CNC Laser any advices?

[Giorgos]

Hello people!

I am hobbyist with electronics and I have already created an Arduino-based CNC Plotter.
You can have a look here.

What I want to do next, is to upgrade this device to an engraver or even cutter.

Can you please suggest me any kind of laser that could be usable for this purpose?

Thank you!

 

[swagguy8]

umm, i'm not very experienced at this, but i heard that they sell straight laser head replacements for retail cnc machines. do a search and i'm sure you'll find a variety of choices.

 

[Giorgos]

Yeah sure.
But I don't know the differences between types of laser.
For example, I found this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/445nm-2-5W-...7125ad9&pid=100033&rk=1&rkt=3&sd=301876530143

How do I know what materials is it able to cut?

 

[Gryd3]

Yeah sure.
But I don't know the differences between types of laser.
For example, I found this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/445nm-2-5W-2500mW-Blue-Laser-Module-With-Heatsink-For-DIY-Laser-Cutter-Engraver/301876530143?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=35959&meid=102ba82db2f14ca59ed99b61a7125ad9&pid=100033&rk=1&rkt=3&sd=301876530143

How do I know what materials is it able to cut?

lol. Very little...
What kind of materials and thickness do you *want* to cut?
Various plastics tend to melt instead of cut properly, other plastics and materials give off a lot of smoke and mess with the optics resulting in poor cut quality... a 2.5W laser will be able to either cut very thin material or very very slowly for other material.

 

[Giorgos]

lol. Very little...
What kind of materials and thickness do you *want* to cut?
Various plastics tend to melt instead of cut properly, other plastics and materials give off a lot of smoke and mess with the optics resulting in poor cut quality... a 2.5W laser will be able to either cut very thin material or very very slowly for other material.

What about 3mm plexiglass sheet?

 

[Gryd3]

What about 3mm plexiglass sheet?

I seriously doubt anything other than paper to be honest...
A laser cutter *should* vaporise materials as it cuts... if the laser is too weak, it ends up burning it instead.
This isn't a case where you can simply go slower, because you will end up with an absolute horrible mess of an edge finish that may actually melt back together when dealing with plastics.
I'm sorry, but I do not have a minimum requirement for you.
I would suggest mapping out the max transit and 'cut' motion of your machine. Use that info in addition to the material you want to cut and check with some CNC-Laser specific sources unless we can get someone else in this thread that has the hands-on experience.

 

[Giorgos]

I seriously doubt anything other than paper to be honest...
A laser cutter *should* vaporise materials as it cuts... if the laser is too weak, it ends up burning it instead.
This isn't a case where you can simply go slower, because you will end up with an absolute horrible mess of an edge finish that may actually melt back together when dealing with plastics.
I'm sorry, but I do not have a minimum requirement for you.
I would suggest mapping out the max transit and 'cut' motion of your machine. Use that info in addition to the material you want to cut and check with some CNC-Laser specific sources unless we can get someone else in this thread that has the hands-on experience.

Thanks for the reply

 

[swagguy8]

Yeah sure.
But I don't know the differences between types of laser.
For example, I found this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/445nm-2-5W-2500mW-Blue-Laser-Module-With-Heatsink-For-DIY-Laser-Cutter-Engraver/301876530143?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=35959&meid=102ba82db2f14ca59ed99b61a7125ad9&pid=100033&rk=1&rkt=3&sd=301876530143

How do I know what materials is it able to cut?

to be hones i think you're better off with a water or drill bit cutting head rather than a laser, it will get quite expensive with a laser if you want to cut metal.i'm sure there are tons of google articles out there that'll tell you the wattage you'll need, if you want to pursue this path for your project.

 

[Gryd3]

to be hones i think you're better off with a water or drill bit cutting head rather than a laser, it will get quite expensive with a laser if you want to cut metal.i'm sure there are tons of google articles out there that'll tell you the wattage you'll need, if you want to pursue this path for your project.

A mill would be the easiest, and the feed-rate, bit, and RPM can be adjusted to suit the material. If the mill is too weak for a 3/4" bit, go down to a 1/4" or 1/8" bit. Lots of options here, but not as 'fancy'