Re: CNC LASER ENGRAVER

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., "Rose, Gary" <Gary.Rose@c...> wrote:

> Interesting site.
>
> For such an engraver, how do you turn on and off the cutting

action?
I know

> you don't turn the laser off. Is it some kind of moveable mirror

to
reflect

> the beam elsewhere? Looks like fun.
>
> Gary
>
> >Have a look at this site:
> > http://www.jetstuff.com/rconway/xy.htm
> > I don't know this guy or have one of his tables but it's an
> > idea of how one
> > would look. And here's the kind of laser you'd use to power one:
> > http://www.jetstuff.com/rconway/laser.htm

Gary-

Actually, you do turn the laser off. You can also PWM the beam to
modify the cutting depth. I built my own nc-laser cutter. It
uses a 25watt Synrad sealed C02 air cooled tube. Optics are mounted
on what's left of a flatbed x-y plotter. I programmed a PIC to
provide the PWM signal when the plotter issues a pen-down signal. I
also have multiple programmable power settings based on the pen color
that the plotter "thinks" it's using. This allows me to send the
laser a vector image consisting of multi colored lines, each cutting
to a different depth.

You can see a picture of the entire unit here
http://www.buildcoolstuff.com/laser.html

Hope this answers your question,

Zach