Saturday 16 November 2013

Laser Cutter Build

Early days, but I'm currently spending a LOT of hours on a laser cutter build - heavily inspired by BuildLog 2.x and Lasersaur.  All of the design is in OpenSCAD, building on the excellent work by nophead on the Mendel90 - many of the vitamins are reused, with new vitamin libraries for:
  • Aluminium Extrusions (Bosch Rexroth 20x20 profiles) and fittings (e.g. gussets)
  • Openrail, and associated plates, V-groove wheels, etc
  • Laser Optics (tube, mirrors, laser head)
The project is on github:

Clone the repository and open axCut.scad in the latest version of OpenSCAD to view the WIP design.

Here's some of the latest images:




The first real parts arrived this week - a 40W laser tube, power supply and optics set from China.  Will be testing this over the next week or two, once I've sorted out a water cooling arrangement.

Full BOM is on Google Drive and will be published once finalised.  Will also publish to thingiverse once the machine is built/tested.

My particular requirements list:
  • 40W CO2 laser (with space to upgrade to at least 80W - i.e accommodate a 1000mm tube with water cooling)
  • Bed size to accommodate A1 stock - design files use 850mm x 600mm with 30mm margin all round
  • Fully enclosed
  • Allow for pass-through (i.e. very long items)
  • Allow for high/tall items and "autofocus" via motorised bed (150+mm travel)
  • Have unobscured front access for loading/unloading parts
  • Bench-top design (may integrate a bench at a later date)
  • Side connections for extraction and cabling (i.e. power, usb)
  • Investigate using reprap s/w stack vs Mach3 - I'd really like to leverage as much as possible from the reprap community (e.g. modified sprinter firmware)
  • Budget target of £1500 (max £2000)

7 comments:

  1. I would like to recommended your article. You can also refer to us laser cutting job work see this for more information.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, I'd be glad of the recommendation, and I guess your post serves as a referal

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are looking few tips off car accessories & got some useful tips from this post.Thanks for sharing for car wheels lock.

    caster pads & cart casters

    ReplyDelete
  4. Do you know which set of optics you bought for this laser? I'm hoping to use your STL files, and I would like to buy the same laser nozzle and mirror holders if they're still available.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is my first visit to your blog, and I am very impressed with the articles that you serve. Give adequate knowledge for me. Thank you for sharing useful material. I will be back for the more great post. https://dxtech.com/laser-engraver-for-metal/

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wanted to thank you for this excellent read!! I definitely loved every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked your site to check out the new stuff you post. DXTECH

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing this blog Very useful Post. Master the art of public speaking and Soft Skills Training effective and engaging communication today. Public Speaking Kuala Lumpur

    ReplyDelete