Laser engraving enclosures with a cheap Chinese machine? Yes!

[trotel]

Following this thread has been really interesting.  Though it looks like quite a challenge, I'm pretty close to heading down the rabbit hole with the rest of you.

@pickdropper and @m-Kresol:   The alignment baseplate jig looks like an important add-on.

pickdropper- how did you make your acrylic alignment plate? 

m-Kresol- how was your wooden baseplate made?  Looks like the board was cut with a router bit to create space for the laser head?  How does the laser connect to the baseplate?

[pickdropper]

Following this thread has been really interesting.  Though it looks like quite a challenge, I'm pretty close to heading down the rabbit hole with the rest of you.

@pickdropper and @m-Kresol:   The alignment baseplate jig looks like an important add-on.

pickdropper- how did you make your acrylic alignment plate? 

m-Kresol- how was your wooden baseplate made?  Looks like the board was cut with a router bit to create space for the laser head?  How does the laser connect to the baseplate?

I laser cut mine on the laser engraver.

[alanp]

Has anyone tried cutting 2 or 3mm perspex or acrylic with these, or cutting the RowMark stuff?

[pickdropper]

Has anyone tried cutting 2 or 3mm perspex or acrylic with these, or cutting the RowMark stuff?

I'd be curious if they can cut 3mm perspex without a lot of meltback as well.

[m-Kresol]

Following this thread has been really interesting.  Though it looks like quite a challenge, I'm pretty close to heading down the rabbit hole with the rest of you.

@pickdropper and @m-Kresol:   The alignment baseplate jig looks like an important add-on.

pickdropper- how did you make your acrylic alignment plate? 

m-Kresol- how was your wooden baseplate made?  Looks like the board was cut with a router bit to create space for the laser head?  How does the laser connect to the baseplate?

I have not tried an enclosure without the baseplate, but it sure is awesome for aligning.
We made the cutout with a circular saw and a big wood drill for the corners. Stefan insisted we need to route the edges and sand the plate, to stick to his standards (he just made a wonderful crib for his newborn). The baseplate is screwed to the acrylic feet of the laser.

[trotel]

Thanks- seems straightforward enough!

I have not tried an enclosure without the baseplate, but it sure is awesome for aligning.
We made the cutout with a circular saw and a big wood drill for the corners. Stefan insisted we need to route the edges and sand the plate, to stick to his standards (he just made a wonderful crib for his newborn). The baseplate is screwed to the acrylic feet of the laser.

[alanp]

Something that just occurred to me -- could you cut a template in, say, thin plastic (an icecream lid or something), tape it to the top of an enclosure, and spraypaint it?

[culturejam]

Something that just occurred to me -- could you cut a template in, say, thin plastic (an icecream lid or something), tape it to the top of an enclosure, and spraypaint it?

You can cut cardstock to make a template. But I also have a hobby plotter/cutter that can do the same thing faster and cleaner. This is also being discussed here: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=28126.0

[alanp]

Well, I know as much about this cricut vinyl business as I do about orbital dynamics and lagrange points (they exist, and that's about it), so my thought was laser cutting

[culturejam]

Well, I know as much about this cricut vinyl business as I do about orbital dynamics and lagrange points (they exist, and that's about it), so my thought was laser cutting

The hobby plotters are actually really easy to use. Much easier than lasers. If you're after a way to make templates, the cutter/plotter method is going to be much simpler, in my opinion. Plus, you can make stickers!