how about a laser cnc homemaded??

[copachino]

as a mechanical engineer, i been seeing some laser etched enclosure even they are from professional machine, i have a module for stepper motor from an old cnc project i maded, i still have some pieces and stuff, so i will only have to buy some pieces like the laser, and some aluminium structure, for that, i have in OSH park shared the drivers and the module  for the drivers, and Arduino board will be the interpreter from the program and the stepper drivers, drivers are able to make 1/8 step from the motors so i have 200 step motor(200 step per 360°), giving the main resolution to 1.8°, but the driver its able to make 1/8 so the total rosolution will be 0.225°, that its an insane resolution por DIY cnc machine, stepper are nema23, 2.5A per fase, machine will be 3 axis and only be using 2 axis in the laser engraver mode, but i want to leave 3 axis to just change the laser for a dremel and use it for machine engraver builds(probable pcb prototyping)its going to be a long journey and it will be taking months to complete, but if someone its interested i can post updates, source code, and plains of the machine, would it be any interest over here??

[pickdropper]

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

[copachino]

do you know a good cam program based on gcode to run th engraver??, i need some info here(since i only used mechanical cnc cads for gcode), i will serch some infor here of users with his engravers, will try to make a full project for those fo are willing to make one of this, as i say im aming a really insane(for DIY) resolution machine, i need to machine some acme threads, for the job to make it better and i have some ball bearings with guides too.

[copachino]

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

i will noy only need a compressor for the job but also a pump whrn the machine its on CNC mode, for the cooling of the parts, and also the cmompressor will be needed to extract fumes and all other waste...

[pickdropper]

That's all up to how you configure the drivers.  The laser we purchased has a standard windows printer driver, so I run it from Adobe Illustrator.  Corel Draw is another popular one.

Laser engravers are usually different than CNC engraving machines; they don't use gcode.

My advice is to do a lot of research before jumping in.  If it's not done right, it can be a severe fire hazard.

[pickdropper]

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

i will noy only need a compressor for the job but also a pump whrn the machine its on CNC mode, for the cooling of the parts, and also the cmompressor will be needed to extract fumes and all other waste...

You are going to water cool the parts while cutting?  Like a water jet machine?

I think you are talking about a different type of laser than I am.  We purchased a CO2 based laser, which is good for etching powder coat off of boxes, but is not capable of etching into metal.  It sounds like you are talking fiber or yag lasers.  The heavier duty industrial machines that cut metal are the only thing I could think of that would require liquid cooling of the parts being cut, and I am not sure I've ever seen that.

There are water chillers for keeping the machine cool (and maybe blowing colder air), but that's a bit different.

[chuckbuick]

Building something like this is beyond my current capabilities but I am totally interested in seeing updates and watching how this comes together.

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

i will noy only need a compressor for the job but also a pump whrn the machine its on CNC mode, for the cooling of the parts, and also the cmompressor will be needed to extract fumes and all other waste...

You are going to water cool the parts while cutting?  Like a water jet machine?

I think he is talking about a coolant pump for doing more conventional 3-axis spindle cutting/engraving in addition to it's 2-axis laser capability.  Sounds like a versatile little machine being built here.

[pickdropper]

Building something like this is beyond my current capabilities but I am totally interested in seeing updates and watching how this comes together.

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

i will noy only need a compressor for the job but also a pump whrn the machine its on CNC mode, for the cooling of the parts, and also the cmompressor will be needed to extract fumes and all other waste...

You are going to water cool the parts while cutting?  Like a water jet machine?

I think he is talking about a coolant pump for doing more conventional 3-axis spindle cutting/engraving in addition to it's 2-axis laser capability.  Sounds like a versatile little machine being built here.

Versatile yes, but it might be better served building them as two separate machines.  I think having a bunch of liquid being sprayed around the laser optics would be less than optimal.  But perhaps he has a clever way of protecting the laser while the 3-axis spindle is doing its thing.

We have a 4-axis CNC as well as a laser engraver at work and they are far different machines.  At this point, I can't imagine combining them.  It doesn't mean it can't be done, but I am just not seeing it at the moment.

[copachino]

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

i will noy only need a compressor for the job but also a pump whrn the machine its on CNC mode, for the cooling of the parts, and also the cmompressor will be needed to extract fumes and all other waste...

You are going to water cool the parts while cutting?  Like a water jet machine?

I think you are talking about a different type of laser than I am.  We purchased a CO2 based laser, which is good for etching powder coat off of boxes, but is not capable of etching into metal.  It sounds like you are talking fiber or yag lasers.  The heavier duty industrial machines that cut metal are the only thing I could think of that would require liquid cooling of the parts being cut, and I am not sure I've ever seen that.

There are water chillers for keeping the machine cool (and maybe blowing colder air), but that's a bit different.

nono, i would be 3 axis machine, but, with build in code for a CNC machine using a dremel for cutting pcbs and stuff like that, and a removable head with the laser fot the etching, its like haveing 2 in 1 machine, a laser engraver and a CNC machine, i believe that laer engraver also must use gcode, otherwise stepper and servos would understand the code, i will make a little reserch of that, as i said its gonna take months to complete this little monster and probably start on wood machine to debug and the aluminium structure to make it more suitable for hard jobs on enclosure(CNC part) and pcbs

[copachino]

Building something like this is beyond my current capabilities but I am totally interested in seeing updates and watching how this comes together.

You may be able to find that type of info on the web already.  There have certainly been folks who have made their own laser engravers.

It could be a cool project.  But make sure you design proper airflow and ventilation into it.  It's very important, especially if you will be using it to cut acrylic.  It's important for two reasons:

1.)  The fumes can get really unpleasant

2.)  It's a severe fire hazard with it.

At the very least, you'll need an air compressor to pull air across the bed while cutting.  I just got done helping with the installation of the FFX laser engraver and we had to run ducting with a dedicated fan that's always on, AND an air compressor for when cutting.

i will noy only need a compressor for the job but also a pump whrn the machine its on CNC mode, for the cooling of the parts, and also the cmompressor will be needed to extract fumes and all other waste...

You are going to water cool the parts while cutting?  Like a water jet machine?

I think he is talking about a coolant pump for doing more conventional 3-axis spindle cutting/engraving in addition to it's 2-axis laser capability.  Sounds like a versatile little machine being built here.

Versatile yes, but it might be better served building them as two separate machines.  I think having a bunch of liquid being sprayed around the laser optics would be less than optimal.  But perhaps he has a clever way of protecting the laser while the 3-axis spindle is doing its thing.

We have a 4-axis CNC as well as a laser engraver at work and they are far different machines.  At this point, I can't imagine combining them.  It doesn't mean it can't be done, but I am just not seeing it at the moment.

thats because your machine are professional grade CNCs and professional engraver, its would be hard to move that big CO2 laser on that, or the head on the 4 axis CNC, but in a small homemade machine you can make the modules(the splindle and the laser to removable so you will use only the hardware as CNC for the two jobs, but i cant be a pain in the ass too... i had built a CNC with 4 axis before a 2 axis engraver its like possible based on that, but i really think corel must use certain gcode prosses to make the engravement

[pickdropper]

Well, it sounds like you have a good idea of how you want to do it.  Best of luck with it.  I'm looking forward to seeing the results!

[mgwhit]

Or you can go the really cheap route:  http://www.instructables.com/id/60-Laser-Engraver--Cutter/

Seems like a really good way to hurt somebody.

[pickdropper]

Or you can go the really cheap route:  http://www.instructables.com/id/60-Laser-Engraver--Cutter/

Seems like a really good way to hurt somebody.

Or burn your house down.

[copachino]

Or you can go the really cheap route:  http://www.instructables.com/id/60-Laser-Engraver--Cutter/

Seems like a really good way to hurt somebody.

Or burn your house down.

hahaha that a good way to do it.. but i will try before using a CO2 laser with a common laser and a power module to burn in wood or paper, after that  will try co2 maybe jajaja

[pickdropper]

Or you can go the really cheap route:  http://www.instructables.com/id/60-Laser-Engraver--Cutter/

Seems like a really good way to hurt somebody.

Or burn your house down.

hahaha that a good way to do it.. but i will try before using a CO2 laser with a common laser and a power module to burn in wood or paper, after that  will try co2 maybe jajaja

I honestly wish you the best of luck.  Please be careful.