Bob’s laser cutter project

I haven’t posted here about the laser cutter in quite a while.

It’s coming along. I’m nearly done with the mechanical assembly and ready to start on wiring and electronics.  The gantry, the movable beam in the center of the picture, is installed.  The laser carriage, which rides on the gantry, is also installed.  The table has been installed for a while, though I’m going to replace the plastic eggcrate table surface with an aluminum eggcrate.

Here is the laser carriage.

The Laser Carriage

I’ve been acquiring lots of parts.  I think I have everything needed to finish the mechanical assembly, build the electronics, and install the air assist.  I have some of the parts for the laser water cooling system, and I have not yet ordered a laser or laser power supply.  I don’t really have a plan for exhaust venting yet, either.  We’ve talked about tying the laser cutter into the bathroom exhaust fan.

Most of the plastic parts were printed here at Eugene Maker Space on Rick’s Makerbot.  (Notably, not the cable carrier.  That is from Kabelschlepp.)

Printed plastic parts

The electronics are where it starts getting really complicated, and I’m almost at that point.  But I still think I can build a laser cutter.