Overall for metals you'd want a Q-switched laser as you need very high power density, instead of trying to give this power all the time, you can use lower average power but in pulses so it has a lot of energy in short amount of time so heat doesn't have time to get transferred to the rest of the metal
The part you mentioned about minimum operating wattage for CO2 laser wasn’t something I had heard yet in other comparison videos. The speed of a CO2 laser was starting to make me consider going for that despite the drawback of being much bigger and less mobile until you mentioned how it might over engrave in some situations and I’m mostly looking to do engraving at this time. Thank you for the entertaining and informative video!
Hi Miles There is a lot more to laser technology than Michael shows. I applaud the effort he has invested in creating a great little machine but has only just begun to play with it. It's a long journey to tease out and understand all the pieces of physics, chemistry and optics that explains what you see. Your personal need seems to be engraving but that single word covers a multitude of different processes such as normal raster engravng, photo engraving, deep engraving, 3D engraving, grayscale engraving, metal marking. Add to these all the materials you might want to use such as wood, leather, card, slate, glass, acrylic, ceramics or MDF and the situation becomes complex. Some materials react well to CO2 wavelengnth light(10,640nm)and others better at 450nm diode laser wavelength,. If you just wish to surface mark organic materials then the cheap simple diode laser is perfect for the job, but very slow. Organic materials are fairly resistant to stimulation by 450nm wavelength light and thus scorch easily with the low power available. However, cutting is a side act that it does very inefficiently and even more slowly, Some materials such as acrylic are transparent at such low wavelengths Michael is right when he says that a CO2 laser tube does not deliver power down to zero watts, but i suspect he has not yet discovered that his tube has a secret low power operating zone called pre-ionization that is amazing for precision photo engraving, glass engraving and burn-free paper cutting.. Until you start exploring the technology for yourself you will not understand how difficult it is to precision scorch with a CO2 beam at 10,640nm . A small format 500x300 50 watt CO2 laser (like Michael's little baby) is the most flexible system you can learn with. At 10640nm ALL metals are like miirors so you cannot cut metals or engrave metals with a CO2 laser (I have tried ...oops). but this is the most universal wavelenght for general small business or hobby use. Good luck
@@Jakefrc Hi Jacob I wish it was that simple.There are so many features that make your machine unique. The most important being the light intensity distribution within the beam .A good beam will be about 5mm diameter with a Gaussian (or bell curve) intensity distribution. Many machines will be using B grade tubes that are all over the market and certainly fitted to ebay machines and Amazon market place machines. They work "in some way", some better than others but they will have have a totally unpredictable performance that falls way short of perfect. Be pleased that you have found parameters that work for you but that does not mean it will work for others.. Engraving means careful control of low power to allow organic materials to scorch rather than cut. All lenses are cutting tools and it is difficult to find ways to prevent the vapourization that happens at the centre of the beam.. In priciple you are correct, that by increasing the head speed you are decreasing the exposure time for the beam to do damage. and that should create more scorching and less cutting. However there are other factors that come into play , such as the lens type and focal length plus how well you have focused your beam (or defocused it for better engraving).. If you wish to understang more about the difficulties of surface engraving of organic materials ther are explanations an demonstrations here laseruser.com/the-concise-rdworks-learning-lab-18/
Thanks for testing the sintering possibilities. NGL, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard you call me out & saw my comment flashed on screen. lol. Also, the results you were able to achieve with aluminum powder are really surprising. That stuff really likes to burn, so having gotten any of it to sinter without just making a fireball is pretty impressive!
A few things to try with different air assists: Co2, n2, or argon to make cleaner cuts, with less smoke marks O2 at high pressure to cut steel. For steel the O2 is dong the cutting, the laser mostly provides direction and the initial melt.
But you need a lot more power than theis whimpy 50w tube - for cutting steel, there are commercial CO2 laser cutters - but they start at 150w and have a special cutting head - presumably because of the high pressure. Anyway - if you want to laser metals, you should opt for a YAG laser - for a very different price, of course.
@@marcus_w0 I have not seen anyone test a 50w laser, but someone did cut steel with a 20w diode laser and more compressed air. The different head may make a difference, the head is much closer to the material, and may actually rub it. ie if you did this, you may need a shroud. The big difference is the presence of oxygen in a bottle going into your air intake.
You don't use high pressure O2 to cut steel. Typically the pressure is below 1 bar. However you do need the correct metal cutting head to maintain consistent height over the sheet when cutting. Messing with O2 is very dangerous so anyone planning to do so should educate themselves well about the dangers before attempting it. Good air pressure and the correct cutting surface is the key to reducing smoke stains, no need to used expensive assist gas.
@@epilotdk my previous experience was cutting steel 2 inches thick with a gas torch. The heat of the torch melts a bit of the steel, the oxygen mixing with the molten steel is very exothermic, and provides the rest of the heat needed to melt through the steel creating the cut. From watching other people cut steel with a co2 laser, I was hoping it would be similar.
@@mikegrok It's true that an exothermic reaction is created but when laser cutting with O2 as assist gas, not a lot of pressure is required to get the reaction going. I do laser cutting for a living.
If you go and watch one of the videos on RD Learning Lab Russ talks about this very topic. He shows how the energy is completely absorbed by clear acrylic. It all depends on the wavelength of the laser light. CO2 laser light is invisible to your eye whereas the blue diodes are visible. Clear acrylic and glass are both transparent to blue diode lasers but not to CO2 lasers. That is why you can cut clear acrylic and etch glass with a CO2 but not with a blue diode laser (you can etch glass with a blue diode laser but you first have to paint it black or use candle black to coat the glass)
That's a great build and really good video. I have a much-modified K40, but after years of using it, it's time for a revamp, and as they say, "go big or go home", so I'm thinking of cloning your work. It's a little big for my shop though so I might scale it down just a bit. If you know the K40 you know the bed is only about the size of a sheet of paper...not very big at all.
i build my own 45 watt co2 laser 2 years ago and best thing ever. one advice. when buying a tube look for the purple glance or coating in the flashtube. those re the best. i use startnow lasertubes
The smoke that you mention which damages the lens in your case also enters from the top, which is why I designed a whole protective window and custom produced it. Made everything way cleaner and easier to do maintenance. Was well worth it for me.
What did you do for the X carriage 2 bolt holes that are hanging off. Did you put an L bracket in there to secure it to the X rail? Or is it just for the cable chain?
Nice build. I have 2 questions: 1) In your first video. The bed motors are connected directly to the lead screws via couplers. But in your second video. It looks like you have introduced a belt system joining all the corners. What is the reason for this? 2) What are you using for the bed, that grid material?
In re sintering it'll probably soak up epoxy like a sponge - and will be extremely strong afterwards. This is actually an approach used by some commercial machines. I don't think sintering metal is where it's really at anyway but plastics more: same deal with epoxy but maybe not needed. These sorts of powers being able to semi-sinter aluminium for a home gamer might actually be a big deal, possibly even a game-changer, all you need on top of that would be a powder hopper, build box and a spreader, to wit there are open source designs available.
If the CO2 won't turn on until a certain amount of power, would speeding up the cutting speed overcome melting/charring the material? I'm still researching if I want to go this route.
Awesome video, this and some others inspired me to try and build my own CO2 laser cutter! I'm a little confused on the Z lift construction. In the Step file it looks like there is only one z stepper and it is coupled directly to threaded rod. What I can't figure out is how the single powered z rod is connected to the other pulleys. I assume there is a pulley on top of the coupler that just isn't shown in the step file. If anyone else has built a z lift clarification would be awesome. Thanks!
One can connect all four steppers in parallel to the Stepper driver, sharing the same signal, make sure their direction of rotation is same and driver current setting is appropriate. In this case no driving belt or toothed pulleys are required, each screw is driven independently but simultaneously in the same direction.
I'd love to have one of these for cutting foam board, but it's not worth the cost (to buy) or danger (to build, operate) IMO for just that. I've seen DIY "needle" cutters for foam board which are 100x safer (no risk of fire) and much, much lower cost. Any chance you could build one of those and share the design with us? It seems more approachable and realistic for the less experienced/daring among us.
i have tried getting you on twitter but you are not using it. Can I please get the cad file that is NOT a step file for my CNC. I do not have the programs to use that type of file. Thank you.
Quick question, what about creating a vacuum chamber around your setup? A lot of errant fumes are caused by oxidation if I'm not mistaken. If you pump down the atmosphere or even fill the containment with a inert gas then you shouldn't really see so much smoke occur.
You do have to be careful when cutting plywood. Many of the glues, when laser-cut, can produce chlorine gas, which can not only unalive you, but also damage the machine.
I actually think there's some potential with the metal, there. I met a guy in 2008 who built a metal 3d printer. It worked by using a hacked inkjet printer to spray adhesive onto the layers of powdered metal. Then, once the print completes the part would be dusted and put into a furnace for sintering.
Quick question for you sir. Im not very good at using CAD programs, I opened you file and it is amazing. The work you put in is fantastic. I hope to be at your skill level someday. I don't have a CNC router so I am going to 3d print my parts. I am able to get the part I need into cura and 3d print them but I was wondering if you had different parts you made when you originally 3d printed yours for your test? I was goin to build a laser cutter myself and was in the process of buying parts when I found your video. You are a life saver. Your design is so much better than what I was going to build. With some mods to fit what I am doing I am very excited to build this. Thank you for sharing so people like me with lower skill levels can have fun building.
I haven't found much that the co2 can't do. You can still engrave delicate things The key is use low power but increase the speed a lot. Some materials I engrave at 500mm/s at 10 to 30 percent power as an example. A good co2 laser needs to move fast to do more delicate things.
Hey! How it would be possible to make it more powerful? Is it as simple as installing more powerful co2 module or it is not that easy? Also I am curious if your design could be sized just by changing alu extrusion lenght or there should be also other significant changes done?
Would you not have been better with some form of acrylic or glass that blocks the lasers light rather than just normal acrylic? Edit: you should also add an estop, a big red button to hit if something goes wrong, that is a basic safety feature that every device should have.
Hi Michael Great build! I'm working on my own laser cutter for many month now, I found your video while searching for troubleshooting. I've got the same board and power supply, but I couldn't figure out how to wire them. Could you give a tipp how to connect the board and the power supply? Best regards
In the same position. Michael, I appreciate that you dont want to do a diagram, but could you just upload a photo of the board with connections? Please
Me too , got an mks dlc 32 board and zye myjg 60 watt power supply, I do get an output but for a 60 watt laser I don't think it's working up to the potential, I think it's something wrong with wiring laser power supply with mks board, please help
CO2 is perfect for engraving, you can engrave a piece of paper on 40W CO2, or do a 1mm deep engraving for filling with other materials. It will engrave on almost any material including clear plastics (and make a deep engraving on clear). It's also much faster than diods, so you can engrave bigger things in reasonable time. And for engraving you usually don't need such a big machine
How is the power been set for the laser? could you share more information about that? nobody on the internet seems to know how to hook the board up to the laser power supply. thanks
I play with an mvd Ilaser and lantek how do I cut paper and cardboard without starting a fire I melted 12 g cold roll steel a few days ago like lava going at 60% speed need to be at 75% with nitrogen/air assist
There’s a great idea the problem is aluminum powder may need a special treatment to stop reflecting and the oxide has to be removed which will make a very strong workable material. I won’t go into details but, thanks for the idea 😂.
Here's to hoping he's still wearing Diode Laser Safety Glasses when operating the Diode Laser inside the CO² Laser Cabinet cause from what I'm aware of only the CO²'s _Infrared_ based Laser Light will be blocked by those Windows 🤔
Have you tried the CO2 with EVA/PE foams? What kind of thicknesses would it be able to manage? :) Amazing project btw, I am looking to try something similar as commercial options seems a touch expensive for my needs.
Hey friend, just found your channel and really enjoy the practical uses for 3d printed items. I was recommended through the UA-cam home page. Cheers to you. Off to make a planetary gear set for the power a feed on the mill.
Merry Christmas. Nice Homemade setup. What software did you end up using with that controller board with the LCD screen? did you have to make Not gate circuit to convert the board PWM to run the lasers power supply? I know many laser PSU Are 5V for off and 0V for full power, in my case I use a one transistor 2 resistors not gate to run mine, but i use a normal Arduino Uno and a CNC shield with GRBL 1.1E no fancy screen but a laptop with Lightburn that pretty much controls it.
@@jarodmorris611 Yup you are right and i am using Ver 1.1h and seeing i was sure I was using 1.1e which I'm sure at one point i was,, But no I don't think there is much of a difference, the real change came from 0.9 to 1.1 with the option of using the end stop pin to PWM the laser's output, I think, but its still early in the morning here my brain may not be working yet hahaha
Thank for the video. Just 1 thing I disagree with you. Co2 laser can engrave as nice as diode laser. It's even better as you can generate 3d effect on surface. So when you have a co2 laser cutter, you do not need something else. The only issue is the limited size of work as if you cut far from laser source, power is decreasing. So maybe you have something in marling that take count of it.
Nice little design! I have most of these parts so I think I’ll build your design. Do you by chance have the schematic/code for the z motor control? I may actually use one z motor with each corner on a pulley so I can use the DCL32 controller for z travel.
That's actually something I was in aware of (only turning on after their minimum threshold). I have a old 5w diode laser head, for my purposes, I think it would be best. At least till 1k watt lasers become cost effective and I can start cutting metals.
Merry Christmas to you as well. And awe yeah I need a higher power than a diode, after I'm finished making my larger diode engraver (24"x36") work area I'll be looking into CO2, was slowly cutting a piece of 5mm near the end of a long time cutting I found where the manufacturer had filled a knot in one of the layers with some kind of hard putty, so time wasted and ruined part.
Great video. This question will show my ignorance, but I’m wondering if you could take the metal power parts you can make and finish sintering them in a kiln? Most home kilns can hit 2,000 to 2,400 f, so that should be enough for the powder, maybe?
Problem with post-kilning aluminum is that by time you get it hot enough to fuse, it is very likely that it will completely melt into a useless puddle. Honestly, I'm impressed with the results he achieved here. Aluminum powder is super-finicky & LOVES to burn up (that's why they use it for fireworks) so, considering the substrate, that was impressive!
hey, great vid! do you happen to have an updated cad file your willing to share?, I've decided to make a laser cutter using your design and I've got about half way through the build and only just realised there are quite a few things missing of off the file, such as motors at the bottom, few pieces of the frame and the stop sensors would be great help to me if you did but, if not you gave me a good start so thanks anyway :)
he originally had one motor and pulleys on the others for the z i think, but switched to motors on all 4 (no pulleys needed?). you can see one motor in the cad but that should be x4. the arduino z control is simple but can be found if you look up "Building a barn door mount, part 1: arduino stepper motor control". controller mount on cad is for the bigger one. he changed the size of cable chain in the listed parts and missing a second maybe bigger one?, missing the smaller bolt size, and nuts for all the bolts, wire connector for making stepper wires (jst). and i printed a 3rd tensioner to try on the x axis. laser/motor mounts could both be the same?. im in the middle of mine as well but those are what i found.
Great videos! I've been thinking about making one and would like to base it on your design but I cant open the cad file. Do you have 2d plans and a parts list available? Best regards, Korben
Hi, did you succeed? I also have problems opening the CAD files. actually 1 file with all parts in it. I have no experience with Freecad and Autodesk. But Freecad will open the file (it's big) I can't save the parts separately as STL or whatever to use in Openscad and CNC or 3D print
@@renevandijk3403 I haven't found anything yet that will open the main file yet so I'll try freecad and see if I can get the info I need. I won't be 3d printing parts myself, I'm planning on getting aluminium plates water jet cut instead so kind of just need the parts list and measurements. Good luck!
@@kwbknives7989 Hi, thank you for response, Freecad opens the file for sure. only all parts can be seen passing by at the import. Once loaded, all parts have become one object. I hope you know how to store the parts separately in files. I look forward to hearing from you.. good luck.
@@kwbknives7989 I managed to isolate the mounting plates and put them in stl. I now have all parts in separate files *.STL. ready for 3d printing or CNC If you want I can email them to you...
There's something about the aesthetic of laser cut parts that just irritates me, something about the kerf/burnt edges/boxy dovetails. Engravings can come out really nice if it's dialed in though
Also, you can invest in DSP controller which would allow faster engraving speed (power vs speed vs overburn). Gcode is way too slow for engraving with more powerful lasers. A nice one, I have re-worked K40, and now I am waiting for the new space to build a bit bigger machine (140cm x 100cm / 55"/39"), I have designed the frame, purchased all parts, cut to design extrusions, but due to recent new additions to the garage, it turned out that I won't be able to fit it to work on DIY in a comfortable way :(. Only way would be buy a new house, or rent out a commercial unit, but it is just my DIY hobby, so I am not sure what I will do (commercial spaces for 200-300m2 are like 20-30k+taxes+power per year in Scotland so it might be too much for a hobby...)
Keep exploring at brilliant.org/MichaelRechtin/. Get started for free, and hurry-the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription
plz show the wiring, ive been trying for 2 days I have watched multiple videos and had people look at it I cant figure it out , plz help :(
Thanks! Awesome work!
Overall for metals you'd want a Q-switched laser as you need very high power density, instead of trying to give this power all the time, you can use lower average power but in pulses so it has a lot of energy in short amount of time so heat doesn't have time to get transferred to the rest of the metal
The part you mentioned about minimum operating wattage for CO2 laser wasn’t something I had heard yet in other comparison videos. The speed of a CO2 laser was starting to make me consider going for that despite the drawback of being much bigger and less mobile until you mentioned how it might over engrave in some situations and I’m mostly looking to do engraving at this time. Thank you for the entertaining and informative video!
Hi Miles
There is a lot more to laser technology than Michael shows. I applaud the effort he has invested in creating a great little machine but has only just begun to play with it. It's a long journey to tease out and understand all the pieces of physics, chemistry and optics that explains what you see. Your personal need seems to be engraving but that single word covers a multitude of different processes such as normal raster engravng, photo engraving, deep engraving, 3D engraving, grayscale engraving, metal marking. Add to these all the materials you might want to use such as wood, leather, card, slate, glass, acrylic, ceramics or MDF and the situation becomes complex. Some materials react well to CO2 wavelengnth light(10,640nm)and others better at 450nm diode laser wavelength,. If you just wish to surface mark organic materials then the cheap simple diode laser is perfect for the job, but very slow. Organic materials are fairly resistant to stimulation by 450nm wavelength light and thus scorch easily with the low power available. However, cutting is a side act that it does very inefficiently and even more slowly, Some materials such as acrylic are transparent at such low wavelengths
Michael is right when he says that a CO2 laser tube does not deliver power down to zero watts, but i suspect he has not yet discovered that his tube has a secret low power operating zone called pre-ionization that is amazing for precision photo engraving, glass engraving and burn-free paper cutting.. Until you start exploring the technology for yourself you will not understand how difficult it is to precision scorch with a CO2 beam at 10,640nm . A small format 500x300 50 watt CO2 laser (like Michael's little baby) is the most flexible system you can learn with. At 10640nm ALL metals are like miirors so you cannot cut metals or engrave metals with a CO2 laser (I have tried ...oops). but this is the most universal wavelenght for general small business or hobby use. Good luck
If your C02 laser is over engraving, you just need to move it faster. I run mine at 400mm/s for light stuff. Gets the job done really fast as a bonus.
@@Jakefrc
Hi Jacob
I wish it was that simple.There are so many features that make your machine unique. The most important being the light intensity distribution within the beam .A good beam will be about 5mm diameter with a Gaussian (or bell curve) intensity distribution. Many machines will be using B grade tubes that are all over the market and certainly fitted to ebay machines and Amazon market place machines. They work "in some way", some better than others but they will have have a totally unpredictable performance that falls way short of perfect. Be pleased that you have found parameters that work for you but that does not mean it will work for others.. Engraving means careful control of low power to allow organic materials to scorch rather than cut. All lenses are cutting tools and it is difficult to find ways to prevent the vapourization that happens at the centre of the beam.. In priciple you are correct, that by increasing the head speed you are decreasing the exposure time for the beam to do damage. and that should create more scorching and less cutting. However there are other factors that come into play , such as the lens type and focal length plus how well you have focused your beam (or defocused it for better engraving).. If you wish to understang more about the difficulties of surface engraving of organic materials ther are explanations an demonstrations here
laseruser.com/the-concise-rdworks-learning-lab-18/
Dang dude this looks so professional, awesome build! Can't wait to see what you make with it.
Merry XMAS! 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Thanks for testing the sintering possibilities. NGL, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard you call me out & saw my comment flashed on screen. lol.
Also, the results you were able to achieve with aluminum powder are really surprising. That stuff really likes to burn, so having gotten any of it to sinter without just making a fireball is pretty impressive!
Thanks!
Merry XMAS, Michael! 🎄🎄🎄🎄
A few things to try with different air assists:
Co2, n2, or argon to make cleaner cuts, with less smoke marks
O2 at high pressure to cut steel.
For steel the O2 is dong the cutting, the laser mostly provides direction and the initial melt.
But you need a lot more power than theis whimpy 50w tube - for cutting steel, there are commercial CO2 laser cutters - but they start at 150w and have a special cutting head - presumably because of the high pressure. Anyway - if you want to laser metals, you should opt for a YAG laser - for a very different price, of course.
@@marcus_w0 I have not seen anyone test a 50w laser, but someone did cut steel with a 20w diode laser and more compressed air. The different head may make a difference, the head is much closer to the material, and may actually rub it. ie if you did this, you may need a shroud. The big difference is the presence of oxygen in a bottle going into your air intake.
You don't use high pressure O2 to cut steel. Typically the pressure is below 1 bar. However you do need the correct metal cutting head to maintain consistent height over the sheet when cutting. Messing with O2 is very dangerous so anyone planning to do so should educate themselves well about the dangers before attempting it.
Good air pressure and the correct cutting surface is the key to reducing smoke stains, no need to used expensive assist gas.
@@epilotdk my previous experience was cutting steel 2 inches thick with a gas torch.
The heat of the torch melts a bit of the steel, the oxygen mixing with the molten steel is very exothermic, and provides the rest of the heat needed to melt through the steel creating the cut.
From watching other people cut steel with a co2 laser, I was hoping it would be similar.
@@mikegrok It's true that an exothermic reaction is created but when laser cutting with O2 as assist gas, not a lot of pressure is required to get the reaction going. I do laser cutting for a living.
Would it not be better to put some sort of polarized film over the acrylic to filter out the laser light for safety?
If you go and watch one of the videos on RD Learning Lab Russ talks about this very topic. He shows how the energy is completely absorbed by clear acrylic. It all depends on the wavelength of the laser light. CO2 laser light is invisible to your eye whereas the blue diodes are visible. Clear acrylic and glass are both transparent to blue diode lasers but not to CO2 lasers. That is why you can cut clear acrylic and etch glass with a CO2 but not with a blue diode laser (you can etch glass with a blue diode laser but you first have to paint it black or use candle black to coat the glass)
That's a great build and really good video. I have a much-modified K40, but after years of using it, it's time for a revamp, and as they say, "go big or go home", so I'm thinking of cloning your work. It's a little big for my shop though so I might scale it down just a bit. If you know the K40 you know the bed is only about the size of a sheet of paper...not very big at all.
i build my own 45 watt co2 laser 2 years ago and best thing ever. one advice. when buying a tube look for the purple glance or coating in the flashtube. those re the best. i use startnow lasertubes
I wonder about mounting that diode laser head inside your case and getting the best of both worlds (engrave and cut)
Great video. I have a diode laser engraver instead of C02 - and I find that it only cuts plywood. I couldn't even cut acrylic in 10+ passes.
The smoke that you mention which damages the lens in your case also enters from the top, which is why I designed a whole protective window and custom produced it. Made everything way cleaner and easier to do maintenance. Was well worth it for me.
What did you do for the X carriage 2 bolt holes that are hanging off. Did you put an L bracket in there to secure it to the X rail? Or is it just for the cable chain?
Is that a single pass to cut the .5 plywood?
Adjust design so you can mount the diode laser on it also and use either one depending on if you are engraving or cutting
alright pls dont clickbait us with metal dude..
Nice build. I have 2 questions:
1) In your first video. The bed motors are connected directly to the lead screws via couplers. But in your second video. It looks like you have introduced a belt system joining all the corners. What is the reason for this?
2) What are you using for the bed, that grid material?
1) I guess he added the belt to ensure that all lead screws are turning the same amount, so the bed is always flat.
I've ran an industrial C02 and fiber laser. They're fun.
The C02 was 3000 watt
The fiber was 6000 watt
In re sintering it'll probably soak up epoxy like a sponge - and will be extremely strong afterwards. This is actually an approach used by some commercial machines. I don't think sintering metal is where it's really at anyway but plastics more: same deal with epoxy but maybe not needed. These sorts of powers being able to semi-sinter aluminium for a home gamer might actually be a big deal, possibly even a game-changer, all you need on top of that would be a powder hopper, build box and a spreader, to wit there are open source designs available.
If the CO2 won't turn on until a certain amount of power, would speeding up the cutting speed overcome melting/charring the material?
I'm still researching if I want to go this route.
You're on the right track, but from my research ( I only have a diode) higher speeds introduce other issues. Sorry that's vague.
What if I want to cut card stock? Or like rubber gasket and tape? Will it catch on fire instead of cutting?
Awesome video, this and some others inspired me to try and build my own CO2 laser cutter! I'm a little confused on the Z lift construction. In the Step file it looks like there is only one z stepper and it is coupled directly to threaded rod. What I can't figure out is how the single powered z rod is connected to the other pulleys. I assume there is a pulley on top of the coupler that just isn't shown in the step file. If anyone else has built a z lift clarification would be awesome. Thanks!
One can connect all four steppers in parallel to the Stepper driver, sharing the same signal, make sure their direction of rotation is same and driver current setting is appropriate. In this case no driving belt or toothed pulleys are required, each screw is driven independently but simultaneously in the same direction.
Nice video... I'm looking to get one laser to mess around with. In aliexpress I see Optical laser... Is that just a different name to diode laser?
Is this the type of machine to run a relief engraving on wood, up to 1 inch deep on oak and other hard woods?
What are your setting for cutting 1/2 plywood with your 50 watt C02
3:54 I SAW THAT!... you FINGERED that mirror! good way to reduce its life by 50% in split second
hello. just inquiring about the speed is it real time or sped?
thanx
If we bought a already build co2 laser but the work range is short, can we diy and make the work range longer, and do we need to rewiring it??
Hey I would like to cut through thin layers of glass, would that one be strong enough?
I'd love to have one of these for cutting foam board, but it's not worth the cost (to buy) or danger (to build, operate) IMO for just that. I've seen DIY "needle" cutters for foam board which are 100x safer (no risk of fire) and much, much lower cost. Any chance you could build one of those and share the design with us? It seems more approachable and realistic for the less experienced/daring among us.
the diode laser, even with minimal power (just enough to cut the first layer of paper), still doesn't give a good result? On foamboard ..
i have tried getting you on twitter but you are not using it. Can I please get the cad file that is NOT a step file for my CNC. I do not have the programs to use that type of file.
Thank you.
Quick question, what about creating a vacuum chamber around your setup? A lot of errant fumes are caused by oxidation if I'm not mistaken. If you pump down the atmosphere or even fill the containment with a inert gas then you shouldn't really see so much smoke occur.
Where can I find the part list & schematics?
You do have to be careful when cutting plywood. Many of the glues, when laser-cut, can produce chlorine gas, which can not only unalive you, but also damage the machine.
Lol
Machine IS important tho.
Could you clarify where you got that cut bed? Im looking but not finding much to fit this size.
Hi, nice build. Can u tell me what did you use to make bed?
Gorgeous enclosure! Awesome of you to share the plans
The .step file which you uploaded which program would be eligble to open it for free
Is the model parametric? I need a cut area of 24x36.
Where do I find the plans?
how much the total cost? thanks you..
I actually think there's some potential with the metal, there. I met a guy in 2008 who built a metal 3d printer. It worked by using a hacked inkjet printer to spray adhesive onto the layers of powdered metal. Then, once the print completes the part would be dusted and put into a furnace for sintering.
Quick question for you sir. Im not very good at using CAD programs, I opened you file and it is amazing. The work you put in is fantastic. I hope to be at your skill level someday. I don't have a CNC router so I am going to 3d print my parts. I am able to get the part I need into cura and 3d print them but I was wondering if you had different parts you made when you originally 3d printed yours for your test? I was goin to build a laser cutter myself and was in the process of buying parts when I found your video. You are a life saver. Your design is so much better than what I was going to build. With some mods to fit what I am doing I am very excited to build this. Thank you for sharing so people like me with lower skill levels can have fun building.
After opening parts in CAD prog, you can export or save them as stl files and use for 3d printing. Hope it helps.
I haven't found much that the co2 can't do. You can still engrave delicate things The key is use low power but increase the speed a lot. Some materials I engrave at 500mm/s at 10 to 30 percent power as an example. A good co2 laser needs to move fast to do more delicate things.
Thanks for adding the parts list. Did you keep track of total cost?
Your link to the CAD filess is a file that can't do anything with except view!!
thx Sir, i need wiring diagram mksdlc 32 to laser Co2 power supply
Great job, next step is cutting aluminium and brass. Have you tested that yet?
How do you learn to do all these things?!?!
Great Laser! Great Project!
Merry Christmas, and thank you for your really enjoyable and informative videos.
(I can't wait to see what Santa brings you!)
Hey! How it would be possible to make it more powerful? Is it as simple as installing more powerful co2 module or it is not that easy? Also I am curious if your design could be sized just by changing alu extrusion lenght or there should be also other significant changes done?
where can I download the stl files
Your first video says it should have cost $3000. How much did it cost you in the end. Also what is the accuracy and repeatability.
Do you think CO2 it can cut a 3mm thick aluminum sheet?
Where can I found the Body design?
Would you not have been better with some form of acrylic or glass that blocks the lasers light rather than just normal acrylic?
Edit: you should also add an estop, a big red button to hit if something goes wrong, that is a basic safety feature that every device should have.
Hi Michael
Great build!
I'm working on my own laser cutter for many month now, I found your video while searching for troubleshooting. I've got the same board and power supply, but I couldn't figure out how to wire them. Could you give a tipp how to connect the board and the power supply?
Best regards
In the same position. Michael, I appreciate that you dont want to do a diagram, but could you just upload a photo of the board with connections? Please
Me too , got an mks dlc 32 board and zye myjg 60 watt power supply, I do get an output but for a 60 watt laser I don't think it's working up to the potential, I think it's something wrong with wiring laser power supply with mks board, please help
Were any of you able to figure this out?
CO2 is perfect for engraving, you can engrave a piece of paper on 40W CO2, or do a 1mm deep engraving for filling with other materials. It will engrave on almost any material including clear plastics (and make a deep engraving on clear). It's also much faster than diods, so you can engrave bigger things in reasonable time. And for engraving you usually don't need such a big machine
How is the power been set for the laser? could you share more information about that? nobody on the internet seems to know how to hook the board up to the laser power supply. thanks
I would like to know that as well, I am stuck at that part
I play with an mvd Ilaser and lantek how do I cut paper and cardboard without starting a fire I melted 12 g cold roll steel a few days ago like lava going at 60% speed need to be at 75% with nitrogen/air assist
Awesome build
There’s a great idea the problem is aluminum powder may need a special treatment to stop reflecting and the oxide has to be removed which will make a very strong workable material. I won’t go into details but, thanks for the idea 😂.
@michaelrechtin can you provide the stl files for your 3d printed parts?
Great job. Thanks!
Great Video, Michael. Any chance you could share your code for the Z axis
Here's to hoping he's still wearing Diode Laser Safety Glasses when operating the Diode Laser inside the CO² Laser Cabinet cause from what I'm aware of only the CO²'s _Infrared_ based Laser Light will be blocked by those Windows 🤔
Have you tried the CO2 with EVA/PE foams? What kind of thicknesses would it be able to manage? :) Amazing project btw, I am looking to try something similar as commercial options seems a touch expensive for my needs.
What firmware are you using?
Do you think it can cut glass? CO2 laser?
What’s the bed made out of?
Nice work 👍
i think 1000W can help melt metal
Amazing work, I can't get the google drive link to download, unfortunately.
You have to be signed in to a Google account
Hey friend, just found your channel and really enjoy the practical uses for 3d printed items. I was recommended through the UA-cam home page. Cheers to you. Off to make a planetary gear set for the power a feed on the mill.
Merry Christmas. Nice Homemade setup. What software did you end up using with that controller board with the LCD screen? did you have to make Not gate circuit to convert the board PWM to run the lasers power supply? I know many laser PSU Are 5V for off and 0V for full power, in my case I use a one transistor 2 resistors not gate to run mine, but i use a normal Arduino Uno and a CNC shield with GRBL 1.1E no fancy screen but a laptop with Lightburn that pretty much controls it.
Isn't the latest version of GRBL 1.1h ? Notice any differences between 1.1e and 1.1h if you've used both?
@@jarodmorris611 Yup you are right and i am using Ver 1.1h and seeing i was sure I was using 1.1e which I'm sure at one point i was,, But no I don't think there is much of a difference, the real change came from 0.9 to 1.1 with the option of using the end stop pin to PWM the laser's output, I think, but its still early in the morning here my brain may not be working yet hahaha
Thank for the video. Just 1 thing I disagree with you. Co2 laser can engrave as nice as diode laser. It's even better as you can generate 3d effect on surface. So when you have a co2 laser cutter, you do not need something else. The only issue is the limited size of work as if you cut far from laser source, power is decreasing. So maybe you have something in marling that take count of it.
“Do you need a laser cutter as with all new tools the answer is of course yes” 😂😂😂 subscribed this is my type of content lol.
ciao sei un grande davvero gentilmente si potrebbe avere lo schema elettrico della macchina grazie
Nice little design! I have most of these parts so I think I’ll build your design. Do you by chance have the schematic/code for the z motor control? I may actually use one z motor with each corner on a pulley so I can use the DCL32 controller for z travel.
That's actually something I was in aware of (only turning on after their minimum threshold). I have a old 5w diode laser head, for my purposes, I think it would be best. At least till 1k watt lasers become cost effective and I can start cutting metals.
Awesome.can you share diagram of this machine.and what's the firmware you to control ? Thanks
He said he uses GRBL to control it.
Merry Christmas to you as well.
And awe yeah I need a higher power than a diode, after I'm finished making my larger diode engraver (24"x36") work area I'll be looking into CO2, was slowly cutting a piece of 5mm near the end of a long time cutting I found where the manufacturer had filled a knot in one of the layers with some kind of hard putty, so time wasted and ruined part.
Great video. This question will show my ignorance, but I’m wondering if you could take the metal power parts you can make and finish sintering them in a kiln? Most home kilns can hit 2,000 to 2,400 f, so that should be enough for the powder, maybe?
Problem with post-kilning aluminum is that by time you get it hot enough to fuse, it is very likely that it will completely melt into a useless puddle.
Honestly, I'm impressed with the results he achieved here. Aluminum powder is super-finicky & LOVES to burn up (that's why they use it for fireworks) so, considering the substrate, that was impressive!
@@roberthercules3159 thanks for the reply, that makes sense.
What program did you create the step files with? Please
Youre a genius dude ✌
To get much of anything better with the metal dust you would have to slow the laser way down
hey, great vid! do you happen to have an updated cad file your willing to share?, I've decided to make a laser cutter using your design and I've got about half way through the build and only just realised there are quite a few things missing of off the file, such as motors at the bottom, few pieces of the frame and the stop sensors would be great help to me if you did but, if not you gave me a good start so thanks anyway :)
he originally had one motor and pulleys on the others for the z i think, but switched to motors on all 4 (no pulleys needed?). you can see one motor in the cad but that should be x4. the arduino z control is simple but can be found if you look up "Building a barn door mount, part 1: arduino stepper motor control". controller mount on cad is for the bigger one. he changed the size of cable chain in the listed parts and missing a second maybe bigger one?, missing the smaller bolt size, and nuts for all the bolts, wire connector for making stepper wires (jst). and i printed a 3rd tensioner to try on the x axis. laser/motor mounts could both be the same?. im in the middle of mine as well but those are what i found.
@@ala1998mc thanks ill have a look into it cheers
I doubt that your acrylic is laser great protection. That adsorbs the wavelength of that laser.
It would be cool to see the new 20w comgrow laser vs this. :) I know it's pretty expensive (about $450) on its own!
I have never seen a 20W laser that cheap. Can you compare this "comgrow" with a "SCULPFUN S30 Pro Max" ?
Great videos! I've been thinking about making one and would like to base it on your design but I cant open the cad file. Do you have 2d plans and a parts list available? Best regards, Korben
Hi, did you succeed? I also have problems opening the CAD files. actually 1 file with all parts in it. I have no experience with Freecad and Autodesk.
But Freecad will open the file (it's big)
I can't save the parts separately as STL or whatever to use in Openscad and CNC or 3D print
@@renevandijk3403 I haven't found anything yet that will open the main file yet so I'll try freecad and see if I can get the info I need. I won't be 3d printing parts myself, I'm planning on getting aluminium plates water jet cut instead so kind of just need the parts list and measurements. Good luck!
@@kwbknives7989 Hi, thank you for response,
Freecad opens the file for sure. only all parts can be seen passing by at the import. Once loaded, all parts have become one object.
I hope you know how to store the parts separately in files.
I look forward to hearing from you.. good luck.
@@renevandijk3403 no idea but I'll figure it out. Cheers 😊
@@kwbknives7989
I managed to isolate the mounting plates and put them in stl.
I now have all parts in separate files *.STL.
ready for 3d printing or CNC
If you want I can email them to you...
There's something about the aesthetic of laser cut parts that just irritates me, something about the kerf/burnt edges/boxy dovetails. Engravings can come out really nice if it's dialed in though
Quick Question: would you consider making someone a laser cutter if the price were right?
Also, you can invest in DSP controller which would allow faster engraving speed (power vs speed vs overburn). Gcode is way too slow for engraving with more powerful lasers.
A nice one, I have re-worked K40, and now I am waiting for the new space to build a bit bigger machine (140cm x 100cm / 55"/39"), I have designed the frame, purchased all parts, cut to design extrusions, but due to recent new additions to the garage, it turned out that I won't be able to fit it to work on DIY in a comfortable way :(. Only way would be buy a new house, or rent out a commercial unit, but it is just my DIY hobby, so I am not sure what I will do (commercial spaces for 200-300m2 are like 20-30k+taxes+power per year in Scotland so it might be too much for a hobby...)
RIP Michael
"Do you need a laser cutter? As with all new tools, the answer is YES!"
Best comment EVER!!