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Rakins
Apr 6, 2009

Dunno if any of you are a member, but there's a google group for K40 owners that has been really helpful in upgrading my machine. Everyone replies at all hours of the night and gets you help with a problem fast.

I'm finally pretty finished upgrading my machine. Cut out the lovely air duct, replaced the blower fan with a nice inline fan :420: and drilled some holes to screw new duct into case so no more space in between. Also ripped out the lovely clamp bed and gained about 3 inches of vertical space for focusing. Added the ebay Saite_Cutter air assist head with new lens which is really nice, but just need to re-focus machine now. I cracked a nipple on my water inlet and couldn't get the hosing to stay put or keep from leaking with silicone, hose clamps, or zip ties and marine epoxy did the trick. Just swapped the pump for a lower flow rate so I don't stress it. But the 10 layers of epoxy have moved my tube about a quarter inch from where it was originally so focusing is turning out to be a pain. I'm trying to move my mirrors further back but might just cut the side out of the case and move the tube back so I don't have to mess with every drat mirror mount. Also almost have my smoothieboard in too!

I found some cool 3D printable parts for the K40, unfortunately can't use them yet as my printer came with missing parts, if anyone wants to print me some I'll toss you some money.

Focusing tools

http://www.thingiverse.com/funinthefalls/collections/k40-cutter/page:5

Cheap air assist

Laser cut 4th axis rotary

3D printed rotary

Rakins fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Jun 8, 2016

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Parts Kit
Jun 9, 2006

durr
i have a hole in my head
durr
Is a 500mw blue diode enough for me to burn line art into wood?

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums
Yeah, that will do the trick. I have one of those little 500mW dealies and it burns lines into wood just fine.

No idea what kind of cooling you might need for sustained use though.

Parts Kit
Jun 9, 2006

durr
i have a hole in my head
durr
Rad. Was about to snag one but noticed a 1w version for about $10 more currently. So I ordered it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1000mW-1200...DQAAOSwll1Wxcxt

Fleedar
Aug 29, 2002
RARRUGHH!!
Lipstick Apathy
I am shopping around for a laser cutter for the purpose of cutting paperboard for very small scale architectural models. The price of these cheap Chinese lasers is very appealing, but I'm a huge dummy who has basically zero experience tinkering with hardware or messing with electronics. Is it a terrible idea for someone like me to buy one? Should I bite the bullet on something much more expensive and idiot proof?

Also, how hard is it to get one of these lasers to etch paper like this?:



For scale, that paper is .5mm thick.

Bad Munki
Nov 4, 2008

We're all mad here.


e: poo poo I'm so lost, thought this was the terrain megathread. Welp! :downs:

Nevets
Sep 11, 2002

Be they sad or be they well,
I'll make their lives a hell
If you get lucky like I did you'll get a laser that doesn't need any calibration, all the parts included and works just fine with Windows 10. But since these are all knockoffs of knockoffs with little quality control there isn't really any way to guaranty you get a good one even if you buy yours from the same distributor I got mine from (Orion Motor Tech). If you are willing to risk having to spend some time learning how to align the mirrors, etc. I'd say you've got a pretty decent chance of getting one that works out of the box or just needs some minor adjustment.

As far as capability goes, it will etch or cut paperboard like no tomorrow. I'm holdinging off on playing around with wood and acrylic until I get my air assist and exhaust system upgraded, but I've lasered a few sheets of very thin cardboard:



I'd say this piece was about 0.5mm or a little thicker, with the power dial turned down as low as I could and still get a beam out of the tube. The first engraving is barely etching the cardboard, the last one is so far through you can see light through the engraved portion.

Pimblor
Sep 13, 2003
bob
Grimey Drawer
What PSI/kPa are you guys running air assist at? I tried using an old aquarium bubbler pump and it seemed to do gently caress-all.

Fleedar
Aug 29, 2002
RARRUGHH!!
Lipstick Apathy

Nevets posted:

If you get lucky like I did you'll get a laser that doesn't need any calibration, all the parts included and works just fine with Windows 10. But since these are all knockoffs of knockoffs with little quality control there isn't really any way to guaranty you get a good one even if you buy yours from the same distributor I got mine from (Orion Motor Tech). If you are willing to risk having to spend some time learning how to align the mirrors, etc. I'd say you've got a pretty decent chance of getting one that works out of the box or just needs some minor adjustment.

As far as capability goes, it will etch or cut paperboard like no tomorrow. I'm holdinging off on playing around with wood and acrylic until I get my air assist and exhaust system upgraded, but I've lasered a few sheets of very thin cardboard:



I'd say this piece was about 0.5mm or a little thicker, with the power dial turned down as low as I could and still get a beam out of the tube. The first engraving is barely etching the cardboard, the last one is so far through you can see light through the engraved portion.

Awesome! I'm thinking it may very well be worth a roll of the dice for the prices I'm seeing. If I'm only ever going to be cutting and etching paperboard, is a 40+W laser overkill? I'm seeing some lasers with single digit wattages that are passively cooled, which sounds appealing. Or is it a case where higher power leads to cleaner/more accurate cuts or something like that?

ante
Apr 9, 2005

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS

Fleedar posted:

Awesome! I'm thinking it may very well be worth a roll of the dice for the prices I'm seeing. If I'm only ever going to be cutting and etching paperboard, is a 40+W laser overkill? I'm seeing some lasers with single digit wattages that are passively cooled, which sounds appealing. Or is it a case where higher power leads to cleaner/more accurate cuts or something like that?

Oh you'll find a use for it :getin:

Nevets
Sep 11, 2002

Be they sad or be they well,
I'll make their lives a hell

ante posted:

Oh you'll find a use for it :getin:

And from what I understand running the laser at less than max power will extend it's life, so a 40W running at 25% may last longer than a 20W running at 50%.

huhu
Feb 24, 2006
Would this material be decent for laser cutting?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboard-Tempered-Common-1-8-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Actual-0-125-in-x-23-75-in-x-47-75-in-7005015/202088786

Edit, or this: https://www.officesupply.com/craft-supplies/paint-more/surfaces/dowels-craft-sticks-more/plywood-sheet/p452491.html

The two answers I've found thus far are rather vague. My only requirements for material are something that's 1/8" thick and is super cheap. I don't care about what the final product looks like, just trying to design a basic box with makercase.com to create.

huhu fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Jun 29, 2016

peepsalot
Apr 24, 2007

        PEEP THIS...
           BITCH!

huhu posted:

Would this material be decent for laser cutting?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboard-Tempered-Common-1-8-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Actual-0-125-in-x-23-75-in-x-47-75-in-7005015/202088786

The two answers I've found thus far are rather vague. My only requirements for material are something that's 1/8" thick and is super cheap. I don't care about what the final product looks like, just trying to design a basic box with makercase.com to create.
Yeah its basically MDF but denser. Both are good for lasering because they are very homogeneous so if some of your cuts are not all the way through, or rasters, then you won't have cut depth inconsistencies to deal with like knots or voids that you might have with plywood.

huhu
Feb 24, 2006

peepsalot posted:

Yeah its basically MDF but denser. Both are good for lasering because they are very homogeneous so if some of your cuts are not all the way through, or rasters, then you won't have cut depth inconsistencies to deal with like knots or voids that you might have with plywood.

Awesome thanks.

Nevets
Sep 11, 2002

Be they sad or be they well,
I'll make their lives a hell

The description says it's coated in linseed oil. I'm not sure how much more flammable that makes the wood after it's all dried out, but I'd have one hand on the off button and the other on a fire extinguisher to be safe.

The Locator
Sep 12, 2004

Out here, everything hurts.





huhu posted:

Would this material be decent for laser cutting?

Edit, or this: https://www.officesupply.com/craft-supplies/paint-more/surfaces/dowels-craft-sticks-more/plywood-sheet/p452491.html

The two answers I've found thus far are rather vague. My only requirements for material are something that's 1/8" thick and is super cheap. I don't care about what the final product looks like, just trying to design a basic box with makercase.com to create.

If you expect to use very much plywood (or basswood) sheeting, I highly recommend going direct to the company that provides these sheets to the retailers - Midwest Products. http://midwestproducts.com/collections/plywood

You have to buy a 'package' instead of single sheets, but any order over $50 ships free, and if you are going to use much at all you'll save a ton of money. Note that the pricing they show on the product listing screen is per package, not per sheet. Number of sheets in a package will vary by the size of the product (more sheets the thinner you are getting). The savings is pretty variable, but on basswood I saved a huge amount of money buying packages from them instead of individual sheets from my local hobby store.

FISHMANPET
Mar 3, 2007

Sweet 'N Sour
Can't
Melt
Steel Beams
This is the plywood I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013NT3OAC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Much cheaper (I think) than even buying direct from Midwest, and it's all been high quality as far as I can tell.

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums
Cheap and flat and 1/8" (nominal) = hardboard for sure. I've used so much of that stuff :shepface:

The Locator
Sep 12, 2004

Out here, everything hurts.





FISHMANPET posted:

This is the plywood I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013NT3OAC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Much cheaper (I think) than even buying direct from Midwest, and it's all been high quality as far as I can tell.

Yep, that's a great price per sheet if the quality is good. I don't typically need *that* much wood, and I know the quality from Midwest is top-notch, which is why I get thin plywood or basswood from them rather than hunting on e-bay or Amazon, since the photo's that vendor's use are not always representative of the quality you actually get.

Zuph
Jul 24, 2003
Zupht0r 6000 Turbo Type-R

huhu posted:

Would this material be decent for laser cutting?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboard-Tempered-Common-1-8-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Actual-0-125-in-x-23-75-in-x-47-75-in-7005015/202088786

Edit, or this: https://www.officesupply.com/craft-supplies/paint-more/surfaces/dowels-craft-sticks-more/plywood-sheet/p452491.html

The two answers I've found thus far are rather vague. My only requirements for material are something that's 1/8" thick and is super cheap. I don't care about what the final product looks like, just trying to design a basic box with makercase.com to create.

I've had really mixed results with Hardboard. I've bought sheets that cut beautifully, like butter, and I've had sheets that char, and make a mess, and are impossible to work with.

That said, if you're working with >40 watts, probably no problem at all.

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums
Also some "1/8" that is 3.06mm and some that is 3.46mm, which causes fun when the parts are designed to be able to slot into each other :v:

Rakins
Apr 6, 2009

Mister Sinewave posted:

Also some "1/8" that is 3.06mm and some that is 3.46mm, which causes fun when the parts are designed to be able to slot into each other :v:

Does anyone use a planer to solve that problem? Was looking for a cheap one on craigslist.

The Locator
Sep 12, 2004

Out here, everything hurts.





Rakins posted:

Does anyone use a planer to solve that problem? Was looking for a cheap one on craigslist.

I use a thickness sander, but good ones aren't cheap at all, and I imagine one to do larger stuff is even less cheap than what I have ( http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/sander5.html )

Rakins
Apr 6, 2009

The Locator posted:

I use a thickness sander, but good ones aren't cheap at all, and I imagine one to do larger stuff is even less cheap than what I have ( http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/sander5.html )

Are thickness sanders cheaper than planers and what are the differences ? I can find a planer for 200-400 on craigslist depending how old it is.

The Locator
Sep 12, 2004

Out here, everything hurts.





Rakins posted:

Are thickness sanders cheaper than planers and what are the differences ? I can find a planer for 200-400 on craigslist depending how old it is.

Planars are more for smoothing out rough finished wood, while a thickness sander is for getting a precise thickness (and a very nice finish at the same time) on an already finished piece. Planars are typically larger since they don't make them for 'hobby' type work, while the thickness sander that I have is for modeling type stuff. My thickness sander can be adjusted in extremely small increments and can finish stock consistently to within 0.001". I am not aware of any planars that are designed for that sort of precision, but if you are doing it just to get larger pieces down to a consistent thickness, then it's probably just fine.

Also planars are, in my opinion, a lot more dangerous, as they are rapidly spinning blades that cut the wood, while a thickness sander is a drum sander. Both can kick-back, but the planar's are kind of notorious for violent kick-back.

Full disclosure - I've never personally worked with a planar, only the thickness sander.

Edit: My thickness sander is $350 + shipping new, and they rarely ever show up for sale used, and when they do they go for damned near new price typically. There are cheaper thickness sanders that might do what you need just fine, and are designed to feed wider stock as well.

Example - this one http://www.micromark.com/microlux-drum-thickness-sander,8599.html is $240 new, and feeds 5" wide stock, but it doesn't have the precision of the Byrnes, and requires their own proprietary sanding drums instead of just taking whatever 3" wide sanding belt I want to cut to size. There are better ones out there for your needs I'm sure, as thickness sanders (also known as drum sanders typically when looking at 'full size' wood working tools) come in lots of sizes.

The Locator fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Jun 30, 2016

Parts Kit
Jun 9, 2006

durr
i have a hole in my head
durr
I have one of these on my desk now. :getin:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1000mW-1200...DQAAOSwll1Wxcxt

Gotta figure out a mount and then time to fire that fucker up. :getin:

Nevets
Sep 11, 2002

Be they sad or be they well,
I'll make their lives a hell

Rakins posted:

Does anyone use a planer to solve that problem? Was looking for a cheap one on craigslist.

From personal experience you don't want to use a planer on material thinner than 1/4 inch. With real wood it's likely to splinter or crack the material which can jam up the planer and nick the blades. With MDF it might be safer since it's homogenous, but most planers (especially cheap ones) are going to give you some snipe at the ends. Mine is a $500 one and I still get between 1/32" - 1/16" snipe on the ends of boards because the top carriage isn't rigid against the bed.

You'd be better off getting a $10 digital caliper and just making adjustments to your cad files based on the actual material thickness you are cutting.

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums

Rakins posted:

Does anyone use a planer to solve that problem? Was looking for a cheap one on craigslist.

I don't bother trying to "fix" it, especially not hardboard at $2 per 24x24 piece. I just measure which flavor of 1/8" :airquote: it is and use a job tweaked for it.

It doesn't matter much with these little wood things I'm slotting together but generally speaking you should assume the thickness of the material when laser cutting can't be fully trusted. Thicknesses are all nominal.

An extruded sheet of e.g. acrylic could be +/-10% in thickness (so I've read from people who measure these things) so when you make a design, design in a way that doesn't rely on the thickness of the material being precise -- or tweak it as needed. The laser can be accurate, the thickness of the poo poo you're cutting isn't always.

Ponoko had a good bit about that in the part of this article that talks about the spinning top design: http://blog.ponoko.com/2016/01/04/how-to-make-laser-cut-interlocking-acrylic-designs/

Pimblor
Sep 13, 2003
bob
Grimey Drawer

Rakins posted:

Dunno if any of you are a member, but there's a google group for K40 owners that has been really helpful in upgrading my machine. Everyone replies at all hours of the night and gets you help with a problem fast.

I'm finally pretty finished upgrading my machine. Cut out the lovely air duct, replaced the blower fan with a nice inline fan :420: and drilled some holes to screw new duct into case so no more space in between. Also ripped out the lovely clamp bed and gained about 3 inches of vertical space for focusing. Added the ebay Saite_Cutter air assist head with new lens which is really nice, but just need to re-focus machine now. I cracked a nipple on my water inlet and couldn't get the hosing to stay put or keep from leaking with silicone, hose clamps, or zip ties and marine epoxy did the trick. Just swapped the pump for a lower flow rate so I don't stress it. But the 10 layers of epoxy have moved my tube about a quarter inch from where it was originally so focusing is turning out to be a pain. I'm trying to move my mirrors further back but might just cut the side out of the case and move the tube back so I don't have to mess with every drat mirror mount. Also almost have my smoothieboard in too!

I found some cool 3D printable parts for the K40, unfortunately can't use them yet as my printer came with missing parts, if anyone wants to print me some I'll toss you some money.

Focusing tools

http://www.thingiverse.com/funinthefalls/collections/k40-cutter/page:5

Cheap air assist

Laser cut 4th axis rotary

3D printed rotary

I printed out those focusing tools in the first link on my first gen replicator and they are kinda meh. It's a step up from post it notes but the fit on the mirror is too tight and the cutting head is sloppy on both the OEM head and the air assist head. One minor upgrade I did was JB weld a little aluminum plate to keep from burning through the ABS:


Pimblor
Sep 13, 2003
bob
Grimey Drawer
I don't recall seeing this posted but this looks like a nice general guide to aligning your laser cutter (I found it in that google group mentioned above):

http://www.lightobject.info/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2835

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums
Hey did the glowforge get made/implode or whatever yet?

I look forward to happy peeps cutting acrylic and poo poo on their kitchen table :yayclod:

MarcusSA
Sep 23, 2007

Mister Sinewave posted:

Hey did the glowforge get made/implode or whatever yet?

I look forward to happy peeps cutting acrylic and poo poo on their kitchen table :yayclod:

I don't see the problem.

It has an air filter built in.

Parts Kit
Jun 9, 2006

durr
i have a hole in my head
durr
Would the 40 to 90w CO2 lasers be suitable for making laser pinholes in aluminum flashing? I believe it's about .015" thick, though it'll also be reflective as hell. What'd be ideal is if it could punch the pinhole and then cut out a square or circular shape around it.

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums

MarcusSA posted:

It has an air filter built in.

I remember the ad showed happy people literally using it in their kitchen which would be cool and good so it loving better :o::gas:

Last anyone talked about it here was something vague about a roadblock of some kind in assembly but no idea whether that derailed anything or whether anything has happened.

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums

Parts Kit posted:

Would the 40 to 90w CO2 lasers be suitable for making laser pinholes in aluminum flashing? I believe it's about .015" thick, though it'll also be reflective as hell. What'd be ideal is if it could punch the pinhole and then cut out a square or circular shape around it.

I don't think so, isn't CO2 laser the wrong wavelength to get absorbed by (and therefore cut) aluminum? If it was aluminum foil you might be able to punch a hole just on account of how little energy the foil can take, but 0.15" is way thicker than I'd be tempted to try.

I think that Dibond stuff is way thinner than 0.15" and a CO2 laser machine can't cut that poo poo. It can engrave away the anodizing but doesn't do dick to the metal layer.

ante
Apr 9, 2005

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS
Aluminum is non reflective in the wavelength that CO2 lasers emit, but yeah, not really enough energy to do anything. I like to use spraypaint or moly dry lube to make marks on metal, and could full-power it all day without making a mark on the metal itself.

I hear rumours of people using pure oxygen assist and actually managing to cut metal, research and report back?

Parts Kit
Jun 9, 2006

durr
i have a hole in my head
durr
I saw a pure oxygen assist setup in a vid I didn't have time to really look at in depth and the dude was apparently cutting thin steel with his co2 laser. That's pretty cool, but dang that's gotta be risky.

What kind of eye protection do you have to use with these lasers anyways? His wasn't enclosed and I didn't see if he said anything about eye protection.

Nevets
Sep 11, 2002

Be they sad or be they well,
I'll make their lives a hell
You want CO2 laser rated eyewear, the protection needs to be rated for around 10,000nm wavelengths. Make sure the item lists either CO2 specifically, or even better the wavelength of light it blocks.

Here is the pair I ordered

The Eyes Have It
Feb 10, 2008

Third Eye Sees All
...snookums
I realized a neat application I never considered before: cutting the foam from e.g. instrument cases for a custom fit.

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Pimblor
Sep 13, 2003
bob
Grimey Drawer

Mister Sinewave posted:

I realized a neat application I never considered before: cutting the foam from e.g. instrument cases for a custom fit.

I'm not sure a cheapo laser would have the cutting depth you'd want over just a hot wire.

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