Re: Comments & Questions fo the List

John:

Thanks for the reply, yes, you will be of great help as I go down this
road. What I need to first know is either the best or safest way of
mounting the laser to the base of the machine table. Should it be
mounted stationary, beside/away from all the axis' and use mirrors to
convey the beam, or mounted on the gantry and use the beam directly
through the focal optics with no mirrors at all?

Also John, what is the most commonly used software for controlling
lasers in cutting operations. I am mostly wondering about the turning
on/off and the percentages of power control. I will be cutting mostly
lite ply up to 1/4" thick and balsa up to 3/8" thick for model aircraft.
The software would ideally control both the laser and the motion, so I
would need some insight along this road as well. I read in a previous
thread here that IndexerLPT has a great range of uses, do you feel this
may be useful as it uses a HPGL file directly to do the cutting profile?

What steppers have you found to give the ideal results in controlling
gantry's, 130 oz./in. or higher motors? The effective cutting table size
I desire is 36"(Y) x 48"(X). I am still toying with the fact that do I
want this to be just a laser cutter, and a mill if I can do this, or
just have two separate machines? I will need to machine plugs for
cowlings and gear pants, canopies, etc. from 3D files for vacuum forming
of these parts.

Thanks very much,

Don Hughes
Vancouver, BC. Canada

John Stevenson wrote:

>
> From: john@... (John Stevenson)
>
> On Tue, 11 May 1999 20:12:45 -0700, you wrote:
>
> >
> >This is the project that I will be constructing for myself Roland, so if
> >at all possible I will have many questions for you as to the laser head
> >setup and the setting of the mirrors. Any insight as to the best way to
> >mount the laser? Stationary or on the gantry???. From the research I
> >have done so far, the linear movement of the gantry/optics is the least
> >of my worries. It appears that the laser setup and cutting control of
> >the laser is going to be the challenge. Any help is greatly appreciated
> >in advance from all our members during my project.
> >
> >Don Hughes
>
> Don,
> I work for a laser cutting company and also build parts of their machines,
> mirror blocks, heads etc.
> Perhaps I can help??
>
> Regards,
> John Stevenson
> Nottingham, England
>
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