Geoff Gardiner Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I am currently building myself a CNC/Laser Cutter combined. It is made from parts that I printed on my 3d printer. The other bits were sourced cheaply form eBay, Bangood and AliExpress. It is based around an Arduino processor and controlled from my Mac. Here are some pics of the build so far: As you can see, in CNC mode it uses my Dremel to cut. The last picture shows me cutting some control horns for my Harvard build. I will post the video shortly. I am currently designing the holder for the 5w laser module that I have. I also plan to build in some form of air assist. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 Here is the video: I forgot to mention that the size is 1000mm x 500mm. More later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuphedd Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Interesting ! any idea of the ball park total cost less the Dremel?? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Impressive stuff Geoff - Respect! Have you designed it yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 I would think it's cost me about £250 ish including the 5w laser module (which was about £70). The advantage over a pre-built or kit laser 'engraver' is that it is bigger, has a more powerful laser and has Z-axis control so can also be used as a CNC cutter. It is adapted from a design that I found on Thingiverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Well impressed, first class example of ingenuity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBERT BURLACE Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Nice one Geoff. It shouldn’t be an issue with screw drive steppers, and your corners look pretty solid, but might be worth considering that some flexing of the frame may take place with the cnc router. I have seen some people do similar with belt drive and it hasn’t worked brilliantly- the bit wonders quite a lot resulting in wobbly straights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFlynn Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 SNAP!! thingverse cnc router These things are addictive....MostlyPrintedCNC and another. This one is for pcbs All three are made from adapted files freely available off t'internet. The green one (MPCNC) is a real beast with an 500 watt spindle. The first item produced from the thingverse cnc router also made a laser cnc which I used to engrave and cut facias for my flight sim home cockpit and this from a photo I agree with Robert....you may run into problems with the unsupported length of your x axis - especially when routing with a spindle In fact, after watching the router cutting out the f/g horn you can see the cutter flexing as it cuts, it probably wont matter for the horns but it might matter for larger items. That is the trade off when making the axes' longer.... Edited By FlyinFlynn on 28/09/2019 13:31:14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFlynn Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 mmmmmm....I see that there is a drag knife to fit the mpcnc.....could be easily adapted to any other cnc router too. i might just have to splash out!! https://shop.v1engineering.com/collections/parts/products/drag-knife-vinyl-cutter Edited By FlyinFlynn on 28/09/2019 13:41:32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 I have now fitted the laser to my CNC machine. Works a treat - just need to tidy up the cabling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted November 5, 2019 Author Share Posted November 5, 2019 In Action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian garnham Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Geoff I am seriously thinking of building a laser cutter along similar lines to yours. Just a couple of questions before I get too excited by the prospect: 1. Do you need programming knowledge or does the software do it all ? 2. Are you using Nema 17 steppers or something larger ? 3. Do you think this laser would cut 3mm birch ply **LINK** ? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Hi Adrian. In answer to your questions: 1. No real programming knowledge needed however, there is lots of info on the web about G Code should you wish to find something out. I use Inkscape for creating designs and producing the G Code and CNCjs for controlling the cutter. Both are free to download. I have gone into a bit more detail about using these on my Oodalally build here. 2.Yes - Nema 17's. 3. That looks like the same laser I use and I have cut 3mm Birch Ply. The beauty of this design is that you can cut much thicker ply by swapping the laser for a dremel. Hope that has made your mind up for you and if you get stuck with anything, I would be happy to help out if I can. Geoff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian garnham Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 thanks for the detailed reply. That's made my mind up .... definitely going to go for it. I've had a go at Inkscape and it's very similar to the CAD package I used at work before I retired (Creo by PTC) so quite easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFlynn Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 There are better value laser modules out there this 6W laser is $42.36 delivered. you feed it with 12 volts and a 3v3 PWM signal. there is also a temperature output but i didn't use it. It has its regulator built inside so doesn't need the huge external PSU/step down regulator. As the output from your controller board PWM will be 0-5v (assuming it is arduino based) I suggest using a level converter like this one to drop it to 0 - 3v3. If anybody is interested in building a simple cantilevered laser engraver/cutter I can supply a set of stl's. It requires just two steppers, eight 3d printed parts, a simple two axis controller and two extruded ali shafts (one 20x20 and one 40x20)of whatever length you want to make it (within reason!) (While under construction) Edited By FlyinFlynn on 23/11/2019 13:20:48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Henderson 1 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Hi Geoff Do you have a full list of bits used and what files you downloaded for printing? Also what mods did you do on the design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 Hi Joshua. My one was based on this. I Just increased the length of the extrusion, rod and lead screws. I designed an adapter for mounting the laser unit, which I can let you have if required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian garnham Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Hi Geoff I'm having trouble finding 12mm rod and lead screws in 1000 mm lengths. Where did you get yours from? I'm assuming china but didn't really want to wait too long for delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 Hi Adrian. The lead screws where from either Banggood or Aliexpress - can't remember which. The rod was from ebay - this one I think. Hope that helps. Geoff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian garnham Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Geoff thank you. I wasn't sure if the tolerance of the shaft would be good enough for the bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian garnham Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hi Geoff I purchased the same 5W laser module as yourself. I have tested it by manually switching from full power to setup mode and all seems ok. Can I ask how you connected it to your CNC shield etc ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Gardiner Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 Hi Adrian. I have the pwm/ttl from the laser connected to z+ (end stop) on the cnc shield. Power for the laser is taken from the cnc shield. I initially used the psu that came with the laser but this didn't work because both laser and shield need to share the same ground, and I found that the laser would just stay on. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian garnham Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 thanks Geoff I'll give that a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Germany Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Hi Geoff, I have just finished my Dremel CNC from the Nikodem Bartnik design, I'm using Fusion 360 for CAD/CAM and Cncjs as the interface. Currently just messing around using a Dremel 3mm routing bit. Have you tried vinyl cutting yet, I've purchased a Chinese drag knife but need to make an adaptor to suit, I'm also interested in fitting a laser module and wondered what the capacity of these small units was in the real world, mainly in balsa and lite-ply / laser-ply. Any info from anyone would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFlynn Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 My 2p's worth..... That depends mainly on the power of the laser. For a 3.5 Watt laser you should expect a cut of around 1mm per pass in soft/medium balsa, with a maximum total cut of around 6 mm, after that the cut gets too charred and V'd. With hard balsa the cut will be much less and with ply almost non-existent. Your best option with ply will be to use the laser to accurately mark the wood for cutting out on a bandsaw. (Or use your dremel router) A 5 Watt laser will do marginally better, but not in proportion to the cost of the laser module and a 15 Watt LED laser just isn't 15 Watts!..they are using the input power as the rating, not the output power. For something with a bit more power you will be looking at a CO2 laser A 40 Watt CO2 laser will happily cut 6mm ply all day long. I would have thought you could also use a 3.5 Watt laser to cut vinyl. I have successfully cut out solarfilm without welding the backing sheet to the film Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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