This project was my first experiments with using a Laser Diode on my CNC machine. I have to say at first I was not expecting much from a 3.5 Watt Laser diode, but the results went way above my expectations as you can see from the image of my final creation.
L-Cheapo 3.5 (3500mW) Watt Laser from Endurance Lasers.
LASER PROTECTION EYEWEAR (Yes, this is essential, A Laser will blind you, do not use your laser without the appropriate eyewear)
Software
AutoCAD 2018
Estlcam V11
Repetier V2.05Host
Notepad++
2
T-Rex Plans
The plans I used are available at www.makecnc.com, this is a good resource for Hobby CNC users, please note I have no affiliation with this company, I came upon them after a google search.
The plans come in several formats, for me I used DXF so I could import them into AutoCAD.
3
Modifying Plans
My first steps was to modify the plans for use with the
current wood stock I had available which was sheets of 3mm – 3.4mm Plywood at 300mm x 210mm.
In AutoCAD I drew a rectangle of 300mm x 210mm to represent the wood stock, I then placed all of the components into one of these rectangles, in my case I needed 4 rectangles.
Hi, this is not an Endurance Laser. It's a Robots Everywhere L-Cheapo Mk3. You can tell by the holes on the heatsink. I make them myself and have been (with improvements) since 2014 when the L-Cheapo kickstarter was featured on HaD ( https://hackaday.com/2014/06/02/the-laser-cutter-attachment-for-a-3d-printer/ )
Please note that "Endurance Lasers" used to be our reseller, but is currently manufacturing new units for sale, against both my consent and the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Sharealike license that i use to release my schematics with.
Help support Creative Commons!
Also, of course, I am very happy that you like my laser :)
As the Laser was purchased from Endurance Lasers I cannot comment on any disputes between yourselves regarding issues you stated above.
However regardless of source and the point of the article this is a very good laser and its to show that Diode lasers can be an effective tool for model makers.
Hi, this is not an Endurance Laser. It's a Robots Everywhere L-Cheapo Mk3. You can tell by the holes on the heatsink. I make them myself and have been (with improvements) since 2014 when the L-Cheapo kickstarter was featured on HaD ( https://hackaday.com/2014/06/02/the-laser-cutter-attachment-for-a-3d-printer/ )
You can buy the current version at www.3dsupplysource.com but since you're reading this on Hackaday, you'll probably want to build it yourself from our free resources available at http://robots-everywhere.com/re_wiki/pub/web/Main.LCheapo.html
Please note that "Endurance Lasers" used to be our reseller, but is currently manufacturing new units for sale, against both my consent and the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Sharealike license that i use to release my schematics with.
Help support Creative Commons!
Also, of course, I am very happy that you like my laser :)