2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

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2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby AJ Quick » Sat Nov 05, 2011 6:44 pm

Hey guys! I finally decided to take the plunge with a Laser Cutter project. My girlfriend has been saying that it would really be helpful if she had a laser cutter to use with her craft projects. I'm not new to the whole CNC thing, I had a CNC Project up on Kickstarter earlier this year that was very successful. I just wished the Makerslide had come out before I had done that, the machine probably would have definitely utilized those style slides vs. shafts.

I'm really looking forward to putting together the laser cutter. I still don't know exactly how the laser sights line up so that it always hits the mirrors, but I hope that beomes apparent once I see it work. Can anyone explain that with a diagram perhaps? Do the mirrors rotate?

I placed my Misumi order yesterday. All the parts came out to $251.42 shipped. I suppose the price of aluminum has gone up since the BOM was created. I plan to place my order with bdring soon. Though I feel like I should probably use my CNC to make some of the parts instead of purchasing them, but we'll see how much time I have. I want to try to get this done by Jan.

I have my controller ready. Its my own design that I built.. and will probably get a 36V power supply from Keling or build my own.
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby bdring » Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:17 pm

24V is a little more versatile if you plan to add features, DSP controller, relays, etc later. 24V will provide plenty of power. At 36V you may need to dial to current way down to prevent overheated motors. Some of the motors mount to plastic, so you don't want them too hot. I have seen more than one melted Y motor mount.
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby AJ Quick » Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:32 pm

You are probably right. I had planned on just turning down the amperage to match the motors rating, as my controller can handle up to 44V, but I didn't consider adding on the other parts that would run off the same voltage. I don't plan on DSP, but the relays certainly will be easier to find in 24V vs. anything else.
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby AJ Quick » Thu Nov 10, 2011 4:53 am

Just checked my order status with Misumi.

Ordered Friday Nov 4, Shipped Nov 8th.. should have it by tomorrow Nov 10th!

I'm very excited!
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby AJ Quick » Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:03 pm

Even though I placed my order with Misumi last week, I neglected one important thing! Bolts!

I didn't pay close enough attention when ordering that I wasn't ordering anything to fasten the frame together. So yesterday I had to overnight some M5 x 10mm screws from McMaster-Carr. It might of been cheaper to buy a few (overpriced) boxes at Fastenal locally, but it probably came out to about the same.

I just spent an hour or two putting the frame together. Nothing is quite lined up as I don't want to tighten everything down until I have the Makerslides. One thing I would highly recommend, perhaps even adding to the Bill of Materials would be some jigs for lining up the spacing on the parts. It wouldn't add too much to the cost to have a few spare peices of aluminum extrusion added that could be used to line stuff up. Mainly the horizontal bars are hard to get at the right height... but there are probably a few other places that could benefit as well.
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby AJ Quick » Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:53 pm

I got a bunch of kits from Bart right before the Holiday. I've been trying to figure out what goes where, but have been having a pretty difficult time. Is there a good set of assembly instructions out there? I've seen the Wiki, the Google Docs File, and scoured the drawing files... but none of them really show exactly what part goes where or (in the case of the drawings) are not clear exactly what parts are stacked up.

I'm having a hard time figuring out which parts of the kit are for belts, and which parts are for limit switches and which parts go on the gantry, and which go on the frame...
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby bdring » Sat Nov 26, 2011 10:25 pm

Try building the gantry first. That will use up a bunch of parts and is a pretty easy to build assembly. If something is unclear post a picture of what you need help with. I added you as an editor to the Google doc if you want to help improve it. You can also edit the Wiki. The wiki could use some picture on the gantry page.

My Pro/E checkout expired today, so I am without CAD for the rest of the weekend.
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Re: 2.X Build. Laser Newbie. Not new to CNC.

Postby AJ Quick » Sat Nov 26, 2011 10:29 pm

Thanks.

I think I'll do my best to document with pictures what parts go where. I think the Wiki will be the most beneficial to the site's visitors, so I'll focus on that.
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