Laser engraving enclosures with a cheap Chinese machine? Yes!

[m-Kresol]

wow that's an impressive laser etch. which laser did you use?

[Martan]

wow that's an impressive laser etch. which laser did you use?

We have a Boss Laser 1630 at work. From reading this thread, these hobby lasers should be able to do the etch (if not the cutting). The main difference seems to be the time it takes. The material is easily cut and drilled by hand, though.

[selfdestroyer]

I have been traveling for work like a mad man all month... but I was hoping to come home to a laser last night.. its still stuck in China. I thought it was shipping out of the Canada warehouse, guess they ran out.

Cody

[madbean]

Glad I didn't buy one of these because it would have taken me almost 4 hours to put together including re-doing some work.

[culturejam]

Yeah, you got the laser module I was supposed to get. :/ 

[Philthy]

Glad I didn't buy one of these because it would have taken me almost 4 hours to put together including re-doing some work.

Please don't show us how this engraver, that you didn't buy, that would have taken you four hours to put toegoter, performs, as probably would not buy one too.

[culturejam]

Glad I didn't buy one of these because it would have taken me almost 4 hours to put together including re-doing some work.

You know the little pieces with the screws that hold the belts tight into the groove? The original design had these with a solid plastic tab that held the belt down and just the one larger screw to secure it to the frame (instead of a second small screw to to hold the belt down). A lot of the guys on the Benbox forum say the original piece is a better design, so somebody made a 3D model of it. I'm going to print some for myself, so if you want a set, let me know.

[EBK]

Glad I didn't buy one of these because it would have taken me almost 4 hours to put together including re-doing some work.

Please don't show us how this engraver, that you didn't buy, that would have taken you four hours to put toegoter, performs, as probably would not buy one too.

-(-1)
I also wouldn't say I'm not uninterested in having none of these. 

[madbean]

Ha ha, I fooled you guys. I totally bought one!

Anyway, I haven't fired it up yet but here are a couple of assembly tips:

- Follow the diagrams on the pdf I posted. They are pretty accurate.
- The diagrams list the screw lengths so follow those. It's easy to get the 10mm and 12mm confused so keep a ruler handy.
- Don't over-tighten the wheel attachments. The PVC offset spacers will crack if you do it too tight. Moderate turns...not cranked down.
- Before you screw the aluminum extrusions together, put 4 of the t-nuts in the back (two for the acrylic stands and two for the control panel) and two in front (for the front stands). Otherwise you will have to disassemble the frame to put them in (this is not on the assembly instructions).
- The belt guide that attaches to the steppers has two insert screws to tighten...not one!
- The button for my controller board has a round hole. The switch has a larger rectanguler protrusion. Maybe I am a moron but I don't know how that is supposed to work. I used an old game controller button with a spring instead.
- Strain relief on the cables is probably a good idea.

[EBK]

A lot of the guys on the Benbox forum say the original piece is a better design, so somebody made a 3D model of it. I'm going to print some for myself, so if you want a set, let me know.

The thought actually crossed my mind to ask you to print me one, even though I haven't bought the kit yet.  That way, I could tell myself, "Well, I have to buy it now, or this part will go to waste." 

[EBK]

I accidentally just bought one of these. 
The EleksMaker coupon code is still good.

[EBK]

Another cool material for laser etching is Rowmark Lasermax plastic (http://www.rowmark.com/laser/LaserMAX/lasermax.asp). Its a thin layer of one color on top of a thicker bulk plastic of another. Great for making faceplates. Lots of color combos and I found them for ~$17 for a large sheet that could do maybe 20-30 faceplates.

Where did you buy that stuff?  Are you sure you didn't mean $71? 

[m-Kresol]

since several people did now buy one (or not), does anyone but me plan on using it with a mac? Since all programs supplied by eleksmaker are windows only, I'm planing on using a general Gcode sender to operate the engraver. I'm new to this though, so any input is highly welcome.

[EBK]

I plan to get it to work with Linux.  Haven't looked into how to do that yet though.  I imagine the solution would be similar for mac.  Will post whatever I figure out.

[madbean]

I don't even plan on trying the manufacturer software with it. T2Laser seems to be the way to go...but I think it costs about $40 (I think support for XP is minimal and unfortunately the laptop I was going to use has XP). Maybe Linux would be worth a look.