Top 3 Questions about building a DIY Fiber Laser Cutter
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
- If you want to build your own fiber laser cutter, join our Patreon group: / diyfiberlaser
* UPDATE MAY 2024: I have an updated, better, and cheaper design... also check out this video series: • DIY Fiber Laser Cutter... *
Since putting out my video series on building a DIY fiber laser cutter, I’ve received an overwhelming number of questions about the project. So today I try to answer the top 3 questions that I get:
1. Should I get a manual focus or auto-focus fiber laser cutting head?
2. Where should I order fiber laser components from?
3. Can I upgrade my CNC router or plasma cutter to use a fiber laser and still use the original controller?
--------------------------
Buy fiber laser components, complete machines, fiber laser repair and retrofitting services at
Sky Fire
www.alleriastore.com
For a 5% discount on laser components use the code: “FROMTRAVIS”
(this discount applies to all products except for the laser machines)
--------------------------
My website: www.id3ntitycrisis.com
My design portfolio: www.id3ntitycrisis.com/portfolio
Just borrowing Travis's CZcams comment section here, hope you don't mind, Travis:). Feel free to chat about any questions you might have here!
Thanks, will do.
I’ve been poking around the site and emailed Friday about a BOM for everything needed. I already have a motion system. Would really like to see what the CAT connection method is all about. Let me know asap on what the shipping list would look like!
Is it possible to add a rotary for cutting complex angles on tube steel?
Could you tell me what are the import duties for USA?
Finally a reliable source for laser cutter components.
Your timing on this post couldn't be better. My business partner and I have decided to purchase something in the 2KW range. Thanks for all the insights.
You contacted sergoman designs in Masso. Just sent reply.
Firstly I commend you for what you have achieved.
I'm the guy (Lilow) on the Masso forum, under machine conversions, Fibre Laser.
This page on the Masso forum has been viewed over 10K times.
You also mention Tamar Bar, have had contact with him also.
Cheers, keep up the great work.
Lilow.
Thanks for commenting! That forum thread is epic...there is apparently a lot of interest in the topic! Have you been able to get it working with your height control solution? I'm excited to see it in action.
@@diyfiberlaser Travis, yes I did get the height control operational.
It all started in 2020 during the Covid lock-down's working with a module I use for Plasma and 3D CNC Tig welding.
This was able to read the capacitive voltage, working to a height of 0.1mm @ 18M/min.
Cheers.
@@ianeliason8890 Nice! that's certainly a usable speed
@@diyfiberlaser it would interesting to know how I could make contact with yourself.
@@ianeliason8890 I sent you a message on the Masso forum
Great video!
My decision to go with centroid acorn was because couple of reasons:
1. I already had the acorn board because my machine previously was a plasma cnc.
2. I wanted to cut square tube and also sheets. The other options for that are the fscut3000s and weihong controllers and both of them are 4000USD + .
regarding how to controll the laser with a non dedicated fiber laser controller.
I mad a lot of changes to my acorn board, such as - custom M codes and custom pierce cycles and stages.
The only obstacles that I couldn't figure is a way to controll the frequency.
pierce and cut requires different settings... and also the different focus as Travis said and my head is a manual focus head so..
Those things only matters with cutting thicker sheets.
For example my laser source is a 2kw raycus, from my experience up to 8mm carbon steel cutting great. Above 8mm different frequency and different focus is a must for the pierce.
I will not recommend to do what ive done because its a lot of hussle and the more suitable and better option is to choose a dedicated fiber laser controller if cost is not a concern.
For those who are interested i know that centroid are currently working on a fiber laser controller.
Travis why are you building another fiber laser machine?
Thanks for sharing more about info your project! That makes sense...I've seen the dual purpose controllers are quite a bit more expensive! Even though the hassle, it's cool to see that you've been able to make it work with the Acorn...I especially like seeing your tube cutter in action! What controller are you planning on using for your new machine design? I'm building another one simply because I'm a designer at heart...after using my machine for a year I felt I could make a better design that would be simpler for anyone to replicate, cheaper to build, and I would better document the process to share this time.
@diyfiberlaser got you man I'm like you haha.
On my new build I will probably use the same acorn board at the beginning and will change to Fscut3000s along the way because it's the most recommended controller for integrated machine, and I could find alot of information about it.
On my current machine I used hybrid servo motors(close loop steppers) and for my new build I bought new 1kw servo motors, so not replacing the controller for now is a cost decision because all the new servos and planetary reducers cost quite alot.
I have 7 motors on my machine so..
1. Z axis
2. X axis
3. Y1 axis
4. Y2 axis
5. Y3 axis
6. B1 axis (back rotary)
7. B2 axis (front rotary)
@@TAMARbarCNC That sounds like a good plan...I would try out the Fscut3000s as well if I could, but I don't think my small workshop could accommodate an integrated machine large enough to make the tube cutting portion long enough to be worthwhile...so I will have to stick to small machines for now. I look forward to watching your videos on the build!
@@diyfiberlaser I was looking on raytools website and they offer a AX3000T control similar to the XC3000 but with tube cutting. I can't find anyone selling it so maybe too new but It might be priced way better than the Fscut300s looking at the price of the XC3000. I'd like to go tube on my laser as well for small tubes for in house products so I could get away with a small rotary on top of the table not like @TAMARbarCNC that's on the side.
If we buy laser components this year - for sure we will try and support you with this!
YOU'RE A LEGEND MAN! I watched all your DIY laser videos last night in a row until 4am, got up at 9am, and plasma cut all day at my brother's shop and talked about your videos all day to him. When I got home, I saw you dropped this video which answered some of the questions we had! 🤣
I just got done building a Golf Cart from frame up, and now you have inspired me to want to build a DIY Laser. I'm not even done editing the videos I have right now. 🤦♂
Seriously, this is awesome and I just joined your Patreon in hopes to help you become a full time YT'er! 🤙
I'm glad you enjoy the videos...and your support is much appreciated!!! : )
Another good video Travis, one day I might covert my plasma.👍
Great info.
Nice! Can't wait for the new machine. I was looking at Sky fire before but was skeptical because their prices were so much better than others. I'm planning on build a 3kw 5x5 table. I did a DIY plasma table 15 years ago and it's time for a laser.
I will admit, I was also a little skeptical at first. But given that I was already able to find other companies selling the same products, not AS low, but in the same ball-park of pricing, I decided to take the risk and try them out. And from my experience so far, I have no reason to believe they aren't totally legit. Good luck with your laser build!
Something I recently realized is that quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) fiber lasers would work with a DIY fiber laser setup. There are some advantages and disadvantages to a QCW laser over the traditional CW laser that Travis is using here:
Advantages:
1) The 150/1500 and 300/3000 QCW fiber lasers are air cooled, so no need for a water chiller for the laser source itself. Still need a small water circulation pump for the laser head and laser source head though, but that could be a simple low cost 120V water pump in a bucket as the amount of heat is very little (only cooling the optics).
2) Extremely high pulse power means that the QCW pulses can piece through thick material with each pulse (but see disadvantages below).
3) Low average wattage requirements. The 150/1500 and 300/3000 QCW lasers run on 48V from a 48V power supply, and that supply can be generated from a 120V socket, bypassing the need for 220/240V power in the garage.
4) A whole system can be run off only 120V breakers. 2x 15amps of 120V (Max of ~3600 watts) allows you to run the laser source, water chiller for the laser head, small silent air compressor with air dryer system, and the CNC machine (Set up on the QueenAnt Pro V2 mechanical kit).
5) Pulsed laser gives more flexibility in what you can do, including doing engravings instead of just cutting.
Disadvantages:
1) QCW laser sources are more expensive than CW laser sources like the Max 1000W shown here. Looking at at least 6K for a 150/1500 QCW laser source alone (12K for the 300/3000).
2) Low average power means that while the pulses can piece thick material the cutting speed is much slower.
Thanks for sharing! I was unaware and now I'm intrigued...you've forced my hand, now I've got to drop everything and spend the next several evenings researching the subject : )
@@diyfiberlaser I'm in contact with a manufacturer of laser machines and they will be testing to see if 150/1500 and 300/3000 QCW can reliably cut 3mm aluminum (my intended application) with very slow cutting speeds. Will update when I hear back from them on their tests.
@@mbanb6775 Awesome, I was reading about them and it sounds interesting for some applications. I'll be looking forward to hearing what you find out!
@@diyfiberlaser Video posted: czcams.com/video/RHO5-I9rREM/video.html
@@mbanb6775 So it looks very possible...especially with the 300/3000! The 150/1500 results looked a little rough. Thanks, I really appreciate you sharing!
Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER) 😮
Thank you man. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks for the GREAT content! How about adding a 4th axis? Will your new controller support that? Does the software for the chinese control support that?
I'm not going to add a 4th axis to this one...I was thinking instead maybe trying to make a stand-alone tube cutting machine in the future. The Raytools XC3000S controller I purchased does't support it, but I believe their AX3000T & AX4000 controllers do.
Shop Tour Video?
We want to set up a 25mm mild steel laser cutter in India, but we have no knowledge regarding laser, would you be willing to assist in selecting us choose the supplier and selecting the model.
Was the US tariff 25% on SkyFire products? Did you use an importer or just get dinged by Fedex/DHL etc? Thanks again for your information and inspiration.
I used FedEx and I just got the duty bill yesterday...it was $360...about 19%
@@diyfiberlaser That's good, tariffs are hit and miss. I got dinged on a pick and place machine a few years ago, ouch! Thanks for the fast reply.
In your previous build you had a 3d tube cutting problem. It wasn't as easy as it's supposed to be. Will your new build solve that issue
It wasn't that it was really a problem, it was just I was trying to use the controller in a way it wasn't designed for. I am not including tube cutting functionality on my upcoming machine. I was thinking instead, I might try to make a stand-alone tube cutting machine design down the road.
That raytools controller is less than half the price compared to the same controller on cloudray. Is their something missing from the skyfire offering. It's not possible to have such a huge price gap between skyfire and cloudray.
That is my point exactly...you don't have to overpay! Thats why I am thrilled to be able to share info to the community about Sky Fire. As I said in the video, I've purchased a controller and chiller from them at their advertised prices, received the products, and couldn't be happier.
Great info!! Thank you! I'm in the market and should be purchasing from SkyFire very soon (I'll get you a commission!) :) I noticed you went with the max cw laser this time as opposed to Raycus. I've read the JPT laser sources are supposed to be decent as well? Curious led you to go with the Max CW.
I mostly just wanted to try out a different brand so I could compare it to the Raycus, it's a little cheaper also
One more question. Will the XC3000/s support anti collision? I saw where it looked like it could be done with the xc1000, so maybe yes?
@@nerdulator5000 I have the user manual, but oddly enough, it doesn't really list it's features, just technical data. I would assume that if the nozzle makes contact it will throw an error...even the Ruida controller had this feature that you could turn on or off.
@@diyfiberlaser I heard back from Raytools and they mentioned that it does have the anticollision feature and that the BS04K ethercat smart cutting head will match with the XC3000/s. The ability for the cutting head to dodge the parts as they pop up is a nice feature to eliminate head strikes. I'll be interested to see how you like the xc3000/s. Definitely priced better than the fscut.
@@nerdulator5000 Oh nice! I'll certainly share my feedback after using the controller. I would like to try a fscut controller next. Since I'm doing the DIY thing, it made since to try out the cheapest options first.
Is it possible to buy a 3-in-1 laser welding machine with cutting function to replace the laser source, chiller and head?
Here in Brazil, it is extremely cheaper to have a complete welding machine instead of individual parts.
From what I've seen, the 3-in-1 machines cutting application doesn't have a small precise beam like the CNC cutting heads. If you were to break it apart for the components to put on a CNC machine, you would still want to get an actual CNC cutting head for the capacitive sensing height control, a different controller, and a different chiller (those don't actually chill the laser head line, just room temperature circulation), so maybe you could use just the laser source.
I’m anxious to see what the total cost will be for this second build. Though I’m sure still has a decent cost, I’m guessing it will come in significantly lower than your first build. I still am shocked by the controller for under $500!
Spoiler alert, around $10k...sorry if I've ruined the video for you
😂😂😂 - not at all! That’s a 20%+ saving over your first version! That a huge win - and it’s only going to get better with time!
So what you are saying is that i must now build a diy fiber machine.... damn i guess if i am forced to i will
Awesome ! It’s the BOM ready ?
The previous bom was behind a paywall. This might be as well.
@@Z-addno problem
I'm not going to release the BOM until I can verify that my new design works well, so hopefully it will be ready in a couple months along with the design files.
@@Z-add Yes, it will be on my Patreon page again. Hopefully it makes since that while I'm trying to share all I can, I still need to try to earn a living in order to be able to make these videos. I feel that the $14 I ask for Patreon support, is a relatively small fee in exchange for the amount of information and support value I give to the community.
@@diyfiberlaser it will work :) if it doesn’t work you will find a way to make it work ! I have faith in you :)
For the build please explain the reasoning behind the purchase
I'm going to try to go into much more detail in the upcoming build series, so hopefully it will be much easier for anyone wanting to replicate or build something similar
How about titanium?
I'm trying to purchase some parts from this site, and have both made an account and put some parts in my cart and contacted them directly with some parts questions. For the final purchase, they keep asking me to sidestep the secured shopping interface and payment system and just pay they directly via paypal. This feels kinda sketchy.
I placed my order over email and paid via PayPal. I thought PayPal was a fairly safe way to pay because of their buyer protection program? Whenever I bought laser components from Aliexpress, they also did a goofy thing where I ended up actually paying them over at Alibaba.com instead. I will email them and ask why they do it this way.
Here's the response I received...were you in contact with their salesperson Eva? She mentioned our recent mix-up-sorry about that! We had to create an offline PayPal link because the "MFPN-20M Max laser source" you're looking to buy isn't available on our official site yet, which means you can't purchase it directly online. If it makes you feel more comfortable, we can list the MFPN-20M on our site so you can buy it directly there. Sorry for any inconvenience! Feel free to shop with confidence, and if you have any issues with your order, just reach out to our sales team at sales1@sflaser.net.
Hey, i got a tip for a new video, How about a gem titled 'Why You Should Let Your Husband Build a Laser in the basement'?
Haha!...and you want me to time the release when there is high probability your wife is watching CZcams!
If you do want to do mods/ self build. Understand the cost of downtime, add it to the amount you think you'll save.
Why are you desperately trying to get me to build a fiber laser in the garage? 🥲
Sorry : ) no pressure...
@@diyfiberlaser 😂😂😂😂
Yes!!! I smell a conspiracy!!😅
He keeps bullying me too. I don’t know how much abuse I can take before I give in and build a laser in my garage. 😅