I am want to design and build a laser cutter, and I am looking for some advice before I get started.
My goal is to build a cutter with a cutting area of around 1' x 2' that can cut at lease 1/4" plywood for under ~$700.
The Tube:
What kind of power is needed? I am mainly looking at CO2 tubes off of ebay, and saw some reasonably prices ones between the 50-80W range. Do you think that is enough power to do the job?
The cooling:
I was thinking I could just use a large bucket of water with an aquarium pump to circulate it. My other though was to use a liquid cooler for a PC CPU, but that is a bit pricey.
The movement:
I was going to use 1/2" shafts with rails and linear bearings. Do I need self aligning bearings for a job like that? Or do you think with a shaft length of no longer than 24", the straightness tolerance of the shaft shouldn't be an issue?
Air assist:
Do I need this? Is it necessary in order to get through ply on a laser that's under 100W?
Ventilation:
How much air do I need to move? I also hear placement of the vent is more important than how powerful the fan is. Where is the best place to put it?
I know these are a lot of questions. I would appreciate any insight anyone has. Thanks!
You have many of the big ticket items except: power supply, optics(mirrors and lens), steppers and controller. You also need an enclosure which could be wood.
If it's simple 3 ply you could get away with 50 watts
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Looking for advice building a laser cutter
