My home built laser

[REdington]

This is the what I designed with Sketchup Pro when I started building my laser in December of 2020
I used my Bridgeport mill and 14'X48" Clasusing lathe to machine the parts.

This was the cabinet






The framework for the linear rails
I used HGH15 on the "Y" axis and MGM12 on the "X" axis





Added the framework to the cabinet and added the door.

 

[REdington]

Construction of my laser engraver/cutter


I mounted the HGH15 rails to get the framework started.






X gantry mounting plates. I milled one side so that they have a no interference (tight) fit in the slots of the 2040. On the other side I milled them so the ground edge of the blocks will fit tight against a true edge. By doing this, it should be a almost perfect 90 degree to the Y axis.









This is the finished framework with rails and bearings

 

[REdington]

I made the Z axis bearing plates and the Z nuts. I waited till I got the bed and frame made before I cut the 3/8" Amce rods to length and turn the ends down. The bearings are 8mm ID and the rods end will get turned to fit. The tops of the rods will get drilled and threaded M4 so I can get a small amount of pre-load on the bearings with a M4 bolt.









Framework for the honeycomb bed






With 1" honeycomb setting on it

 

[REdington]

Starting of the main cabinet
The case as I had drawn up was only 49" long and I added 4" to it so I can use the RECI W2 tube I already had, instead of the 60 watt.










I printed up some leveling feet and this will also give me a little clearance I needed for the Z axis pulleys. I drilled and tapped a M5 hole on 4 corner braces for them.

 

[REdington]

Finished bed




Cabinet with X, Y and Z axis's mounted along with the bed





I wanted to bed to be a "vacuum table" as well as fume extraction.
What the bottom of the bed looks like

 

[REdington]

View of the "Z" axis belt. This allows the table to be moved up & down.








I picked up this stepper controller about 10 years ago and it works great for testing stepper motors
I'm checking how well the "Z" axis works. I started with a NEMA 17 stepper motor and found it didn't have enough power to move the table at a moderate speed. So I put a 269oz NEMA 23 on it.





Bed at the full raised position





And at the lowest position.





After watching more of Russ's videos, (Sarbarmultimedia on youtube) I really like his idea of making a adjustable head mount. So I spent some time at my Bridgeport making one to fit my 12mm top mounted rail.
The reason for the adjustable head is to make it very easy to align the beam.
BTW, this head I'm using is a "type C", from Cloudray. It's a very universal head for different lenses.

The original way I had it mounted was the head mount was bolted to a converter block that I had made.





I ended up with 3 plates. the middle plate goes on the bearing block.

 

[REdington]

Bottom of the bearing block plate. I milled it so the bearing block has a tight slip fit.





The other two plates bolted together





And mounted to the rail

At the highest level and closest to the rail





Lowest level and farthest away from the rail.

 

[REdington]

I was going to use a NEMA 17 on the X axis, but went with a NEMA 23
Making the X axis rack drive. Again, one of Russ's ideas. In this video, he will explain the reason to have the "rack drive"
at about 9:15, he explains the "rack drive".





This is what I came up with. I made a extra just in case I ever build another laser.




Mounted with belt

 

[REdington]

I turned 3 smooth idler pulleys on my lathe, one for the X axis and the other two for the Y.





One mounted on the "X" axis










Using my 10" machinist square, I squared my "Y" rails to the common beam on the back that will also hold the tube. When I did this, it threw the bed all out of wack and now have to go back and readjust the Z axis leadscrews to level the bed
NEMA 23 wired to the stepper driver





Y axis 2 to 1 drive setup. The large pulley is mounted on a shaft the is just a littler wider than the table. This is so I can have both sides driven with only one stepper and won't have to worry about table skewing.









Idler's on both sides of the Y axis

 

[REdington]

I 3D printed 2 wedges (red) to mount the aluminum plate for the control panel.

Control panel is made of .062 aluminum
Upper left is the water temp then emergency stop and amp gauge
The lower left switch is main power. Above it is the laser power and chiller
The lower right is the exaust blower power supply and the other is extra.
And the U-Disk is in the middle.








Incoming panel
Bottom is main laser power. Top is chiller. The others are computer connections.

 

[REdington]

Took my Starret level and leveled both Y axis rails and the X axis rail both for and aft.
With everything all level, I leveled the tube and then took it out and added some disks I printed to do the preliminary mirror alignment using a laser pointer that I made.









I skinned the laser framework with .062" aluminum sheet.

 

[MadSpeed90]

Okay, hats off to you sir for creating this entire setup yourself. I'm not even going to ask if it's complicated or not, I see that it's not a beginner friendly project. Have you put it to the test yet?

 

[REdington]

Okay, hats off to you sir for creating this entire setup yourself.

Thanks

I see that it's not a beginner friendly project.

It not as hard to build as it looks. I have helped others build theirs laser cutters through emails and phone calls.

Have you put it to the test yet?

I have close to 1000 hours on it and works great.

 

[awake]

Impressive! I may have missed it ... what is the wattage of the laser tube? Any estimate on the total cost when complete?

 

[Bornulimating1]

Thanks



It not as hard to build as it looks. I have helped others build theirs laser cutters through emails and phone calls.




I have close to 1000 hours on it and works great.

I was on the same page with @MadSpeed90 on this, but damn! Bravo on this, seriously. Have you considered turning this into an ebook or something like that? Maybe a series of YouTube videos?