Hekotat
FoH nuclear response team
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I'm designing for very short and simple straight shots to each fitting, I've also got all the CAD models for the fittings being used.
CNC (Lasers, Routers, Etc)
- Thread starter Bandwagon
- Start date
I'm designing for very short and simple straight shots to each fitting, I've also got all the CAD models for the fittings being used.
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There is "it fits" and "I can actually put it together"
Fittings can be a bitch to tighten- 1
Bandwagon
Kolohe
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I made this last night for my daughter. Printed picture, normal paper, glued to the hex cutout I made with 3M super 77. Then I loaded it back in the laser and cut out the rest. 2 light coats of clearcoat afterwards.
I want to try using photo paper eventually, but this puzzle turned out good enough that I'm going to try a quick & dirty map tonight.
I want to try using photo paper eventually, but this puzzle turned out good enough that I'm going to try a quick & dirty map tonight.
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Impressive, can't see any burn marks on the paper. Did you mask it after glueing it down, or just run the laser at 1w to trim it?
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Bandwagon
Kolohe
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There was some residue when I first pulled it off and you can still see a little bit on there that I didn't clean up, but I didn't really mask it. I've never tried this before, but I had a really light coat of clearcoat on it before I put it back in the laser to cut the pieces out. I was standing next to it with a fire extinguisher, just in case.
The settings I use for this wood is 185 speed/full power. I've been using this wood for awhile and that's the setting I always use nowadays.
Derkon
Trakanon Raider
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Are there any safety tips I can pass on to my dad about these things? I was talking to him yesterday and he told me he bought some 20 watt laser engraver. I guess it includes a pair of safety glasses but I'm concerned as he is old and might do something careless. He was a machinist by trade before he retired so he's used to working with CNC and machine tools like this. How fucked can he get himself if he is bad about using the glasses is my question.
Bandwagon
Kolohe
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No idea on other models. This one won't run with the lid open. I have zero concern about my eyes, always concerned about fumes and fires. Tell him he should look up every material to see if it's laser-safe and make sure he watches it while it's running. Lots of pictures of people burning these things up.
Derkon
Trakanon Raider
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I think he got one that is more open, like the laser is mounted on rails and moves about that way. It's not inclosed like that.
Yeah if it's not enclosed you absolutely should be wearing some protective eyewear. If the laser reflects off something, think in the riot thread people have been temp/perma blinded with 5w in a fraction of a second so thats a must.
As mentioned above, you absolutely have to check material makeup as some things when laser'd produce corrosive gas (vinyl, pvc) that will pretty much erode your equipment and likely kill you at the same time. Not a chemist but some folks have talked about a test where you actually set fire to something and see what color it burns, as I think chlorine burns green?
Ventillation is equally critical, even if its in a garage as you are essentially burning through whatever material so if it produces saw dust that can ignite easily enough. Most machines come with some sort of air assist that blows along the focal point to instantly put out any flame but double check that.
Bandwagon
Kolohe
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To highlight this point, my laser had a fan that I didn't know about. I thought the maintenance schedule was talking about a different fan and I completely missed the one that would blow across the point the laser was hitting. I pulled it apart 2 weeks ago to clean it and it was so full of caked dust that it wasn't even blowing. I was getting a lot more flare ups before that. Since I cleaned it, not a single one.
Those look pretty good. Have you thought about getting something that allows 3d axis work that would carve it in 3d? Doubt you'd be able to do that with a laser, but some cnc routers do it.
Bandwagon
Kolohe
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Yup. The issue I always have is getting imagery back onto the model. No idea how I could do that with a CNC machine. "Solid Terrain Modelling" has a huge CNC router that cuts out foam and an inkjet head that will go back across it to print imagery on top of the foam, but I haven't seen any kind of home solution along those lines.
I can 3d print my own terrain, but only 1 color and it's kind of ugly. I can send it off to a 3d printer company to do it in limestone at full color, but it's really expensive for each model. CNC machines don't have a way to get imagery on it for a home setup that I've seen. I can't get the laser to engrave imagery at a decent quality, so this is basically the only way I've found to do it all myself with imagery.