$150 Laser Cutter

[zombiehunter]

This is cool i'm in. I was looking into building a 3D printer I found plans that said it could be done for around $60 but I think I can get more use out of this... Good luck keep us up to date on how it's going can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[tyoho]

Can you give me more information on the bit you are using? 2,3, or 4 flute? How much cutting surface? Where do you get them? I can only go down to 10,000 RPM but I can cut at 32 IPM.

Thanks for the reply!

I used a 1/16" dia x 3/16 LOC 4 flute carbide endmill.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#3066a11/=xd2dxz

I went with a 4 flute because that's what I had, but a 2 or three flute might be better for the paper.

I buy most of my stuff from McMaster Carr, it's a good place to find all things industrial.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#end-mills/=xd22x8

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

Would this motor and or board be any use in a project like this. I am an electronics idiot and everything on this board is greek to me. The motor has four wires and I thought three was the devils work.

I pulled these out of an HP printer. After starting this thread, I have had a desire to tinker with steppers and their controllers. I am in a target rich environment for such finds, so I have had my eyes peeled.

Motor Part Number: M55SP-2K LF
HP Part Number: RK2-2651

Board Part Number: RM1-5958
HP Part Number: RK2-2618 View attachment 47728 View attachment 47729

That is a stepper motor, which is of great use in something like this or any scenario where the motor needs to move very specific distances like in a printer or scanner. The ones used in this project and in things like 3D printers are larger though, because they are larger machines that have heavier parts that need to be moved. The board probably contains a driver for the stepper, as well as other things specific to whatever printer you pulled it out of like microcontrollers and other logic circuits.

 

[TEAJR66]

ScottyWarpNine,

Cool. Thanks. I figured the board had a lot of other stuff on it. There were some sensors and switches for doors and trays to be detected as opened or closed that were connected to it. I was not sure if it was a large or small motor by comparison. I will keep it around and tinker as I get a chance. I saw that there were nice stepper motors available on line fairly cheap and control boards seem affordable also.

Again, thanks for the reply.

 

[wire10ga]

Hey ScottyWarpNine,
Do you think you will get back to the project after FliteFest & the C-47 is done?

 

[iCrash]

I have a 2W LED CNC laser. I forget what the frequency is. I think it's a 405nm. It won't cut the paper on the adams foam board even on the highest setting.

It works great for engraving wood, but it won't cut paper. Good luck with your project.

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

Hey ScottyWarpNine,
Do you think you will get back to the project after FliteFest & the C-47 is done?

Absolutely, I just got back home and as soon as I unpack I plan on getting this project going again!

iCrash, my laser cuts through the paper quite easily. It is the foam that gives me trouble.

 

[4M4P1S]

Printing full scale plans onto the foam foamboard

Another option would be to print the plans with a drawbot such as this one http://www.instructables.com/id/Polargraph-Drawing-Machine/ if you're not opposed to cutting the foam

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

Another option would be to print the plans with a drawbot such as this one http://www.instructables.com/id/Polargraph-Drawing-Machine/ if you're not opposed to cutting the foam

I love those hanging drawing bots. I've wanted to build one of those for a very long time.

right now I am leaning towards designing a drag knife setup which would use a #11 blade, but I would like to make the head detachable so that one could set it up as different kinda of machines. Like you could attach a pen for drawing or a dremel for light machining or a laser head or even a 3D printer extruder to make a large 3D printer (with the addition of some kind of z axis.

The more I think about it the more I'm thinking of ditching the spectra setup for GT2 belt because that would probably be most reliable and easy to set up, and I'm trying to build a machine for the masses!

Will have more to post soon. I've been busy with work

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

McMaster Carr is within spitting distance of me so I went and picked up some aluminum t slot extrusions. I also bought a uhmw plastic sliding piece to try out some methods for using the tslot for both structure and linear motion for simplicity and cost. I think it will work quite well, I also 3d printed some sliding. I am quite pleased with how well it is working. With some silicon grease my homemade sliders are quite smooth, quiet and tight.


More stuff to follow soon.

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

I've been taking this step by step. I experimented a bit more with the T-Slot sliders and carriages and I think that idea has a lot of potential. I have started designing some structural parts:

Basically each corner has two identical triangle brace parts. opposing corners use the same parts, the other corners are mirror images of the parts.each corner is held together with 8 bolts and T-slot stopper things.

The long sides are 4', the short sides are 3'. the long sides are what the gantry will slide on, the short sides are underneath so that the bottom of the carriage is free and doesn't touch the ground.

The structure is very stiff for how large it is. There are a couple changes I need to make to the corner part files, but they work pretty well. This large setup would be good for using a drag knife or light rotary cutter like a Dremel to cut foam board. You could scale the machine to be smaller (say 2'x2') for a more rigid setup for heavier machining.

Next step is to finalize the slider system and start working on the gantry. I love working with this stuff. Everything goes together so quickly!

Let me know what you thing,

 

[RAM]

I need one of these for $150.
It's got everything.

 

[Burly]

I know the title says $150.

But for anyone who is looking for something not so DIY from a design standpoint...here are some videos of the Open Builds OX CNC system from Open Builds (www.openbuilds.com)
About a year ago I calculated a BOM for an OX-CNC table using 1500mm x 1000mm Open Build V-Slot extrusion.
The damage was about $900, without the router or dremel.

Here's a video of Crash Hancock's OX CNC build.
Crash is a fellow Flitetest member, and originator of the Crash Cast Podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akobisDZzqA.

Here's another OX CNC with the guy cutting out a bloody wonder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EONrHCKZ8kg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI5vtiPmYUc

I suspect a lot of you are drooling at this point...

If a suitable laser could be found, one that didn't require some elaborate mirror system, but could be mounted directly to the z-axis...this table would provide a nice mechanical base.

But my thinking is that you will require a pretty powerful lazer in order to have something remotely usable.
A lot of hackerspaces have lazers that have complex mirror systems, with the laser power starting at around 40 watts. Introducing mirrors into the equation really takes DIY off the table.

Besides the issue of mirrors, a 40W tube is pretty expensive consumable, as it has an expected life of only so many hours. I would imagine the Lazers used at FliteTest are using 60 to 80 watt tubes...and the replacement cost for one of these runs into the multiple hundreds of dollars.

That's why I think rotary cutting tools, rather than a lasers, would provide a much more suitable solution across multiple materials...Dollar Tree Foam Board, Depron, Pink or Blue foam board, bulsa, basswood, plywood, Plexiglass, Lexan, G10...etc.

A lot of guys forget that when using a laser you need to consider enclosing it in a airtight box with an active ventilation the outside using an air blower (compressor?).
A CNC laser in the basement, without an airtight enclosure and a powered ventilation system, is probably a non-starter.

On the other hand, you can run a rotary tool in your basement without much worry about chemical fumes.
You do have to worry about dust, but shop vacs and dust shoes can do a decent job of addressing this issue.

If you're still interested, here is a 2-part video on the OX CNC table build:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS32b55ouQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JufQ-xCvdg

 

[Balu]

Here's a video of Crash Hancock's OX CNC build.
Crash is a fellow Flitetest member, and originator of the Crash Cast Podcast.

Ha, I didn't know that. Guess the RC / maker world is a lot smaller than I expected

If you want a laser cutter, openbuilds has one too called "Freeburn". The 2nd version they are working on right now is the Freeburn mini: http://openbuilds.org/builds/openbuilds-freeburn-2-mini-v-slot-co2-laser-40-50w.1657/

But I think you'd have to pay the $150 just for the laser tube...

 

[wire10ga]

If you could find a solid state laser with enough power to cut through foam board (5-10 watts I'm guessing here) you would not have to worry about the high voltage laser tube, mirrors or alignment problems. But you will either need to cut stuff outside or proper ventilation exhaust.

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

If you could find a solid state laser with enough power to cut through foam board (5-10 watts I'm guessing here) you would not have to worry about the high voltage laser tube, mirrors or alignment problems. But you will either need to cut stuff outside or proper ventilation exhaust.

Yup, that, and the fact that I have not found or hear of a powerful enough solid state laser that is affordable that can cut through foam board, I am focusing more on a drag knife setup right now.

 

[brum]

That Zund cutter is ~ $1 Million I believe. We have one down stairs at our plant. Pretty neat equipment

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

That Zund cutter is ~ $1 Million I believe. We have one down stairs at our plant. Pretty neat equipment

That a little out of most hobbyist's price point unfortionatly.

 

[taswas]

I jointly own a Gravograph Laser with my son. That has a 30w Air cooled tube. We just had it replaced at a tune of £3000 as it was leaking, meaning it was firing when not supposed to do so. Fortunately it was still under warranty so we escaped that cost.

I believe you can get glass water cooled tubes for about a tenth of the price. But it amazes me that a laser can be built for $150 that can cut through foam board. I generally use Depron for my models which is easier to cut than foam board. We generally use 80% power (24watts) to cut it but it is at a fairly fast feed. I guess using a very slow feed and maybe multiple passes is how a lower power system would cope.

 

[Corbarrad]

We generally use 80% power (24watts) to cut it but it is at a fairly fast feed. I guess using a very slow feed and maybe multiple passes is how a lower power system would cope.

My fear is that with a slower feed rate you will end up heating the surrounding material a lot more.
That could lead to a bigger cavity in the foam part of the DTFB, more fumes and a bigger risk of things catching on fire.

I could be totally wrong about this, of course, but it seems logical to me...