result of that stencil. Bad paint... I know 2. This is the stencil I cut with my laser cutter. 3. Ahh! MY FACE!
Image Notes 1. You can use this machine to cut shapes out like this: 2. You can use this machine to make stencils like this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Image Notes 1. The backside of the design, I wish you could see how clean the lines were. And how fine the details that you can preserve were. 2. Here you can see the lines that were traced while i had the stepper motors set for too high of a speed to cut through the paper. 3. X 40 steps then Y 40 steps. One slow One fast. You can see
Image Notes 1. Scanner / Stepper motor X direction 2. Scanner / Stepper motor Y direction. Yes, that is a clamp. 3. Vernors. 4. Adjustable power supply for the laser. You can just use two D batteries and a long wire. I fried a few diodes with this while trying to push it's output. NEVER GO ABOVE 3.5 volts! 5. Print/Cutting head with a pen tapped to it.
Step 1: Get your supplies
I say that this costs < 50 dollars. And it does, you can even get it cheaper if you have a broken scanner. Here's the list: 1x Laser diodes Ebay Store $36 dollars for 2 2x Old Scanners Salvation Army $10 Dollars each 2x ULN2003 Electronic Connection $5 1x Prototyping board RadioSchack $2 2x 3/8" Aluminum Rod Home Depot $3 each 1x 3/8" Aluminum Tube Home Depot $3 10x Brass Brackets Home Depot $1 1x 2" cube of wood Home Depot $1 A bushel of Patience Here is a video showing all the supplies you'll need including the tools:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Image Notes 1. You'll be using the lube to grease the rods. It'll help the tube slide along it easier.
Step 2: Putting the laser cutter together electronics edition!
Now that you have all your supplies, how do you put it together to create this beast? FIrst cut your parallel port wire near the end that comes away from your computer. Second check for continuity. While holding one end of the multimeter on the wire you're looking for, check the entire row of pins one at a time till you find the continuity. Write down the color and matching pin number.
Here is my list in case it will help you: Pin # / Color 1 - brown ================= these pins 2-9 are the pins that go to the ULN2003 driver ================= 2 - brown white stripe 3 - red 4 - red black stripe 5 - orange 6 - orange black stripe 7 - yellow 8 - yellow black stripe 9 - dark green ================= 10 - dark green black stripe 11 - light green 12 - light green black stripe 13 - dark blue 14 - dark blue white stripe 15 - light blue 16 - light blue black stripe 17 - purple
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
18 - purple white stripe 19 - grey 20 - gray black stripe 21 - white 22 - white black stripe 23 - pink 24 - pink white stripe 25 - black On prototyping board solder the ULN2003 on it with the current channels down between it's pins. Then take wire 2 3 4 5 from the parallel port to the 3 4 5 6 pins on one of the ULN2003. And then take wire 6 7 8 9 from the parallel port to 3 4 5 6 on the other ULN2003.
==================== For good stepper motor information. I changed his design a bit, but yes, i did use it. ==================== Take apart the scanner and remove everything from inside of it except the pulleys the metal rod, the plastic carriage and the stepper motor. Take the stepper motor out and find the ground wire. This will be the one wire that has two of the same color. Cut them both from the white pin holder and solder them together to another wire. Take that wire to pin 9 on ULN2003. The rest of the stepper motors pins should go directly //without rearranging// into pin 14 13 12 11 and 10 on ULN, just solder them into the neighboring pad on the prototyping board. Do the same with the other scanners stepper motor wires. Now bring in a 12 volt adapter with a 500 mA current and > and solder it to the current track in the middle of your ULN2003 pad. take the + and connect it with a wire to pin 9 on both IC drivers. Also connect both pin 8's on the ULN2003 to the - track on your prototyping board which is connected to the adapters - wire. This completes the electronics section.
Image Notes 1. while holding one end of the multimeter on the wire you're looking for, check the entire row of pins one at a time till you find the continuity. Write down the color and matching pin number. 2. You should hold it up against the wire, but i was holding a camera
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Image Notes 1. This is where my common ground goes in and on the underside it's connected to pin 9 along with +12 from the red wire you see sticking out the top. 2. I was able to salvage the male and female pin holder from the stepper motor and that made the connection much easier. Just insert the male pins into14 13 12 11 and then connect whatever you have left after you cut the common ground (the only 2 wires that are the same color) 3. From the parallel port I have pin 2 3 4 5 connected to ULN2003's pins 3 4 5 6 4. from the Parallel port pin 6 7 8 9 i have them connected to the second ULN2003's pin 3 4 5 6 5. This brings in 12 v attached to the central track.
Image Notes 1. central track around which the ULN2003 is placed.
Step 3: Mechanics.
Now how do you make the parts that move? (Update, if you want you can find a way to attach the laser to the print head of an etch a sketch and not worry about this part. Here's a demo on how to take apart an etch a sketch) First you need to use a 3/8" drill bit to drill a perpendicular hold in your scanners carriage. Fit your 3/8" rod in it and hold it down firmly with a pipe bracket. Do the same for the other scanner
Cut your Aluminum tube into two pieces of 3". Take the block of wood you cut to 2" by 2" and use another bracket to affix the 2.5" tube to the top side. This is your X directed slider. Then use another bracket to affix the other 3" tube to the lower side perpendicular to the first. You can see the pictures or the movie to see what I mean. This is your Y directed slider. A breif plotter demo is at the end of this video:
Fit your Rods through these sliders and ensure they are all perpendicular to each other. Raise one scanner off the floor 1" so that the slider is not sitting at any angles and can slide easily in both directions. USE LUBE. Once everything is arranged and slides just so. Open up your old school windows PC and it's time to get postscripty! -bg
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Image Notes 1. I've affixed my rod to my scanners carriage by drilling a hole through it's strong plastic and then attaching it with a plumbing bracket. 2. rod that the wooden block is attached to. this stepper motor controls the x axis. 3. currently connected to ULN2003
Step 4: Programming the laser cutter
First you need to create a postscript file. I suggest you do your drawing in Inkscape. It's an open sourced program for vector drawing. But not just that, it is the only app I have that lets me save drawings as //CLEAN// postscript files that we can work with later. So even if you do your original drawing in Illustrator, save it as a .SVG and reopen it in Inkscape, and from that application save your drawing as a .ps file. Postscript. Don Lancaster wrote some postscript code that can take a post script file and then turn it into a simple text file that contains the numbers 0-7. The meaning: 0-E 1 - NE 2-N 3 - NW 4-W 5 - SW 6-S 7 - SE U means move the pen up D means move the pen down and that's all we're going to be using ========================= ALL FILES CAN BE FOUND AT: http://modati.com/lasercutter/ For those who like to hear the instructions here's a video:
=========================
Update, easy way to make a Flutterfly
Some people were having trouble figuring out how to create a flut file, so Bryn helped everyone out by creating this program that does it for you, make sure to send it a file that is "fair", that is without any showpage's, or quit commands in the .ps. The program automatically spits them out, but check the ps if you hit the error page.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
flutterflier, this is where you turn your postscript into a flutterfly --The old way to create a Flutterfy-Once you saved your drawing as a postscript file. Open it up in a text editor like notepad. Also open up the file yourpostscripthere.ps in notepad. Cope the entire body of your postscript drawing and paste it in flutterafy.ps right after the line that says: % ============= YOUR POSTSCRIPT SOURCE FILE STARTS HERE =============== % ============= MUST NOT INCLUDE SHOWPAGE, QUIT, ETC... =============== then you paste your stuff in here % ============== YOUR POSTSCRIPT SOURCE FILE ENDS HERE ================ then change the paths in these two lines: /destfilename (c://pope.txt) def (./pope.txt) readflutfile % read selected flutfile change these to the values you want to find your finished flut file at. Resave yourpostscripthere.ps and install http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/doc/GPL/index.htm Ghostscript]: Once you have ghostscript installed you can either drag yourpostscripthere.ps to the icon, or open it up inside ghostscript, it'll create a flutfile for you in the place you told it to c://whateveryousaid (remember to use doube /'s like c://sommat// ..) So now you'll have a flut file. here's a demo for ya: http://modati.com/lasercutter/heylaser3.txt (this is the stencil that i cut out, it says "hello lasers!") next you need to open a C compiler. the old version of bloodshed DEV CPP works great! Get v 4.0, not the new one. http://modati.com/lasercutter/flutafy.cpp This is the flutafy.cpp file that you can edit to run your own flut file. Right now if you compile it it will create an executable that will accept any filename as a parameter. So you just drag your .txt or .flut file over to the .exe and it'll start chomping. chompchompchomp. I'm providing this code so if you want to make any improvements you can. Please share with me though.
THIS IS AN UPDATE
If you don't know much about programming. Here is the executable: Executable for a .exe that lets you drag any flut file to it and will run the stepper motors properly And if you have XP you'll need this one: Updated exe for XP XP users will need this DLL to run this code: INPOUT32.DLL (For instructions on how to install a DLL, Lifehacker has a nice one.) Now you can drag any file that has 0-9 for step directions (a flut file. I have some in: http://modati.com/lasercutter/) and it will start communicating with the laser cutter you just made. If your parallel port is plugged in and everything is working okay you should be cutting in no time! -Love Bilal Ghalib
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Step 5: Demonstration of a small detailed cut
This is a machine gun that I cut out recently. It's a really small object so you can see the steps my cutter takes. I'll scan the stencil of this when I have some paint on hand. You will need to see the larger versions of these to fully see how the stencil was cut. Large files here: Machine gun and various laser cut parts from a livetraced image Just the machine gun up close Nice clean lines, no? --Whatdya know, it can be used to burn wood as well:--
Image Notes 1. Positive part that was cut out. 2. Live traced random shape that is almost as fine as a needle. Yes, a safety pin is as thick. 3. gun clip 4. Part of a face, I think, the live traced image was full of crazy shapes, here to demonstrate flexibility and curvy line tracing. 5. Black construction paper. 6. Negative part that remains as a stencil. 7. Width at this point is about 1.2 mm
Image Notes 1. 1.2mm wide at this point 2. I cut this on the edge of two papers taped together.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Image Notes 1. The Apple error bomb burned into plywood sheets.
File Downloads
laserburner ((816x612) 463 KB) [NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'laserburner']
Step 6: Follow me as I discover a laser cutter
This isn't so much of a step, but a story. This shows me discovering the stepping, the power of the laser and the first time I cut anything out. If you want a better view of how this actually works, or for more a different perspective on some difficult parts this might be a good place to get it: Here we start with an overview of my lab, and also all the parts, a basic diagram of how things are set up. A close up view of the "print head" is here if you're curious: I also get the stepper motors going here!
This is part two where I find out what it means that I have two stepping scanners connected:
This is the part where I take you to show you the power of the laser. You can see the beam outside, and also you can watch as I hold it to burn paper by hand:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Now you can watch as the entire setup is connected and hooked up. Hear my surprise when I actually get it to cut a diagonal line:
lastly hear me as i try out postscript sending for the first time, watch the scanner as it cuts, you get a nice close of up how it's all hooked up.
And that's it, I hope this extra story line helps. This is a fun project, and if anyone wants to improve it I'm sure it can be done. Show me your best! All the best. -Bilal
Image Notes 1. All that work just to cut this out. Kinda silly you might say. But this is the beginning of something awesome I think. -BG
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 350 comments
morriganfaye says:
Feb 8, 2011. 2:57 PM REPLY lol your cute. This was funny helpful and money saving I was curious if there are any lasers that could be powered by this to cut white
bwang says:
Feb 14, 2011. 8:56 PM REPLY 1W of 445 nm *might* do it, but those have awful beam quality (=larger spot size and less accurate cut), being multimode diodes and all that. Serious cutters use multiple WATTS of CO2 laser (anywhere from 10 to >5000). You can purchase a sketchy Chinese 40W CO2 tube for ~$100 + $100 shipping, a mirror set for the resonator for ~$80, and an NST to power it all with for ~$50. You'll also need at least one ZnSe lens and some CO2 wavelength coated mirrors (~$100 together). All in all, it'll set you back about $400...
mpandersen says:
Feb 1, 2011. 7:35 PM REPLY God Bless Our Throw Away Society !!! This is a wonderful hack ! I was wondering if I could use optical isolators to protect my PC from transient voltage spikes ? If so, what would you recommend ? I was planning on etching PCBs. [I'm tired of using the resist pen, that and I'm no draftsman ...] Jan 3, 2008. 1:00 PM REPLY If you have little money and a surplus of time and patience, find a metal recycler near you. I hit one a few years ago, they had literally had a pile of old PC equipment standing out in the scrapyard (in the rain and mud). I stripped maybe a dozen printers, PCs and scanners of their drives, motors and gears and filled a 5-gal bucket with computer parts. Everything had to be tested, of course, but all of it worked. The best part? Scrap recyclers do everything by weight. The guy looked at my bucket and rang it up as "Misc scrap/steel: $0.11 per pound". I walked out with two dozen motors for for $11. YMMV, but if you're just looking to fill a junk drawer with experiment parts, you can't beat the price. The worst part is squatting in a mud pit for an hour in the freezing cold disassembling computers.
Chalain says:
fostersfriend says:
I want to know where they have something like that In the chicago suburbs
Jan 14, 2011. 9:19 PM REPLY
whample says:
Mar 21, 2010. 3:10 PM REPLY Here in the Seattle area we have a place called rePC that has two locations. While certainly not as cheap as the scrapyard, they have tons of old semijunked scrap printers and other computer components sold as is on the cheap.
rbinford says:
Nov 17, 2010. 10:56 PM REPLY yep, used to work at the seattle store .,and you can find anything in the as-is section. the warehouse in tukwila has a lot more stuff it seems but seattle has a good as is section
79spitfire says:
Dude! Rock on! The scrap yard is one of my favorite places!
Mar 21, 2010. 9:58 AM REPLY
gemguy says:
cool ideas! my question is... what about using something like this to cut rocks? yeah, i do cut rocks by hand but this idea would be so much easier and cooler. any ideas on how powerful a laser must be to cut silica? Thanx in advance!
Nov 11, 2010. 6:49 AM REPLY
nutsandbolts_64 says:
Dec 25, 2010. 5:12 AM REPLY Very powerful is how I'll say it is. Unless you can concentrate the laser by a lot you won't be cutting anything. By the way, a 1 watt laser is dangerous enough, a kW laser (I dunno what I'm saying) can be barely moved. You might as well motorize your drilling technique.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
ilpug says:
get an old tile saw and modify it. lasers are impractical
Jan 6, 2011. 10:02 AM REPLY
gemguy says:
Have one...lol they make laser engravers for rock and jewelry applications, but they are spendy.
Jan 7, 2011. 11:43 AM REPLY
Mikey8567 says:
The Ebay link you gave for the laser Diodes isn't valid any longer.
Nov 27, 2010. 9:17 PM REPLY
mike-ing around says:
Nov 18, 2010. 10:32 AM REPLY I've seen some valid points/concerns posted by some others, but felt I should list what I have noted from working with an industrial laser cutter for the last 2 years: 1) Cutting bed; it needs to be some kind of stable, breatheable mesh, we use a steel honeycomb. This leads to 2) Exhaust; the shopvac idea is good as long as its a fairly smaller area. Its purpose is twofold; to keep the workpiece and debris from lifting and crashing the laser or moving the work, and to vent out fumes. So if you are using a shopvac you still have to route exhaust gas elseware, but it can provide the suction you need for containing debris. 3) Inert gas; I'm not sure how applicable this is to something this size or power but I feel its worth noting. We purge our cutting chamber with nitrogen gas so that nothing flares up when lasing. 4) Speed and Power; prepare to do a lot of trial runs when you first start. Basically more speed and less power makes a crisper cut, less speed and more power is for heavier cutting. The exact numbers vary on what your laser's characteristics are, but power is typically in a percentage of maximum output and speed is in inches or centimeters/second. Anyhow I hope this helps out and as a referance I do most of my cutting on either matboard, 1/8 or 1/4 masonite, and solid wood 1/16 - 3/4 in thickness.
tnewton4 says:
Does anyone have one of these to sell? Or would anyone be willing to build one if I supply the scanner and $50?
Oct 24, 2010. 10:57 AM REPLY
StridAst says:
Oct 16, 2010. 11:27 AM REPLY How are you controlling the power for the laser? Is it simply switching it on manually and leaving it on, or is the computer controlling it?
Dannne11 says:
Where can i buy the ULN2003 controllers??? In europe plz
Oct 15, 2010. 5:25 AM REPLY
toddkrein says:
Very cool!
Oct 5, 2010. 2:16 PM REPLY
hondaman900 says:
Mar 21, 2010. 11:09 AM REPLY I've taken apart 10 printers and scanners, and apart for two small wussie stepper motors with 6 wires, I have ten nice stepper motors with 4 wires and a few DC motors. Looks like the 5 or 6 wire steppers are unipolar, and the 4 wire units are bipolar. Does anyone know if the ULN2003-based circuit can drive a bioplar stepper motor? Or does anyone have a cheap and easy circuit to drive bipolar steppers from a parallel port?
bengus says:
try http://www.8051projects.net/stepper-motor-interfacing/stepper-motor-connections.php (6-4 wires configuration) or http://colvins.ca/?p=11 (for the 5 wires configuration)
Sep 21, 2010. 6:20 AM REPLY
mman1506 says:
one of my stepper motors has 4 wires . blue white yellow orange
Apr 20, 2009. 4:00 PM REPLY
mman1506 says:
will this work
Apr 20, 2009. 4:01 PM REPLY
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
PaulMakesThings says:
Sep 18, 2010. 11:15 PM REPLY What you have is probably a bipolar stepper motor, they have advantages over unipolar but the driver circuit is a little more complicated because the current reverses during part of the drive phase. It would be goofy to try to explain it all here. But just to set you on the right track, look up bipolar stepper driver circuits, there are several on this site alone. Jul 11, 2009. 8:51 PM REPLY
hannson says:
This instructable inspired me a little.
Imagine you'd want to create laser-cut plastic stencils for surface mounted PCBs, you're not willing to buy them at $25 each and your room is lacking the floor space required for this otherwise elegant solution. Would it be possible to create a laser cutting "printer" by converting a B/W inkjet printer by replacing the cartridge with a laser-diode - possibly a blue one? That way you'd get the X and Y axes from the printer, plus the motors that are obviously precise enough for regular printing so you'd only need to mount the laser and most likely replace the circuits from the printer. Am I on to something or am I on a wild goose chase? ps. I'm talking about the thin transparent plastic sheets commonly used for projection on a wall.
alex-sharetskiy says:
Why use a blue diode? those just 'look cool' and cost alot get a high-powered red diode, it's cheaper
Jan 22, 2010. 3:40 PM REPLY
Sir Colton says:
Blue cuts a wider range of colors
Jan 23, 2010. 9:23 PM REPLY
Jorad says:
Jun 19, 2010. 11:16 PM REPLY blue doesn't just "look cool" blue lasers are at around 400nm in wavelength meaning a lower mW laser could cut more effectively than it's red counterpart. As far as expense goes... 20$ for one powerful enough to light a cigar. plus they look cool.
boson research says:
Sep 16, 2010. 1:22 PM REPLY In picking the color of the laser, coolness is a side issue. As to which cuts better, you have to ask yourself, what color does your target absorb? If you think of a color wheel, you'll be on the right track. An object which looks blue (when you shine white light on it) is absorbing the orange and red part of the spectrum. An object which looks green is absorbing the red part. Something that looks white isn't absorbing visible light much, mostly just scattering it, and if it looks black (or brown), it absorbs most of the visible spectrum. This works until you get into much more exotic stuff light multi-photon absorption, but you don't want the grad-school optics lecture here. You can cut stuff that's clear (like plastic film) nicely using an infrared laser , such as the ones in DVD burners at 785 nm (but be careful, just cause it's invisible or you can barely see it doesn't mean it can't hurt you.) The same logic goes with laser safety glasses--you have to pick the ones which block the color laser you're using (but then, you can't see the laser either, be prepared for that!). Remember, it this thing can cut even paper, it can hurt your eyes. We use webcams to look at our laser hitting things in my lab, they're cheap and don't get hurt.
NastySpill says:
Dec 15, 2009. 4:56 PM REPLY Thats a great idea.. I have seen a guy who is doing that and is cutting foam sheet. I cannot for the life of me find it right now.. but it can be done.
Splortched says:
I would make one of these if you can do that.
Sep 22, 2009. 11:29 PM REPLY
matroska says:
Sep 9, 2009. 8:16 PM REPLY lol, read my first comment, then PM if you're interested, I'll try to find out my "plans" and communicate with you for further project rendering.
matroska says:
Sep 9, 2009. 8:14 PM REPLY That's exactly what I wanted to do. Let's just hope the printer motors will have enough torque. I tough of hooking up the laser power supply to the ink 'trigger', which means, instead of sending ink onto paper, the laser will be triggered. Thus, the surface, burned/etched/cut. I would suggest a potentiometer at the laser supply to adjust laser power. You could then just print a B&W image, where the black parts would be where to be etched/burned/cut. Sounds good to me, I made rough plans based on my inkjet printer here.
eggplanthunter says:
Sep 15, 2009. 10:46 PM REPLY I was thinking the exact same thing. Have you gotten anywhere on that ink trigger? I'm also trying to figure out how to activate the diode when it "prints" A problem I see is that every time the diode and the driver circuit turns off, the capacitor should/needs to be shorted out to protect the diode. Is there a way we can hook it up to the potentiometer so that when it triggers, it switches from low output visible to full 100-200mw. Thinking about this driver. Any thoughts?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
hintss says:
2 problems: how do you keep small bits from getting stuck in mechanisms instead of coming out and how will you protect the other parts of the printer from the rest of the laser that shines through
Jan 23, 2010. 10:43 PM REPLY
eggplanthunter says:
Jan 24, 2010. 12:23 AM REPLY well, 2nd problem first: If you use an "ink" trigger, you don't really need to worry as it will only turn the laser on when "ink" would be applied, or, in this case, laser cuts made. It shouldnt be on long enough to put a hole through plastic. For the first question, hope and prayer?
matroska says:
Agrees with the first problem's solution lol. Just hope for me. Or, you try it first. If it doesn't go through the printer correctly, well it won't while lasering.
Jan 24, 2010. 6:59 AM REPLY
rumplesnitz says:
Mar 21, 2010. 7:05 PM REPLY You have to build an enclosure, and use a shop vac to create suction to pull the waste away from the cutter. instead of a solid plastic sheet to place the paper on perhaps some kind of metal screen should be used to allow small waste to fall through and withstand the heat of the laser.
matroska says:
Mar 27, 2010. 12:13 PM REPLY Why, you are right. Plus I could use some steel sheet painted black, with a "hi-heat" paint (like the ones for high temperature parts in cars, like brakes and some engine parts). The black is to actually absorb the heat, cauz if I used some metal finish, it would actually reflect the beam and it might damage something else. Screw what I just said. ceramic. non polished finish. Heat cannot kill it.
bigjeff5 says:
Jul 22, 2010. 1:40 PM REPLY Or you could glue/tape on a sheet the laser can't cut through. The actual material you use would depend on the kind of laser you use and how powerful it is, but the principle idea would be like using a piece of black paper with the edges glued onto a piece of white paper. The laser cuts the black paper, but not the white paper. The pieces from the black paper are trapped between the black and white pieces of paper, so nothing ends up in your printer. When it comes out just cut off the areas you glued and you have a nice clean stencil and a nice clean printer. Sometimes the low-tech solution is the best solution. :) Also, for a cutting laser you can just use the laser from a DVD-R/RW drive - these are very powerful Class 2 lasers that are quite capable of cutting thin materials, especially black colored material. They should also go right through any clear plastic, so you can just use a transparency as your backing material.
hintss says:
use spray adhesive to connect the 2 papers...though, it may spontaneously combust :P
Jul 22, 2010. 8:06 PM REPLY
rlimosenero says:
Sep 2, 2010. 12:41 AM REPLY hi, do you have another site that I can view all your works..coz I can't open all views here...I am really interested in these kind of stuff and would like to build bigger or in large scale... May 23, 2010. 5:56 PM REPLY
glynn1982 says:
can you use software like mach3 to control this? great idea by the way.
shotnoise says:
I use http://www.2dparts.com to do all my laser cutting
Apr 17, 2010. 7:27 PM REPLY
rko167% says:
i would like to have one of those to cut something open!
Apr 5, 2010. 5:17 PM REPLY
NerdofSteel says:
Mar 23, 2010. 3:31 PM REPLY excuse me, but the link to the laser diodes ends up in a store which no longer has diodes in it. what power was the diode that you used? and what all materials/thicknesses have you cut with it? also, have you had any issues with fire? sorry for all the questions but i've never build a CNC before XD
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
Kurt.M says:
Mar 22, 2010. 3:55 PM REPLY Wow dude, GREAT Instructable! Very thorough. I liked especially how you kept everything relatively simple so you don't scare off us green-horns. I think I'll try something like this come summer! Feb 1, 2010. 9:37 PM REPLY
cheeswiz says:
im not haveing any luck with the software! :-( When i install the DLL it says that it did not work and that it is not a DLL Also the DropFlutHere errors Out when i try to use it or open it.
i cannot find the download for Dev-C++ 4, their download link is Broken and Dev 4.9.9.2 fails when i try to compile the source code. im at a loss here for the software which is my last step in the process aside form attaching the Laser. i have tryed the software on two computers, one with XP and one with Windows 7 so HELP ME?!? Any One?
tinyinkling says:
The developer's site is www.bloodshed.net
Mar 22, 2010. 11:49 AM REPLY
It helps to have a different download package handler available. Since I play BigFish games, I had their download manager installed on my desktop. It handled Dev C++ just fine. I took care of my laptop by first downloading a game and then downloading Dev C++.
Enki-][ says:
Mar 21, 2010. 8:07 AM REPLY If dev C++ doesn't work, try mingw or djgpp (or one of the other GCC ports for windows). If that doesn't work, a linux livecd is usable.
profpat says:
yes, scrap yard or junk shop the cheapest way to get parts for your experiments, beats ordering from radio shack!!
Mar 21, 2010. 8:39 PM REPLY
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/
