Home Built 30 Watt Laser Table

[YosarianCat22]

would it be possible to send you a raster image at

300 dpi that is an example of the kind of thing I am interested in doing?

The thing is Baccus, if this could burn an image on contact paper that

had been applied to glass or metal, the image could be blasted with grit

or exposed to an acid bath for etching. Let me know if you would be interested

in experimenting. From the looks of you vids I think you would dig what I do.

Let me know how I could send you the image okay? Tanks

[baccus61]

@YosarianCat22 Yes. Just inbox me at my channel and I will send my eMail.

There are a lot of materials out there that are specially made for sandblasting so it might pay you to do a search for them. Most people who don't want to spend big get a CNC knife cutter to cut out their silhouettes. They can be found for about $400 at eBay and sign making businesses.

[YosarianCat22]

I am wondering why this can't cut contact paper or a coat of laquer when used as a 'block' when etching with particulets or with an acid. Please advise as I am a graphic designer and am looking for this exact apparatus if it cuts as cleanly as I have seen although there were no 'zoomed in' photo. I would like to see such a photo and how ragged the edge is. I wish I had your know how. . .I have concentrated on my design ideas which could use this. Please advise if you are planning to sell units.

[baccus61]

@YosarianCat22

Hi, Sorry for the very late reply. I have tried to reply a few times but YouTube wouldn't accept the post for some reason. The laser cuts with a beam width of about 0.005" which is pretty small and if you cut slowly you can get a very clean edge. If done on lastic then there is a certain amount of ripple left due to the edge melting so it's not as clean as a knife cutter. You would have to cut at about 150mm/sec to do it cleanly and a fairly high power.

Sorry, I don't sell

[baccus61]

@baccus61

There is laserable stick on sheets to use as a mask for sandblasting very fine patterns onto glass and that may work for your chemical etching process. It costs about $400 for a 50 meter x 100mm wide roll so it's pretty expensive. You can paint the surface then laser off the paint also but then you need to get rid of the paint somehow after. It won't cut any sort of metal. Only plastic, wood, acrylic, most plastics. Not PVC though as it makes HCL acid when burnt with a laser.

[CxC2007]

So your Name is Richard...

[jim148able]

@CxC2007 no shit sherlock.

[baccus61]

@CxC2007 Yes. Just one of my 3 names. Thanks for watching. :-)



[sverre0511]

could you be able to burn images onto skin with this?

[baccus61]

@sverre0511 Yes. been there, done that. It hurts way too much. :-)

[baccus61]

@TheElusiveDJ Nope.

[trainman238]

This is brilliant! :) I want to find a 30watt laser pointer ;)

[baccus61]

@trainman238 If you're strong enough you could always pick up the table and point it all over the place and viola, A huge laser pointer. Careful of the neighbors cat, though.

:-)

[CxC2007]

SO... your name is Richard..

Cool machime

[andyrudy13]

pure Awesome, did you really build and design this yourself?

[baccus61]

@andyrudy13

Yep. Took about 1 month to build and about 3 months to debug the software and get it running properly with MUCH frustration. I just sketched the basic design on a few scraps of paper the get the design intent then went ahead and built it. I don't seem to be able to work from plans so I just make changes on the fly to whatever I build.

[Anima87]

@baccus61 How much was the laser?

[baccus61]

@Anima87 On about the third line in my description above I'm pretty sure I have written $6000 for the cost. Maybe I should write bigger. :-)

[Anima87]

@baccus61 Yes, but i only asked for the laser, not the entire machine :-)

[baccus61]

@Anima87 Okey Dokey. it was $3450 from Shop warehouse on eBay lobbed to my door. The price was $2900 plus the delivery and insurance. It was about $1000 cheaper at that current exchange rate but now it would be about $300 cheaper than a new one due to the high Aussie dollar..

A new ULS 30 watt laser is $3040. two years ago.

[RedCodeStudios]

why dont they put those in a pen for military to take off a lock or some thing and it would look cool when they do it too.

[Demonlord275]

can you sell me it?

[TheSimonHarris]

Laser printing 2.0!

[deaftodd]

why sandpaper?

[baccus61]

@deaftodd

It was sitting next to the table and was in reach. :-)

[luvbigexplosions]

i want it!!! 

i want it now

[baccus61]

@luvbigexplosions

Ok. Come and get it. :-)

[sabertoooth06]

Make that bad-boy portable? lol

[PiscisAutomation]

Cab you talk about the kinematics to run your servo motors? Can you cut from an AtuCAD drawing?

[baccus61]

Hi, I just gear the ratio of the motors down to 3:1 and it gives plenty of power and speed. The Linkmotion software does work directly from AutoCAD. Its just a print driver so all you do is draw the item then press print from the menu and off it goes. pretty simple once you get it all set up properly.

[TheWoodworker143]

How did you make the air assist

[baccus61]

@TheWoodworker143

The air assist is an electro mechanical aquarium pump with a 8mm tube feeding the lens assembly (6mm inside dia).

About 3-5 psi of pressure comes out of it.

[ektarektar1]

where did you get your plans .. ?? Love the machine

[baccus61]

@ektarektar1 Hi, I made the plans up in my head after looking at about 20 different machines to get an idea of what I wanted. I just sketched the concept on a piece of paper and built from that. I don't seem to be able to work from drawings as I can't seem to be able to foresee problems until I get to the build stage.

[Zaebali23]

Hello! Nice video! Where did you get that 30W laser diode?

[baccus61]

@Zaebali23

Hello.

I got it from Shopwarehouse in the USA for $3500 about.

[kosec321]

song name please :) and good job 5/5

[alig117]

Shine by Shannon Noll

[kosec321]

thanks for the help :)

[alig117]

no problemo

[hatchedarea]

Hey mate, is it true that you need a license to operate a laser cutter in Australia?

Also, where did you get the parts for this, how come it cost you so much? Did you think it was worth it?

[baccus61]

As far as I know you only need a permit if you use it in public But you will have to clarify that. It's not a laser pointer just an industrial laser which I think is class IV.

I priced the latest laser table from ULS.inc and it was $46,000 THEN you need to buy the laser cartridge to fit into it. A 30 watt laser cartridge is $4080USD and a 60 watt one is $8080. That was a year ago and the prices have gone up since then.

It's worth it and it should pay it'self off soon ( 2 years maybe)

[Thisshitisfun]

Hey, nice job! Did you use a plan for this. I am also interested in building something like this but haven't been able to find a good plan.

Thanks,

Eddy

[baccus61]

Thanks mate, I didn't use any plans for it and as you said I just winged it. I built it around the size of a full sheet of melamine coated MDF.

If I was to build another one I would use some angle iron flat on the tale top with just some feet welded to it to hold it down and also a scissor lift for the table rise with some full ball guide drawer slides at the rear to keep it from rocking sideways.

The gantry is heavy enough to just sit atop the guides without moving.

[908205691838]

Nice job!!!

[baccus61]

Thanks.

[elmoluver132]

haha np u deserve it with all that work

[siim258]

Impressive.

[baccus61]

So was the price but it was a lot cheaper than what was commercially available.

Thanks for watching the vid.

[dancetotunes]

stumbled here

[baccus61]

Thanks for watching the video and I hope you gave the thumbs up for the stumble. Stumble upon is one of my fav apps when I'm bored and nothing is on TV.

[ElPopularVale]

could you use this for printed circuit board structuring a la LPKF ProtoLaser S?

[baccus61]

Actually you can modulate the beam power down to about 12% of full power so the toast thing would be possible. You can also defocus the beam so it isn't as powerful and engraves a broader line. I don't know who would buy a piece of stale bread that's been lasered though. :-)

Nice idea. Keep em coming.

Be well and thanks for looking.

[sciencectn]

You could draw pictures of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on toast and sell them on Ebay...

[wiltse0]

that wouldnt work with that laser pointer it would light the bread on fire and go strait through it u need a laser like 100 times less powerful

[FBFTheRagingWarrior]

@sciencectn I think drawing allah or mouhamed will get you much more money.

[deividja]

HOLA

[ixioxi]

can i borrow that to shine in my teachers eye?

[blahdob]

now that's what i call

*takes off sunglasses*

a laser printer....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA­AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[baccus61]

Noice one matey.

Ha ha ha.

[dancetotunes]

buhahahhaha

[baccus61]

Evil wicked laugh you have there.

Thanks for watching.

[conrad2468]

@blahdob

*YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH­HHHHH

[RubbishInRubbishOut]

G'day mate, thats an awesome machine! Would love to have something like that for making details. Can something like that cut brass?

[baccus61]

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but alas it cannot cut brass or any other metal. It's just not powerful enough. I even tried to cut some silver metalized paper and it just reflected the beam away from it.

I still live in hope that one day I can have a 100 watt one or greater.

Thanks.

[ElPopularVale]

What laser is that?

[baccus61]

Universal 30 watt RF metal tube laser head

[IncoherentGargle]

I'm guessing your name's Richard...?

[baccus61]

You got me on that one. :-)

Very narcissistic, I know.

[Ryonni]

I want that thing but it's so damn expensive.. This is so unfair.. x)

[baccus61]

Well, You could always buy the latest ULS.inc laser table for $46,000 THEN slap in a 30 watt laser for $6040 on top of it. Mine seems very cheap in comparison. It doesn't even compare in speed to the ULS table but you can only cut something so fast.

It is damn unfair. Everybody should have one. :-)

[AmmiAmann]

WOW!!!

Very nice work and a great demonstration :)

[lamushk]

Would you tell where did you get the laser? I like to get one for my CNC! Do you have a web link? and how much did you pay for yours?

[denyag]

can it cut though aluminium?

[baccus61]

Nope.

[rboghdady]

very good work . but i have a question how you can control the power of laser so you can make dark and bright parts in the burning of the wood

[JayKeaton]

It's just like printing something mate.

[baccus61]

Thanks. Sorry for the late reply. The laser beam is controlled by the software LinkMotion and the picture is converted to a series of black spots and white spots. If there is a black spot the laser fires but it doesn't on a white spot, obviously.

I use Photograv 3.0 software with Corel Draw X3

[baccus61]

Lasers date back to 1953 but it's the new slab technology that enables them to make a very powerful laser in a small frame by bouncing the beam back and forth until it reaches its outlet.

It's not hundreds but thousands.

If you want to see a powerful laser then look up MTHEL on youtube and see what That can do. It's a chemical laser.

[mercanaries3]

so its our fault that we have to pay hundreds o dollars because they cant make good lasers

[mercanaries3]

if they can produce this type of laser easyly why do they sell it fot thousands of dollars for a less powerful 1

[baccus61]

Probably because of the tens of millions the companies invested in the technology side of it. I would say there is probably $400 worth of stuff inside but you are paying for the science of the laser and the ultra pure gasses.

[dancetotunes]

bitch knows too much

hahaha nice printer

omfg

0_o

o_0

[sumosamuri]

Curious about the laser itself. How did you build?

[baccus61]

I have a build log of some sorts on the cnczone under my nickname of Mononeuron.

[mike20021969]

that was good.

[baccus61]

Thanks mate.

[autodelete66]

Any info on the CNC unit guiding it?

[baccus61]

read the posts and you will find some info on it.

[tocuteforu64]

how did u build da t lazr hun

[baccus61]

A lot of research and some pushing from my other half for laser cuts for her Scrapbooking shop.

[Nolandebacker]

holy crap 30,000mW!

[stephenswickedcool]

wish i could help with the software part, but im useless for that :P but it's really really cool man.

[baccus61]

Thanks Steve but I've got it all sorted out and now it's working great. Only thing is trying to find things to burn :-)

[DavidCofer]

Yahoo has a support group for Mach3.. OK? take the Windows script configuration file and trim all the multiprocessing out of windows. I've had more problems with XP than my cnc. I'm more interested in HOW the laser was built. My cnc has a bent spindle and I am contemplating a edm or laser.

[baccus61]

Hi dave. Thanks for the info. I haven't been there yet but I will if I can clean out the crap from XP. I have a build log of some sorts on CNC Zone under "Mononeuron" for the laser so just head on over there to have a look at how I made most of it. I bought a sheet of MDF and basically built the laser around this size which thankfully worked out very good for me.

[JustMakingComments]

What is the name of that song? Thanks.

[baccus61]

That would be "Shine" by Shannon Knoll. I thought it was appropriate for a laser. :-)

[a1lazer]

please send photo or upload link your controller unit details complete..thanks

[a1lazer]

ok..thanks baccus61..I'm working :))

[a1lazer]

please send photo or upload link your controller unit details complete..thanks

[a1lazer]

thanks baccus61. what cnc4pc breakout board model ??(C10 - Bidirectional Breakout Board=25$) or (C1G - Parallel Port Interface Card for Geckos = 41.60$) and geckodrive model ? and how solustan software coordination with geckodrive ?

[baccus61]

C10 breakout board.

Gecko 201 stepper drive. (new G201_Vampire drive is being sold at the old G201 price right now so if you want some get in before Xmas)

Solustan is OK but sometimes the computer locks up and also you can't do anything else while cutting as it stops all windows functions to get the maximum bandwidth for processing.

Also you can't mix raster and vector in the same cut/job which is a pity.

It all works through a printer driver to the software

[fogassa01]

Very nice work,I'm building one too. What is the laser power? and focal lens FL.

I've ordered the laser tube but it arrived broken so I have to wait another 30 days :-)

[baccus61]

Well, in the title I mention it's a 30 watt laser. The lens is a ZnSe with a focal length of 2". I have another couple of lenses with a focal length of 3 inches which I will install at a later date. Gallium Arsenide won't pass the red laser beam wavelength so I use ZnSe.

[fogassa01]

Thank you.

[baccus61]

The problem turned out to be a hardware fault so I tossed the servo drives aside and went all stepper and haven't had a problem since. My first journey into servos was not a good one. :-)

[ynnebbenny]

What software are you using to drive the machine?

[baccus61]

Hi Benny. I am using LinkMotion from Solustan. I purchased a copy when they were on special for $599USD instead of $1399USD. So far it is ok but I need some more testing with raster images.

Rich. The raster image in the video I think was from GravoGraph or something like it found on the web.

[a1lazer]

hi baccus I'm from turkey..please write...Your laser machine controller card model and motor specification (servo or step motor ?) and technical properties...thank you

see you..

[baccus61]

Hi,

I am using gecko rives from America. I started with servo drives but had no luck with them so I went back to steppers geared down about 3:1.

Steppers are 200 step 2 amp 4 volt. I also use the breakout board from CNC4PC for $25. Cheap and simple and works fine.

Solustan's LinkMotion software and Corel Draw V13.

Pentuim 4 3GigHz with 1Gig Ram and 120Gig HD ATI 9800 graphics card with Chi Mi 19" widescreen Monitor