$150 Laser Cutter

[Peterthinks]

Spread the smooth rods out to the sides of the glass and move the cross braces to the end and you could use a design like monkey crap fight for your laser. Just put a layer of sand over the base so the laser doesn't burn it. Scales up well too. I could make it the size of a whole foam sheet very easily. I got rid of about 400 parts by getting rid of the belt tensioners, pulleys and frame. Very precise too. Good to 0.01mm. The first version cost me maybe $50 for the frame? the print head and extruder were the main cost. The entire machine has about 120 parts if you count every screw nut and washer. The belt is glued to the edge of the Y platform and the X beam so it's very simple. The plastic one I printed doesn't have the right bit of glass yet so that's why you can't see the belt for Y in the picture. Almost done. That's 200 pound Kevlar string bracing the wood one. Not installed on the plastic one yet.

 

[Nathan_116]

Banggood sells a "desktop" laser engraver for ~$350 rye. It uses a 1.5W blue laser, which I'm sure you could buy separately, and they claim if can cut through foam and paper, though it can only engrave into wood so making firewalls a control horns, etc, would probably not happen.

Just my 2 cents as I have no clue on any of this. I would much rather build a cnc mill capable of cutting foam for $150 than a laser cutter as it is more versatile in what you can cut and a cheap dremel tool is like $25 from harbor freight.

 

[paulshort]

Any updates?

 

[Tritium]

Banggood sells a "desktop" laser engraver for ~$350 rye. It uses a 1.5W blue laser, which I'm sure you could buy separately, and they claim if can cut through foam and paper, though it can only engrave into wood so making firewalls a control horns, etc, would probably not happen.

Just my 2 cents as I have no clue on any of this. I would much rather build a cnc mill capable of cutting foam for $150 than a laser cutter as it is more versatile in what you can cut and a cheap dremel tool is like $25 from harbor freight.

I have their 1.6W 455nm laser. It will not cut white foam. It will cut blue core in several passes but the quality of cut is not good.

Thurmond

 

[smithhayward]

Also interested to see where this went, drag knife, laser cutter, routing tool?

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

Also interested to see where this went, drag knife, laser cutter, routing tool?

Man, I haven't gotten a whole lot done. I have an idea of what needs done, but there isn't enough time in the day. Being a full time student and working 32 hours a week on top of that doesn't leave me with enough energy to work on all of my projects

Still planning on using drag knife, might end up buying a 40W laser tube eventually once I know the system works.

 

[willsonman]

 

[jamboree1]

That guy is the king of hack

 

[ScottyWarpNine]

A few years ago I started building a CNC router made of MDF, but I never finished it. Eventually, I cannibalized the parts and MDF into other things and that was the end of that. The problem is that even though the design I was using was far more rigid and "Precise" than the machine wilsonman linked to, I didn't feel that it would be at all reliable or accurate.

Frankly, I'm shocked that machine works as well as it does, and it instills a bit more confidence in my current plan

 

[juanquy]

https://goo.gl/photos/Pe82KTtsGaXnAHs36

Shapeoko 2 With a rotary tool, the bit is a dremel 113 (3/32).
JC

 

[Bricks]

Instead of a Lazer he used a Needle set up run by a brushless motor and getting good results, towards the end of the thread.. I have attached a link below this cures trying to use a lazer and keeps cost way low.

http://www.rcpowers.com/community/threads/mostly-printed-cnc-and-cutting-foam.18808/.

 

[Tritium]

I have seen foam planes cut out by a standard sewing machine. Manual process of course. I think it might be somewhere on this forum.

Just downloaded those .stl files. I am building this attachment tomorrow (with a brushless motor & Servo Tester as a Speed controller)!:applause:

Thurmond

 

[RAM]

Thanks for the link Bricks, I've been waiting for someone to adapt the sewing machine method to cnc.

just adding the video of it in action.