Laser printing for under $110.00

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argreen
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Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by argreen »

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This presumes you already have a cnc machine running a router/spindle. I wanted to try printing with a laser without costing a fortune and also wanted to work with Aspire and my small cnc machine. I bought almost everything from EBay (China), the most expensive thing was the 3 watt laser @ $82.00 (I could have achieved the same results with 2 watts). The concept is simple – I replaced the usual electronic trigger used for lasers with a mechanical one using the downward motion of the Z axis. This requires a support for the switch attached to the Z carriage but does not move with the Z axis. My mounting for the switch is clamped so that it’s a very adjustable. The laser is also clamped so that once the setup is working you can raise and lower the laser for different thicknesses of wood. I have a 12 volt light (O’Reilly’s auto) which is parallel to the laser circuit so I could tune the system with the laser off. That’s all there is to it. Hopefully the pictures explain the setup.
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robertf
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by robertf »

I read your article, and ordered one of those lasers . The one I got coming is 2.5 watt. Can you tell me how close to adjust the laser to the wood or metal
that you want to etch ? What is in the box with the light bulb -- the power supply? Like to hear any other info you might have on the project Thanks !!

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TReischl
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by TReischl »

If you have a relay to turn the router spindle on/off you can also use that to control the laser.

That is what I am doing on mine. There is no "warm up" for these lasers so it works. I modified a post so that there is no z movement. That way I can set the height and away we go!
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

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FixitMike
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by FixitMike »

I see a problem with using the spindle ON-OFF control for the laser. The spindle is not turned off when it is raised to moved from one cut vector to another.
Good judgement comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgement.

robertf
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by robertf »

What tool path Machining type ( v-carve, pocket, ?? ) would be best to use to do the laser thing with Aspire 9.

I'm still wondering what to do about turning the laser on and off, what height to set it at,

and other questions. YouTube has some info but not enough !!

Any ideas where to get more info ??

jhowelb
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by jhowelb »

Good info on lasers is even harder to find. Without singing any praises (have not use their product) you might try looking here for info to turn laser on with TTL or PWM and use a post to write Aspire files converting Z movements to spindle on and off.
https://jtechphotonics.com/?page_id=1436

robertf
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by robertf »

THANK YOU VERY MUCH,

Found all info I needed. Thanks again

PaulRowntree
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by PaulRowntree »

What wavelengths do people buy for these lasers? I see 405 nm..., 450 nm ...
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robertf
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by robertf »

I have a 450 nm @ 2.5 watt coming, its a blue laser.
The previous post listed this web site (https://jtechphotonics.com/?page_id=1436 ),
I found all kinds of good info there.
It has info on using Vcarve , Aspire, and all kinds of machines.
just keep clicking around and book marking .

jhowelb
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by jhowelb »

robertf wrote:What tool path Machining type ( v-carve, pocket, ?? ) would be best to use to do the laser thing with Aspire 9.

I'm still wondering what to do about turning the laser on and off, what height to set it at,

and other questions. YouTube has some info but not enough !!

Any ideas where to get more info ??
Set the z height to focal length and leave it there. z- will turn laser on, z+ will turn it off, all handled by the post processor.
Tool speed will determine depth of cut (darker/lighter).
All this with TTL control, with PWM one can process photos.
Maybe one could use photoVcarve to this end!

robertf
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by robertf »

Hi
Thanks for the info, I found a lot of info and even post processor for Aspire etc. also info to set up Mach 3,
I went ahead and purchased a constant current driver board to run the laser with. It has a slow start built
in do as to protect the laser diode. the info etc is on the web site mentioned above. Now if these people
would only ship the parts.

GeneMpls
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Re: Laser printing for under $110.00

Post by GeneMpls »

Absence is spelled wrong- sorry, 20+ years in a sign shop proofing signs. :roll:

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