LeonS' build: It lives!

[LeonS]

I haven't been keeping a build log as I assembled my 2.x, but have been asking questions on the rest of the boards.

I am pleased to report that my 2.x is fully functional (in an initial state) and it works magnificently! I'd like to thank Bart for putting together such a great design and supplying all of the main parts for the hardware. It is awesome and was great fun to put together. I'd also like to thank Tim Wehr for all the help in making the decision to go with the DSP controller and the setup guide. He and his document got me going in an afternoon even with the beta documentation!

Even though I was #7 on the original kit list I have really only gotten my laser buttoned up in its skins a couple of days ago. This isn't due to lack of interest or technical confusion, I had a leak in my basement ceiling that took me a couple of weeks to resolve and a 4 week vacation slowed me down some.

My build was pretty uniform with Bart and Tim's original instructions. The following lists the approach I took for all the laser cutter environmental options:

Controller: Light Object DSP in the blue case. I mounted the controller vertically on the right hand panel near the front of the laser.

Lens, mirrors and mounts: Light Object

Stepper Driver: Wired up my own little Polulu board and didn't use the Rev 1 interface board I got from Bart

Air assist: Bart's "cone". Works great. I use an airbrush pump from Harbor Freight which is working well.

Cooling: I use a 3 gallon reservoir and a fountain pump housed in a small "office" refrigerator under the laser's bench. Cheap and quiet.

Coolant: I am currently using RV antifreeze per Lasersafe1's suggestion elsewhere.

Fume evacuation: I have a 1hp dust collector blower under the crawl space adjacent to the room that houses the laser. That keeps the high frequency scream it produces muffled completely. The exhaust is piped to a well sealed vent to the outside. No fumes within the house and the noise is not a problem.I use a router speed control and find I can run it at about 75% power without having any fumes escape the laser into the room.

Exhaust scrubber: I made a really ugly (but effective) air scrubber out of a plastic trash can using furnace filters and activated carbon. Cleans up most of the odors before the get outside.

Other tweaks: I mounted the X limit switch on the inside of the x axis to get a little extra Y movement. I also removed the right hand cover stop. I used $1.50 hinges from Lowes for the cover since I couldn't get them from Misumi after the earthquake.

I am very pleased with my initial tests. I can cut 1/4 inch plexiglass with two passes at 40% power. It took 6 passes at 90% on my old Chinese laser. This was due to the new lens and mirrors, air assist and orienting the mirror with the flat side down. All in all, a big improvement. I am still trying to zero in on the correct focus height. The depth of field is larger than it was with the lens mounted upside down in my other laser. Another reason that I can cut with fewer passes is that I can slow done the movement of the laser head a lot more than I could with NewlyDraw on the Chinese laser.

The DSP is working great though I have some questions that I will ask on the DSP forum channel. (Fair warning Tim!) I really like it and feel totally comfortable with it. Mach3 and I did not get along as well.

My shop is odor free and relatively quiet (all things considered). And the laser is working great. I am a happy camper.

Things to do in the near future:
1) red laser focus dot
2) Replace the front panel
3) Redo the idle bearings and rods with smooth rods if the current configuration causes any problems.
4) Mount the DSP control panel in the top right panel.

Thanks to Bart, Tim and all of you who provide such good advice and ideas.

Cheers!,
Leon