Schlagwort: Laser Engraver

  • Improve laser engraving speeds with an Arduino-controlled turntable

    Improve laser engraving speeds with an Arduino-controlled turntable

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Engraving items with a laser-based system at home is amazingly convenient for one-off parts, but what happens when the production volume needs to increase? For element14 Presents host Clem Mayer, this usually meant preparing many uniform pieces of engraving stock, opening the laser’s enclosure, placing down the material, and then finally running the machine. In doing so, the process could introduce errors and was simply inefficient, leading Mayer to think of a way to automate things instead.

    The limiting factor was mostly about how long it took to change the material, so Mayer got to work designing a carousel-like device that could house up to four sheets of stock and rotate each one into place after the previous one had finished. A stepper motor driven by a Trinamic TMC2100 was responsible for moving the drum while an Arduino UNO Rev3 received inputs from external switches and then sent pulses to the motor driver accordingly.

    Once placed into the laser cutter’s enclosure, Mayer quickly discovered that his vertical drum design was too tall and interfered with the toolhead. This necessitated swapping the orientation to a flat disc where material could be positioned around a spinning turn table. The original spring-loaded clamps were also exchanged for a magnetic system that is strong yet easily removable.

    To see more about this project, you can watch Mayer’s build log video below!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOcddbsn_Ao?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post Improve laser engraving speeds with an Arduino-controlled turntable appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • Mokey is an affordable DIY laser engraver

    Mokey is an affordable DIY laser engraver

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    All makers love lasers and they make great shop tools. Even low-power lasers can engrave a variety of materials. Cutting material requires more power, with the most popular cutting lasers being CO2 with power between 10W-100W. But the small, affordable solid state laser modules can cut some materials, like acrylic, if you get a powerful enough model. If you want an affordable way to use one of those, then the Mokey Laser v1.0 is worth looking at.

    Lasers like these can engrave and cut material, which means they can absolutely hurt you — your eyes are especially vulnerable. If you’re going to build something like this, make sure you understand how to operate it safely. It isn’t shown in the video, but you should absolutely use some kind of shielded enclosure that can handle the wavelength and power of the laser you use. Even with such an enclosure, you should wear the appropriate safety goggles.

    This design cuts costs by utilizing 3D printer-style parts and by omitting the optics that are necessary for CO2 lasers. Because solid state laser modules are so compact, it is practical to move them on a gantry in the same way as a 3D-printer’s extruder instead of redirecting the laser beam with mirrors and lenses.

    The structure of the Mokey Laser v1.0 is 8020 aluminum extrusion, which also acts as rails for the V-roller wheels on which the gantry rides. Most of the other parts are 3D-printed, with standard stepper motors and GT2 belts providing motion. An Arduino Uno board controls those stepper motors through a CNC Shield V3 with A4988 drivers. If you build this, you’ll have many software options. As shown, it runs GRBL 1.1 and that is compatible with almost every open source g-code sender out there, including some that are add-ons for Inkscape so you can control the laser from the same software you use to create toolpaths.

    The total build cost with the bill-of-materials presented is $402.61, which makes this quite affordable for the size and capability.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrmquzFItJM?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
    Boards:Uno
    Categories:Arduino

    Website: LINK

  • Pen plotter? Laser engraver? This DIY machine gives you both!

    Pen plotter? Laser engraver? This DIY machine gives you both!

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Pen plotter? Laser engraver? This DIY machine gives you both!

    Arduino TeamOctober 30th, 2019

    If you find yourself debating between a pen plotter or laser engraver, this project by Patrick Panikulam lets you have the best of both worlds in style. The DIY device pulls a writing instrument in the X-axis using a belt-driven overhead system, while the base itself moves in the Y direction.

    Motion is handled by an Arduino Uno, along with a CNC shield and two A4988 drivers that actuate modified 28BYJ-48 steppers. The shield also outputs laser control signals, which are converted into PWM signals for the lifting servo when in pen mode. 

    It’s an extremely clean build, and even features a Bluetooth module for wireless communication with your computer. Panikulam provides more details here if you’d like to create your own!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoUSUZkdm_A?feature=oembed&w=500&h=375]

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Q2u5dZU74?feature=oembed&w=500&h=375]

    A couple of months back while checking out a few laser engravers on aliexpress, I came across some USB powered laser engravers. It was awesome that these could engrave on a variety of materials and also cut out shapes and designs from sticker sheets and paper and doing all this powered by a 5V USB supply. But the downside of these engravers was that they had a small work area, in most cases just 40mm X 40mm which is definitely way too small for my needs.

    So I thought why not design and 3D print my own laser engraver from scratch. I started the designing process in Fusion 360 while keeping in mind all the 3D printing tolerances. And finally came up with something really cool. Along the way, I decided to make the laser holder modular so that I can easily replace the laser with a pen or marker for pen plotting. I also added a Bluetooth connectivity feature so that wired connection between your PC and the engraver can be eliminated while transmitting G-codes.

    Website: LINK