Zebethyal's 2.x Laser Build
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:07 pm
I have been following this forum for quite a while now and have posted a couple of times in the other sections, however I thought it about time that I actually catalogue my build progress here as well as on my own Blog site.
I decided on a full Metric build and drew up the entire 2.x laser in Sketchup, I swapped all of the 1/4" pieces for M6 and replaced the MXL belts and pulleys with GT2-2, I also replaced the 1/4 floating PEM nuts with M6 cage nuts.
I decided to 3D print all of the plastic parts myself from my own Sketchup drawings as this was going to be far cheaper than any other option, I am all about saving cash on my builds where possible, even if, on occasion, this means I have to re-design the part from scratch to accommodate my choices (e.g. SAE to Metric).
All of the parts in both Sketchup (.skp) and Stereo Lithography (.stl) format, including the Sketchup drawing of the complete 2.x laser are available on my GitHub site.
Most of the parts suppliers I have used so far, I have referenced in the UK Suppliers thread here on the forum, they are also referenced in the relevant section of my Blog.
I have currently built the frame as far as I can without the Makerslide, this is currently on order from Amber Spyglass, they have only recently had a new stock delivery.
I am also building the rotary axis from mainly 3D printed parts (all files used are also on the GitHub site), the main 60 tooth gears were again changed from MXL to GT2-2.
All of the items I printed that use bearings had their bore printed slightly undersize and then bored to a more accurate size on my mini mill, rather than relying 100% on the fit against a raw 3D printed part.
I may yet use an X7 DSP, although in the short term I will have a play with GRBL.
I also acquired a slightly used 40W tube and PWM PSU on ebay quite cheaply, so I may end up selling on my unused Chinese laser cutter instead of using it for parts.
I decided on a full Metric build and drew up the entire 2.x laser in Sketchup, I swapped all of the 1/4" pieces for M6 and replaced the MXL belts and pulleys with GT2-2, I also replaced the 1/4 floating PEM nuts with M6 cage nuts.
I decided to 3D print all of the plastic parts myself from my own Sketchup drawings as this was going to be far cheaper than any other option, I am all about saving cash on my builds where possible, even if, on occasion, this means I have to re-design the part from scratch to accommodate my choices (e.g. SAE to Metric).
All of the parts in both Sketchup (.skp) and Stereo Lithography (.stl) format, including the Sketchup drawing of the complete 2.x laser are available on my GitHub site.
Most of the parts suppliers I have used so far, I have referenced in the UK Suppliers thread here on the forum, they are also referenced in the relevant section of my Blog.
I have currently built the frame as far as I can without the Makerslide, this is currently on order from Amber Spyglass, they have only recently had a new stock delivery.
I am also building the rotary axis from mainly 3D printed parts (all files used are also on the GitHub site), the main 60 tooth gears were again changed from MXL to GT2-2.
All of the items I printed that use bearings had their bore printed slightly undersize and then bored to a more accurate size on my mini mill, rather than relying 100% on the fit against a raw 3D printed part.
I may yet use an X7 DSP, although in the short term I will have a play with GRBL.
I also acquired a slightly used 40W tube and PWM PSU on ebay quite cheaply, so I may end up selling on my unused Chinese laser cutter instead of using it for parts.