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Homebrew Laser Cutter made by Zach Radding

by TimAnderson on May 2, 2006

Table of Contents
Homebrew Laser Cutter made by Zach Radding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: Homebrew Laser Cutter made by Zach Radding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: Zach's first lasercutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: The second lasercutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 5: The Laser tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 6: Motion Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 7: PWM generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 8: Mirror and Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 9: Airflow and Smoke Eater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 10: Pen Plotter Based Laser Cutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 11: Roland Plotter x-y Mechanism top view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 12: Roland Plotter x-y Mechanism bottom view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 13: X axis driveshaft detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 14: Gantry underside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 15: Gantry side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 16: Final Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Author:TimAnderson author's website

Tim Anderson is the author of the "Heirloom Technology" column in Make Magazine. He is co-founder of www.zcorp.com, manufacturers of "3D Printer"
output devices. His detailed drawings of traditional Pacific Island sailing canoes are at http://www.mit.edu/people/robot.
Tim's philosophy involves building minimum-consumption personal infrastructure from recycled scavenged materials.
Redirecting the waste stream. Doing much with little. A reverse peace-corps to learn from poor people all over the world.

Intro: Homebrew Laser Cutter made by Zach Radding

Zach Radding and his daughter Taylor with some robots he built using his own CNC laser cutting machines.
Check out http://www.buildcoolstuff.com/ to see more of his projects and info on the classes he teaches.
He's built two laser cutters so far.
Click on the little numbered pictures above to learn more about them.
Note: These are not fully detailed plans.
Included are part numbers of all the major components. If you have already built a CNC machine of some sort,
this information would help you adapt it for doing laser cutting. You should build a CNC router table before attempting a laser cutter. The book "CNC Robotics" from Tab
books has good plans.
www.nutsvolts.com used to send you plans for two cnc machines with a subscription.
Zach recommends http://cnczone.com/ for homebrew cnc info. He likes Dancam cnc software.

Step 1: SAFETY
First some warnings.
The laser beam is invisible. It can blind you and your loved ones in an instant.
Here are the safety glasses Synrad supplies to work with this laser tube.
Read all the manuals that come with your laser tube and do exactly as they say.
The laser can start fires and generate poisonous gases if it shines on the wrong materials.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 2: Zach's first lasercutter

This first version uses a Roland digital pen plotter to move the cutting lens, and incorporates a number of lasercut mechanical parts.
Zach used the following components. Prices have changed (fallen) since '94 when he bought his, and some
of these things are no longer manufactured. Similar components are available, or you can look for
these on the used market.
Here are the components he used:
CO2 laser tube: Synrad G48-2-285 25 watt laser cost approx $2000
Power supply: Power One Model SPM3E2K 28 volt 27 amp switching power supply. cost approx $300
Mirrors: Four high quality front surface mirrors ~$20 each.
Focusing lens: must be made specifically for the laser wavelength. It must be optically clear to this
color light or it will etch and melt. Zach's lens came as a unit with a 45 degree frontsurface mirror
from Synrad for ~$600

Step 3: The second lasercutter

Zach and Taylor show us the second version of the lasercutter.
Version one worked fine, but some movers used it as a box to ship a rabid coyote they thought was a pet of his.
The poor animal totally trashed the machine before it got out and bit Dick Cheney in the woods near D.C.
By then Zach had acquired a heavy x-y stage and thought he'd try a different design.
This version moves the workpiece rather than the laser beam. The major advantage of this scheme
are very simple optics. The optics consist of a single mirror that points the laser beam down through the focusing lens.
If Zach builds another machine he says he'll make it more like the first one. Let's look into the guts of this one first.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 4: Power Supply

Power One Model SPM3E2K 28 volt 27 amp switching power supply. cost approx $300
This is a regular switching power supply, nothing special except for capacity and good regulation. The laser tube calls for 30 volts plus or minus 2 volts and thirty amps
worth of it. Any supply that will do that is fine.

Step 5: The Laser tube

CO2 laser tube seen from above.
It's a Synrad G48-2-285 25 watt laser cost approx $2000
Fans in the blue enclosure (absent in this photo) blow air into the holes in this lucite enclosure around the laser. This cools the laser and keeps smoke and other dirt from
getting on the front of the laser. This is a good way to keep the laser from burning a hole in itself.
This unit has a number of nice features. It takes a relatively low thirty volt supply. It steps it up to a bazillion volts internally. That's how many volts it takes to make the
laser un-lazy. The unit also has a convenient DB9 connector
with a TTL level (five volt) input signal line to turn the laser beam on and off. You can connect a PWM (pulse width modulated) signal in here to turn the laser power down
to any level you want. Zach's PWM is at a frequency of 20khz.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 6: Motion Controller

Zach says: "The newer laser uses an old Galil-600 motion control card. It came with the XY table. I found
a utility (from Galil) that converts HPGL files to a format that its motor controller can
recognize. I wrote a VB app that allows me to preview the cut and send the motion control file
to the Galil card. I'd be happy to share that, but I don't really think it would help anyone."

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 7: PWM generator

This tiny PIC16f675 microprocessor board runs the the control panel as well as pulse width modulating the beam (PWM varies the apparent laser power thus changing
the depth of cut).
This processor looks at the step and direction signals going to the stepper motor controllers.
From this it deduces how fast the workpiece is moving and adjusts the laser power to match. Faster motion,
more power. Circles and other curves cause the machine to move slowly as it approximates the circle from a series of tiny line segments. Then the laser power needs to
be turned down to match the slow speed. This is more important when etching images onto something than when cutting things out.

Step 8: Mirror and Lens

That's it, the whole optical system.
In this photo Zach's fingers are twisting a lead screw that raises and lowers the focusing lens. This is necessary to deal with materials of different thickness. This brings
the hottest part of the beam to bear on the surface of the workpiece. Commercial machines typically raise and lower the platform supporting the workpiece instead.
The black triangular dingus contains a front-surface mirror angled at 45 degrees. The thumbscrews push the mirror around to aim the laser beam in the right direction,
which is straight down through the focusing lens.
The focusing lens is a single piece of glass housed in the aluminum block attached to the leadscrew mechanism by two 4-40 capscrews. The lens housing came as a unit
with a 45degree mirror attached for ~$600. For this machine the mirror was in the wrong place so Zach cut it off.
Below that are some nylon wireties. They ordinarily hold a hose that sucks smoky air away from the lens.
This is important. Without air flow smoke prevents good cutting. Also it gets on the optics and they burn up which is a tragedy except to those people who sell expensive
lenses.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 9: Airflow and Smoke Eater

The hose that sucked smoke away from the lens used to go to a blower that blew it out of the building through a vent. The fumes from cutting plexiglass were so
malodorous that the stink drifting back in from outside was unpleasant. So Zach bought this unit. It blows the rank fumes through a charcoal filter which soaks up all the
nastiness. It's a RSU12-CCHR "Space Saver" model made by Electrocorp. He says it gives him better air quality than an exhaust fan.
I asked Zach about the possibility of a laser cutter that held the workpiece vertically to save floorspace, whether he thought convection would cause fires. He said no,
every laser cutter has to have lots of airflow past the cut, so that problem wouldn't be any different.
In his opinion, the big problem with a vertical workpiece is that cut parts would fall out, shift around, slump, and possibly fall into the cut and glue themselves back
together.

Step 10: Pen Plotter Based Laser Cutter

Back to Version One. Zach ordered a new digital penplotter from Roland for about $800. It understood HPGL and its own plotter driver protocol. To cut a part, Zach drew
the lines and hit the "plot" button in his cad program.
The plotter went to work, not knowing that Zach had attached his laser and mirrors as shown in this diagram. This is the most common arrangement in commercial laser
cutters. Zach didn't have any problem with the mirrors and would
use this arrangement again if he makes another laser cutter.
The plotter had a pen change function for different line styles. Zach added buttons at the pen change stations to tell his laser controller what sort of cut was expected. The
controller then sent a PWM signal to the laser to control the brightness of the laser. The pen-up and pen-down signal from the plotter was used to turn the laser on and
off.
This diagram depicts the machine as seen from above. Mirror 4 points the beam straight down through the focusing lens onto the workpiece. Mirrors 1 and 2 are fixed.
Mirror 3 is attached to the (blue) x-axis gantry and moves side-to-side with it. Mirror 4 and the focusing lens slide to-and-fro on the gantry.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 11: Roland Plotter x-y Mechanism top view

This is the mechanical portion of Zach's first lasercutter. The x-axis stepper motor turns a long shaft with two pulleys. Two timing belts move the gantry back and forth.

Step 12: Roland Plotter x-y Mechanism bottom view

A smaller steper motor on the gantry moves the pen carriage to-and-fro on the gantry. Zach replaced the pen holder with a bracket for mirror# 4 and the focusing lens.
Over time Zach replaced frame elements with aluminum extrusions and various brackets with lasercut lucite parts.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 13: X axis driveshaft detail

The stepper motor is attached to a driveshaft with a flex coupling. There is a timing pulley at each end of the driveshaft. The two belts are attached to the two ends of the
gantry. Pulling on both ends of the gantry prevents it from racking and means it doesn't have to be nearly as stiff or well-supported.

Step 14: Gantry underside

The gantry seen from below. The carriage has three wheels that ride on the gantry rail. The carriage is attached to a timing belt driven by the stepper motor seen to the
left.

Step 15: Gantry side

Another view of the gantry. Notice the lasercut lucite bracket on the end.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Step 16: Final Bracket

This lasercut lucite backet replaced the original pen holder. It supported mirror #4
and the focusing lens.

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment

AnujB1 says:

view all 63 comments

Dec 6, 2014. 4:40 AM REPLY

how to convert my cnc router to laser cutting

AnujB1 says:

Dec 6, 2014. 4:39 AM REPLY

hi all i have gerber cnc router cutting machine i wont it to convert as a laser and router 2in 1 in my machine
can u tel me how to convert and wht kind of part sued i change r put in my machine

JorgeV says:

Nov 14, 2014. 12:58 PM REPLY

Hi Zach
I am trying to build another Laser Cutter with a Roland GRX 400. I've read that you used the pen selector of the plotter to tell the laser controller
what sort of cut was expected. Please could you send me a photo of the system ant explain me how did you get it.
Thank you very much. (Sorry for my English)

nivinp says:

May 26, 2014. 6:26 AM REPLY

I am a newbie into this product. I am looking for a cutting tool. Wanted to know if it can be done through laser. For example, I need to cut a branch of a tree
(lets say 3mm to 10mm) thickness. If so, can I use the laser cutter and which laser cutter would be best according to your opinion.

noelsgordon says:

May 2, 2014. 1:57 AM REPLY

Very impressed Zach. Apologies if you've answered my question elsewhere. I need to cut 3mm opaque ABS sheet quite rapidly - maybe 4000mm/minute.
What power laser would you suggest please ? Is there a viable alternative to CO2 laser for this. I've seen 30W blue & other diode lasers that claim to be
focusable on Alibaba and elsewhere. What could these cut please ? I know nothing - less than Colonel Klink - about the cutting capacity of lasers. ps
Absolutely gorgeous daughter. Enjoy her, our children are only 'on loan'.

Machine says:

Mar 15, 2013. 5:16 PM REPLY

Thanks for those warnings. A lot of people (me included) don't really have experience with lasers and don't understand the full power they have.

smustafa says:

Mar 23, 2011. 1:54 PM REPLY

the cutest lil baby on earth:)god bless her

askjerry says:

Feb 25, 2010. 7:26 PM REPLY

I was reading your section on the blower... from experience I have learned to put the blower OUTSIDE in a weatherproof container. This way the entire line
rom the laser to outside is negative pressure. If you have the blower inside... you may filter some of the smell... but the chemicals in the air can still reach
levels to cause you harm in the long run.
I use something like this:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_283862-8439617185300_0_?productId=3030374&Ntt=deck%20storage&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=deck%20storage$y=0$x=0
If the link doesn't work search for "Deck Storage" or "Deck Box"
I made a lexan plate for my window and have the blower vent at roof level. The air I intake is clean and odor free.

hintss says:
aren't you supposed to have the line from the blower lead outside?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Dec 2, 2010. 6:58 PM REPLY

TheMadScientist says:

Jun 29, 2008. 11:45 AM REPLY

not very well known, but you can get incredible mirrors by cutting them from harddrive platters. if you don't have a glass cutter, you could also use some of
the aluminum ones. both are polished so that not a spec of dust is on them originally, i'd spray coat them as soon as you open the harddrive, or fingerprints
will settle on them, but they're as perfect as you can get.

alphaseinor says:

Dec 7, 2008. 7:21 PM REPLY

What would you use for a spray coat?

Josh Campbell says:

May 20, 2010. 3:03 PM REPLY

good question...

hintss says:

Dec 2, 2010. 6:55 PM REPLY

hard drives are shiny. also united nuclear sells tiny circular mirrors, less than on inch in diameter, and they're made for infrared lasers. they're in
their death ray parts category...

njsoffice says:

Sep 20, 2010. 5:10 AM REPLY

Any chance of getting a look at the head mechanism, like a $250, 150watt 1200mm long laser tube is probably mounted horizontally, secured to the gantry
right?. mirrored to/through the head to the work piece. Otherwise, I guess I`ll have to raise the ceiling...ha,ha, vertical mounting (might get wonky when speed
picks up), OR... has anyone got any ideas?
Cheers :)

hintss says:

Dec 2, 2010. 6:54 PM REPLY

on epilog/universal lasers, its mounted inside/behind the machine, then a mirror or 2 reflect it toward the front of the machine, along the left side, where it
hits a mirror mounted to the gantry, making it go toward the right of the machine. then a mirror on the head reflects it downward, through a lens, onto the
material

yatishkumar.n says:

Jan 5, 2010. 1:27 PM REPLY

Hi, I'm interested in cutting metal sheets with the help of lase beam, I would like to know how does the CNC system (or) any servo system comes to know
whether the metal sheet is cut or not so that it can proceed for further cutting

Rossiroller says:

Feb 25, 2010. 6:47 PM REPLY

it does not "know". you input settings for power of the laser and speed of the movement, and it cuts however much it cuts. there are suggestions about
settings for certain materials probably floating around on the internet, but much of it probably just comes from experience with the tool

yatishkumar.n says:

Apr 14, 2010. 4:24 AM REPLY

Thanks for the info.

fade400 says:

Dec 19, 2008. 5:02 PM REPLY

This question doesn't have anything to do with your project, but rather your experience with lasers.
Right now it's like a blizzard outside. annndd I was just imagining up a possible way to drive on snow covered roads by building a rig to melt the snow under
the front of my car with a laser. what are your thoughts on this idea ? I saw some patents with similar ideas (not on a car) but havn't heard of any commercial
products. Can lasers be powerful enough to rapidly melt or even vaporize snow ?
Thanks =)

danlab says:

Mar 27, 2010. 7:52 AM REPLY

unitednuclear.com/index.php just put two on the front of your car and you'll be riding in style (or arrested I don't know which)

blacktails says:

Sep 4, 2009. 9:16 AM REPLY

I DO belive that they can be powerful enough, and it sounds like a legit plan, but maybe you should clear it with the government first to see if its ok with
them. it might be pretty damn hard to make a laser that strong though......

Rossiroller says:

Feb 25, 2010. 6:49 PM REPLY

haha i bet the government probably has that already, only they use it to kill people....

psymansays says:

Aug 9, 2009. 1:35 PM REPLY

To melt all of the snow in front of you at the speed of a car would take far more power than moving the car itself. You would need some kind of diesel
generator as well as your car's engine to produce the wattage to feed something like that. Next, the snow crystals would diffuse high-energy laser light,
permanently blinding everyone around for hundreds of feet in all directions.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

led555 says:

May 3, 2006. 8:40 PM REPLY

so this instructable is still in the works? I'm eager to see the source code for the PIC16C74. Will you publish that also? Are those lasers readily available?
For how much can I buy one? -peace

led555 says:

May 3, 2006. 8:46 PM REPLY

I found the price of the laser you're using... $2,000. Did you actually buy it, or was it a scrapped part? Can't you buy a simple laser cutter for $2,000? Just
curious.

n6nz says:

May 4, 2006. 11:38 PM REPLY

$2K? Ummm, not so far as I can tell. I did some web-searching on the subject a while back. For <$10K you seem to be able to get a 25W 8x10 inch,
Windoze-only unit. Now, that isn't bad if you are willing to work within the power, size, and software limitations. These are targetted at engraving
shops for trohpies and gifts and what-not. The sweet spot in terms of functionality of interest to a hacker seems to be sort of $15K-$20K, which
should get you 18x24 inches and 100W in something you can drive with G-codes. 100W will cut a lot of interesting materials, but not shiney metals.

n6nz says:

May 4, 2006. 11:43 PM REPLY

Well, that sucks. Most of my post got whacked off. Does the software not like "less-than" symbols? Better file a defect report. Back to my
comment: For under $10K you can get a 25W or so 8x10 inch Windoze-only unit. These are targetted at engraving shops. Of more interest to
hackers, in the $15K-$20K range you can get 18x24 inches and 100W in something you can drive with G-codes. This will cut a lot of interesting
materials very nicely, but not shiney metals.

askjerry says:

Feb 25, 2010. 7:13 PM REPLY

It probably thought the brackets were HTML code and removed them.

rivetgeek says:

Nov 19, 2008. 10:39 AM REPLY

100W CO2 laser will easily cut sheet metal with a polarized filter

askjerry says:

Dec 14, 2008. 8:37 AM REPLY

I have a 12x24 inch 35W unit... it cost me $16,400 so I can beleive that a 25W tube would be $2,000 with ease. I'll say this... if you are considering
any laser engraver/cutter... don't settle for less than a 35W tube. If I were to do it over... I would have bought a 50W unit. The 35W isn't really enough
to do metamark... and sometimes when I'm doing 1/4 inch plastic I need to either run at 1% speed, or make two passes. (I cut some parts that took
1.5 hours... it would have been about 1/2 hour with a 50W, likely 20 minutes with a 75W.) Great project though... at some time I want to build an X/Y
table in the 4x4 foot range... and actually have the laser head on the gantry so the distance from the laser to the part remains constant. In my current
Epilog unit, when the head is in the lower right corner the beam length is 3 feet, in the upper left corner it is 6 inches... so sometimes I have to adjust
cut speed so the lower right corner cuts all the way. With a constant distance... you don't have those issues. Jerry

TimAnderson says:

Dec 14, 2008. 9:24 AM REPLY

How heavy do you think the laser head would be - the way the head moves around a 50watt gantry might end up looking like a waterjet cutter.
Maybe moving the laser with the "gantry axis" would be good. ( I don't know what to call it. on some machines it's the X, on some it's the Y. The
motion axis that carries the other one)

askjerry says:

Dec 14, 2008. 6:16 PM REPLY

I'm not sure. My thought was to mount the head and transmit the power via a fiber optic cable... moving the actual head would be option #2. It
would likely be much slower... but considering that the laser is faster than a cutting head (mostly) it would be about the same as having a big
plasma or drill head. Jerry

Rossiroller says:

Feb 25, 2010. 6:53 PM REPLY

...... couldnt you just have the laser static and move the work piece around underneath it?

askjerry says:

Feb 25, 2010. 7:12 PM REPLY

You could, it depends on what kind of speed limitations you are willing to deal with. On my Epilog unit in raster mode, it swings the
head back and forth about 100 times a second to create raster art. Doing vector art it ouwld only need to move at up to about 20 IPM
or so. Routing the laser energy via fiber or mirrors allows you to move a 4 oz head ves a 15 lb head.
~ Jerry

thepelton says:

Jun 1, 2009. 1:25 PM REPLY

I have an Epilog laser. The laser itself is static, but mirrors direct the beam where you want it.

zachschi says:
Where do you purchase one of these units? Directly from Synrad?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Feb 8, 2010. 1:31 PM REPLY

linuox says:

Dec 19, 2007. 6:47 PM REPLY

great job, this is awesome, but if only i had the money and time to find all these parts!

winterfresh says:

May 28, 2009. 4:53 PM REPLY

Me too..... *Sigh*

matroska says:

May 28, 2009. 7:57 AM REPLY

I'm planning to build a laser etcher out of a printer (rest assure, if it works out properly an instructable is to be expected).
However, I don't have a clue at all on making the laser part. What laser should I use? How can I supply it?
I've looked quickly and stumbled on this: ebay link
Is that the kind of thing I want?
Remember, I am starting from scratch. What I already have is the X and Y axis, all I need is the laser part of the laser etcher machine.
Thanks! I badly need help about this :)

TimAnderson says:

Dec 14, 2008. 9:26 AM REPLY

Has anyone seen good plans for a homebrew CO2 laser? Made one? Had a job making them?

extrordinary1 says:

May 28, 2009. 1:50 AM REPLY

A website called Information Unlimited has plans to build CO 2 burning lasers.

shifty says:

Feb 20, 2009. 11:57 PM REPLY

this site has all kinds of information, including kits and pictures and reviews of kits, design tables, safety advice, where to get supplies, everything. Except
perhaps detailed info on the gas regulation.
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasercc2.htm
and this site has a wonderful pdf on making a 35W CO2 laser. the pick of my late-night web surf:
http://repairfaq.cis.upenn.edu/sam/rconway/

Newblit says:

Nov 5, 2008. 9:15 AM REPLY

This is great but change the name to people who have money home brew or something along those lines lol. I mean you spent a lot of money on this lol. But
great post otherwise.

sadunpererarules says:

Apr 25, 2008. 7:14 AM REPLY

i think ill make one tommorow.

rockthemfilas says:

Mar 6, 2008. 4:14 PM REPLY

ummm MY head HURTS

The_pyrogeek says:

Feb 10, 2008. 11:57 AM REPLY

Nice project! But kinda expensive...

Wannabmaker says:

Feb 8, 2008. 9:12 PM REPLY

I get a warm fuzzy happy feeling inside everytime i see instructables for laser cutters that show me parts that i want to use but was affraid they would be inadiquate. I really really want to build one of these within the next 2 years.my primary target material is going to be Balsa Wood.some nice fast cuts would be
good,im thinking somewhere in the range of a 40Watt laser should be good. I have a MM2001 interface for my CNC Foam cutter,it would be so cool if i could
hook that up to some different software and use it on a laser cutter :P thanks Zach,you really made my day

BlueFusion says:

Jan 31, 2008. 5:56 PM REPLY

is it just me or are most of the pictures missing?

neotom666 says:
Johnny 5 and you make a pretty cute kid!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/

Jan 26, 2008. 5:41 AM REPLY

ivanirons says:

Dec 16, 2007. 5:35 PM REPLY

Great Instructable Zach! The parts I loved were in the X,Y,Z portion. I like you take on machines/gantries for a project like this. I so far am a bit scared of
lasers. I do like plasma though.
I also instruct others. I have made a number of tutorials on various CNC Projects. I like to walk people through each step during the CNC Process. I get great
feedback from people just entering our cool CNC Hobby.
Here are the videos:
http://www.cncinformation.com/CNCBlog/
Then click on the link on the left.
Thanks for your contribution,
Ivan Irons
http://www.cncinformation.com

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Zach-Radding-Homebrew-Laser-Cutter/