Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

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Mobius
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Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by Mobius »

Finally pulled the trigger and added a laser to my CNC. I'm loving it so far, and it's opened up a whole new realm of possibilities.

Just completed my first official job with it, using customer supplied driftwood. And of course V-Carve Pro was used to draw the vectors, and to generate the G-code using a modified PP.

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The top piece had some crazy undulations. The original plan was to pocket a flat spot first, but turns out I didn't need to.

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Had to hit up the YouTube University and learn how to tie eyelets in rope. 3 different 'firsts' in this project.
Connor Bredin
Distinctive Dimensional Concepts Ltd.
www.distinctive-concepts.ca

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scottp55
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by scottp55 »

Way to go Connor!! :D
LOVING the overall effect!!
Kudos!
scott
I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone,so you have to please yourself
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highpockets
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by highpockets »

WOW!

Great work. Really like the look of the finished project. Gives me some ideas for friends of mine that live in Kill Devil Hill.

Some day I'll be home long enough to install my laser.

Thanks for sharing Connor.
John
Maker of Chips

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Leo
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by Leo »

That is REALLY cool.

What a fantastic idea.
Imagine the Possibilities of a Creative mind, combined with the functionality of CNC

Mobius
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by Mobius »

Thanks for the positive comments guys. I had a blast making this one!
Connor Bredin
Distinctive Dimensional Concepts Ltd.
www.distinctive-concepts.ca

GEdward
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by GEdward »

Great job! Well executed. I have two questions. First, you mention that you didn't have to machine a flat area for the top piece so I have to wonder how much can you get away with within the focal range of the laser? It looks to me that you had at least .200" of deviation overall. And second, I assume this will be used outdoors so what will you use to preserve the finished product from the elements?

OK, three questions, what brand and power is you laser?

Mobius
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by Mobius »

GEdward wrote:Great job! Well executed. I have two questions. First, you mention that you didn't have to machine a flat area for the top piece so I have to wonder how much can you get away with within the focal range of the laser? It looks to me that you had at least .200" of deviation overall. And second, I assume this will be used outdoors so what will you use to preserve the finished product from the elements?

OK, three questions, what brand and power is you laser?
1. I have a 3 element lens in the laser, which has a long focal length and low divergence, at the expense of only being 70% efficient. It has a 0.1mm (0.004") focused point, which coupled with low divergence, meant that with the relatively large detail it was able to maintain enough focus to do the engraving without distorting the text/image.

It was actually over .5" of deviation. I set the zero in the middle of that, so it only had a .25" deviation in either Z direction.

2. The whole project was sprayed with several coats of General Finishes Exterior 450. You can see in the last picture it's glossier than the previous ones.

3. The laser is from Endurance lasers. It's their 10W laser (6W diode, overpowered to 10W with additional cooling). I've actually modified/customized it a bit to better suit my application and am running it at 12W. For this engraving it was running at 20% output @ 60 IPM.
Connor Bredin
Distinctive Dimensional Concepts Ltd.
www.distinctive-concepts.ca

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martin54
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Re: Got me a laser, anyone know where to buy sharks?

Post by martin54 »

What a fantastic piece of work, or should I say art? Thanks for sharing. :lol:

John +1 lol :lol: :lol:

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