How To (And How Not To) Make A Cheap Laser Engraver
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- čas přidán 21. 11. 2015
- Continuing with our CD-Rom CNC machine series, this time we'll turn it into a laser engraver. I attempted to do this using a laser from one of the disk drives, but couldn't get it to work. Instead I used a $45 laser and it worked like a charm.
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/ tinkernut - Věda a technologie
Thank you for sharing your projects, Tinkernut!
You do SUCH A GREAT JOB at explaining these things so ANYONE can do it. THANK YOU
I won't ever do what you show in these videos, I hardly understand what you're talking about but I still watch them because I just love watching you make this kind of stuff!
Thanks for really pushing the limits of this project!!!
Thanks for making 3 different videos really appreciate
just made one it works great. Used parts around the house and saved 5000 dollars , Thanks.
I love your videos! I think i'm going to try this one!
last CNC machine video, I loved those videos :)
Awesome as always!!! Thanks!
And a 3D Scanner sounds like a great idea...
Really cool :) Love your videos!!
Thank you so much man!! You're the best!!
Great job sir!
i really like the way the schematic also could you cut through styrofoam to make a layers skulpture to then make a lost foam casting???
Thanks for doing this so I don't have to. All that work is frustrating and I've damaged a Blu-ray diode out of a broken PS3 before. I was going to try again but it looks like buying a laser is just easier. Keep up the great videos.
I love your homemade CNC machine *:D*
same.
can u make pcb milling machine next with the cnc machine?
Thx man, amazing video. what is the smallest line width that can be printed ? can you burn traces like 0.1 mm or somewhere in that area?
What about using linear stepper motors from old printers to make a larger CNC machine?
I like your projects and easy to follow videos. I am going to try your ideas. Have you tried using a floppy drive or a flat scanner, old inkjet printer?
Hi! Very nice project! I bought a similar laser module to yours. But now, I'm struggling on how to connect it to an relay and to arduino (I have CNC shield) without splitting the wires of the power plug. I'm a beginner in electronics, so I was wondering If you could help me by telling me which relay should I bought and how to make the connections.
How about a DIY Quantum Router? Using quantum entanglement, all we would need to do is have the router/s create entangled particle groups within itself and another quantum router. These entangled particle groups could be manipulated by the "host" router so the entangled particles in the destination router act accordingly and are decoded by said destination router. This would mean instantaneous internet connections due to the fact there isn't really any data being sent or received. Obviously there are a couple of issues, like it hasn't been invented yet. But at least that means there's no target Cost to beat. Also keeping the particles cold enough to get them to behave the way you want is a bit of a hurdle. My Father said if I annoy my girlfriend enough, the death stare I receive will be adequately cold. Unfortunately I am unable to confirm this as I can't get close enough to her with the thermometer while she's holding a bat.
The coding should be pretty simple. It's just a matter of being able to comprehend something that's incomprehensible.
good idea! "My Father said if I annoy my girlfriend enough, the death stare I receive will be adequately cold."
you are doing very good projects I have some problems I want some big cnc for pcb milling can you please make this
thanks for the video, I liked it
I liked your vid. I'm about to convert a 3D printer into a laser engraver. You answered a few questions for me. Thanks.
Btw, what is the presentation program you used. It made the video very entertaining.
Thanks!
Please tell me what should i do when i have two cd drives :)
And also can i make it from old printers or scanners
At 2:15 you have written "ave" instead of "have"
i just wanted to point that out but i see you already did that.
Nice worke, thx.!
Before I built my first 3D-Printer I thougt about making one out of CD-Drives, but I decidet to use old pirnter and scanner parts, so I liked this project very much! :)
I then printed a RepRap (wonderfull project!) 3D-Printer with my printer, this one is MUCH precicer!
At the end there was the question about making a CNC-mill and a laser cutter/engraver.
After tinkering around a lot I came to the same answer as you, lasercutter is not worth it, so I will bye my selfe a "Glowforge" somewhere in the future.
The CNC mill-project in progress.
So this was the perfect time to watch your videos and I am even more sure not to try building a lasercutter, I think it is faaaar too dangerous for what it is capable of!
Thanks a lot for your videos! :)
+Joe John (MrUnbekannt2) awesome story! thanks for the feedback!
Can this Cut Metallic plates?
very good video buddy
Could you use a telescope or microscope lenses as a focus lens cause I do have a few lying around and i do know the telescope lenses can use the sun to barely burn dry wood, dry leaves and paper
+Tinkernut Hey man I love your vids just wanted to say thanks and merry Christmas since it's around the holidays. Also, I'd love it if you'd make another Christmas light project as your last one was awesome and I use it every Christmas. Thanks dude!
I would appreciate to see good ideas for making a 3d axes with a bigger operating volume. thank you.
I was waiting for this video
Would adding galvos with this system make a faster 'marking' (not cutting) system?
Could you use scanner parts to make a CNC with a bigger workarea footprint?
On the stepper motor, how did you find out where the 4 solder points went to on the arduino stepper adapter.
Could you use this to engrave the top of a CD or DVD? Would it damage the playability of the disc?
Mate, I like your work and your inventiveness. But (and there's always a "but", isn't there?), as an old electronics technician of *many* years experience, may I offer a suggestion?
I note that when you solder wires to a terminal pad you appear to simply press the bared copper conductors against a solder pad, apply heat, and let nature take its course. If that is what you actually are doing, you are creating the conditions for future problems, by making what is variously described as a "cold" or "dry" solder joint. Dry joints are brittle and prone to mechanical failure, which is more likely in a machine with moving parts and moving wires, and they can sometimes be a bastard to find. Other times they are obvious because the wire just comes off the connection, but we want to spend time using the machine rather than debugging our construction methods, eh?
Best practice recommends that you also "tin" the wire you are going to use before you make the joint. To do this, hold the bare copper wire tip against the soldering iron bit and apply flux-cored solder until the copper strands are coated with solder. Then, when making the joint, hold the tinned wire (conductor) against the solder pad whilst simultaneously applying heat from the soldering iron bit. Solder from both "sources" should melt and mingle. Remove the iron while holding the wire still until the solder cools (seconds only) and you will have fail-safe joints.
And pre-tinned wires are easier to solder too.
If we want to cut more hard objects,, do we have add high specification laser ,,, if it is so , whether it will support for this project?
Would one of those lasers that you bought be strong enough to cut through the top layer of vinyl and not the support layer below?
So I have a large bed CNC router, 5ft x 10ft. I would like to find a way to add a cutting laser to it. Mounting the laser is not really the issue, its integrating the power and control for the laser with the power and control of the existing CNC, or at least the control of the gantry so the laser head can move and hopefully enable me to have a 4ftx8ft+ laser engraver/cutter
hi. i had 1 question
Can we make a wood engraving machine by using your way?
Thanks
Could I use this to engrave plastic soda bottle tops?
hmmm this has givn me an idea I got an anet v1 mainboard thats fine except for giving faulty heatbed readings, maybe I could use it for this
a laser engraver of that quality is about 70 dollars anyway, but still very cool. Awesome project!
Please tell me what should i do when i have two cd drives :)
can I used grbl shield to control stepper motors
Could this laser engrave powder coated aluminum?
could you make a 3d scanner with an arduino sonar modual?
+Yextus Yes you could, if you make a platform that can rotate and a Z-axis to move the laser up, but with a sonar you wan't get good quality, maybe use a IR distance censor or a laser distance sensor
+tech TV ow sorry i did'nt read your message right i tought you wan't to build one yourself, sorry
theoretically, yes, but there are far easier, more effective, and inexpensive ways to make a 3D scanner if that is what you want to do
Can this be used as Project for Mechanical Engineering?
I think I am going to make the CNC machine and have the 3-D print head and the laser cutter head interchangeable.
Sadly, still waiting on parts though cause I am getting a bunch of them for free. :) (Christmas gifts)
Will this work on metal, wood, and plastic too?
No
what wattage is that bought laser?
you should probably add a diode to the relay, so that it doesn't fry your arduino.
How did you attached the laser( the one u bought)?
i made it but it is not working, xloder says file uploade (26580 bytes uploaded) but Gbrl controller 3.5.1 says "No data from Com port after connect. Expecting gbrl version string > CTRL-X)
very cool video
Couldayou make hack old printer to 3d printer
Can it Cut Metallic sheets?
do you have anythign with magnets ?
If you let the engraver go over the design multiple times would it be able to cut through the metal?
what is the best way to use theese green lasers that you get from people in big cities selling them for 10 EUR
I Didnt Buy My Laser But I Used My Glasses Lens To Focus And It Worked Out Pretty Well
Can someone give link for where to buy the 405nm burning laser
Why you do not make driver with PWM (pulse width modulation)??
Can use SG3525, its more clever solution than LM317 which produce huge heat.
Nice video
Can it cut steel?..
can I use an engraver pen instead of a 3d pen or a laser?
Hi buddy!, could you show how are the procedures to geto the circuit drawing and how did you geti the Gcode to load into Arduino? I mean:
a) What schematics programa did you use?
b) What format did you save the final PCB format in?
c) What program did you use to vectorize the drawing and what to generate the gcode?
Have a nice week!
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Would it be possible to add one extra cd drive on each axis so that there would be 2 on each and six in total, which would make the print size a 9cm cube instead of a 4.5 cm cube? If its possible, would I need an additional 5v to power the extra 3 steppers and drivers, or would the one 5v line be enough. And also, could I connect both the steppers for each of the axis to the same stepper driver; so 3 drivers and 6 steppers (but with additional power supply), or add a driver for each axis plus a stepper, and connect it to the same ports on the arduino, or would it have to be different ports with a lengthier program.
Thanks in advance
ahhh just use 3 scaner or printers ....:)
+Budai Adi Sorry, I don't quite understand
+Adam Abdulla it well be simpler to tear apart 3 scaners that doing 6 cd readers and it well be much simpler:)
+Budai Adi but i need 6 platforms (2 for each axis), in order to square the print area (if using the extruder / 3d printer)... taking apart only 3 will only provid 4.5cm of movement on each axis.
I understand what your saying, but my question was if it would be possible to increase the print area using 6 instead of 3
+Adam Abdulla i think what he is trying to get is that you can increase the bed size simply by using scanners which have longer throws instead of using 6 cd drives.
Great vids! What study or degree do you have?
thx for this video
Can it cut the vinyls
i think you're confuse when explaining laser driver. yes, lm317 is a voltage regulator, but when putting reaistor between output and adjust pin, it can become constant current source....and for capasitor, it use to make the voltage "stable" with no spikes.... correct me if i'm wrong :)
Wouldn`t be easier to use an old printer/scanner and then add the laser. also is it possible to have both the 3rd print head/pen and the laser on the same machine??
:D
I'm making one. It's actually bigger than I thought it would be. I need to find another slide mechanism though
Use smooth rods, stepper motors and belts.
How about how to use the 3D engraver to make PCBs
+TGOTR hopefully i could have that in the next video ;-)
Murat coach hello I need information about the time of arrival and turkey production to the price I am interested in laser machines wonder Can you give us some information
what kind a motherboard is it
I would suspect that the laser diode in a DVD burner might have enough power to fry your retina, but barely what's needed to burn paper.
Can I have the reference of the laser you used to engrave paper ?
awesome!!!
I could totally make a program to do all those calculations for me instead of going through that long text editing process lol, but I can't, got no CD drives :(
+TechXSoftware When I have time, I was thinking of making one too. However, if you'd like to write a program, I'd be happy to give you sample code :-)
+Tinkernut If you mind sharing the code :)
Tinkernut Id help write it, but I can't until I finish this semester of UNI, I have a large intake of assignments atm.
Ok thanks :)
+TechXSoftware ebay?
Does anyone know if I can download an actual song and play it, using arduino or a bluetooth device?
how much mW has the blue laser
it would be nice if you could revisit the hotglue gun hot end for some od us who cant afford 3d pens
link to buy the laser?
Has anyone tried this using a classroom laser pointer as a case for the diode? or maybe even one of the keychain ones?
you deserve one Noble Prize
any guidance plzzzzz
I am really interested in seeing the Netflix Switch aka Netflix and Chill Button being made with Arduino. I have yet to find a video or proof anyone has made one as of yet.
can u give mi aurdino program link??
Can you make something Like this?
Every Electrical gadget will have a coded receiver.
Then your Watch will have a sender. So when you point your hand to any gadget it'll automatically detect it and you can turn on/off, +- speed/volume etc with one remote controller aka smartwatch.
This will replace swithboards etc.
+Zaber Ansary Extras very cool idea.
Tinkernut Ive been thinking about it for months now. The Idea is Like " One Ring (RC in this case) to Rule them (Gadgets) all." And Thanks for replying. Couldn't explain Well but You Got the Idea.
You probably should have used the LM317 as a constant-current driver, not as a voltage regulator.
drawer rails, used steppers from printers, some scrap wood, cheap china controllers + fake arduino. my build cost 40 bucks, the laser itsellf was 100 bucks (1.8W 445nm) accurate to 0.2mm, very fast movement speed and 30x30cm working area.. im planning to increase it to 100x100cm allready got the parts.. just 10 bucks more.
Coil gun or a rail gun for a future video?
how i connect the laser if im using arduino cnc shield ?
anyone can help?
there are 10 arduino shields or more..
check the manufacturer datasheet or schematics..
An attachment to 3D print with this gadget?
+TakeiT that was my last video...
what laptop is that
which laser diodes should I use to make it work?
+Midhun M.S 16x speed DVD burners or higher generally are the best for making burning lasers. The faster it goes, the higher power the laser diode is designed for, and the hotter it burns. Blu-Ray burners are even better, as they tend to be more powerful. It MUST be a writer though (whether DVD or Blu-Ray). Readers will not work.
+derstrom8 what's the maximum voltage that I can supply to a DVD writer diode?
You'll have to do your own research on that one. For general operation, laser diodes are current-driven devices, not voltage-driven. This means that the voltage is not very important provided the current is what it should be. That being said, if you exceed the breakdown voltage of the laser diode then you will damage it. All of them are different, so I can't really tell you. I would expect 5-6 volts should be good, provided you keep the correct current.
Can you send me links for buying an appropriate laser housing?
+Midhun M.S I've linked to it on the project page.