Need help with laser and driver board

[enixidfrag]

Ok so I have the cnc side all planned out and am ordering the parts for the Control Soon.

Now I just need help with one other piece. I wanna know what laser I should be buying so that i can do engraving. hoping to only spend up to about $100 on the laser (cheaper the better of course).

I also need the instructions for the driver board for the laser. Or is the XYZ driver board I'm already building gonna do it?

BTW here's the driver board I'm doing:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy...and-Driver-ci/

[yamingf]

you need a motion controller specifically designed for laser, like leetro motion controller MPC6515, XYZ driver board you are building will not work as it can not control laser outout and on/off. leetro controller will cost you much more than $150.

[enixidfrag]

you need a motion controller specifically designed for laser, like leetro motion controller MPC6515, XYZ driver board you are building will not work as it can not control laser outout and on/off. leetro controller will cost you much more than $150.

I could have sworn that when I first started researching this i saw instructions on how to make your own controller board for the laser and i'm pretty sure there was a couple different ones i think too.

[zax15uk]

I disagree, you do not need a laser specific driver board.

You do need a laser power supply, ideally with TTL input but you'd likely buy that with the tube.

Depending on the PSU you can control laser on/off and power from the PC (just buffer the output using a breakout board) driven from Mach3 or similar.

Zax.

[Konstantin]

While Leetro MPC6515 is very nice to have, you not necessarily need one. MPC6515 will allow you store the job on the controller and run in from there.
You do need drives for your motors and I would personally suggest you go for something that has been done here in our open source controller boards http://www.cnczone.com/forums/open_source_controller_boards/ .
Our member pminmo have done some of the designs and he is maintaining a website www.pminmo.com. I have personally done several boards from that site. Those designs are well proven and you will have plenty of support on this site.

For a basic laser setup you will want and XY table only. No need for Z. And you will need a BOB (break out board) to interface the drives to the PC's LPT.

Affordable software would be Mach3, it will allow you to cut/engrave as if it was an ordinary mill, that is in vector mode, I am not sure about raster.

Linkmotion does specific laser software that basically "prints" from any app your PC has like Word or Corel.

A controller board and a stepper drive are different things. The laser controller board is specifically designed for laser applications, it will modulate the laser power so it wont over burn the spot when the axis is decelerating to change direction.

hoping to only spend up to about $100 on the laser

What kind of laser do you have in mind?

[enixidfrag]

you will need a BOB (break out board) to interface the drives to the PC's LPT.

Is this ok then?
http://www.cnc4pc.com/Store/osc/prod...products_id=45

What kind of laser do you have in mind?

Well I was HOPING to make it so an exchangable homemade "laser pointer" into the CNC machine i'm building but again need to make sure laser will engrave. I figured i would wire up a male and female connectors to make for quick disconnect (maybe mini usb)

I also want the laser to be strong enough to like burn through plastic at a couple feet away if at all possible.

[Konstantin]

That board from cnc4pc could work.
If you plan to use Linkmotion program for laser then you should investigate which of the cnc4pc BOB's is the right one. Linkmotion program has a fixed IO pins in its driver. Check Solustan website or write in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DIY_LA...TTING/messages, Dhiren Shah (Solustan's staff) is quite active there and will probably advice you on the right BOB.

You could also make the BOB yourself, there are several designs on www.pminmo.com and it is simpler to manufacture than a stepper drive.

You could use a laser diode from a DVD burner and drive with more Amperes to boost it up a little bit but it will have low output anyway compared to a CO2 laser. Some people have success cutting disposable foam plates with a DVD burner diode. I guess engraving is possible too, you will need to check the wave length of the laser and what materials can absorb that light, in other words - burn.

Popping balloons like in laserpointerforums is one thing, doing engraving and cutting is another. For engraving you must focus the laser beam to a very narrow point so it could actually burn the material instead of heating it. You will need some optics to focus the laser on the work.

[enixidfrag]

You could also make the BOB yourself, there are several designs on www.pminmo.com and it is simpler to manufacture than a stepper drive.

Ok i Found Onle one that says Breakout but no parts list nor are parts values easily discernible.

You could use a laser diode from a DVD burner and drive with more Amperes to boost it up a little bit but it will have low output anyway compared to a CO2 laser. Some people have success cutting disposable foam plates with a DVD burner diode. I guess engraving is possible too, you will need to check the wave length of the laser and what materials can absorb that light, in other words - burn.

Popping balloons like in laserpointerforums is one thing, doing engraving and cutting is another. For engraving you must focus the laser beam to a very narrow point so it could actually burn the material instead of heating it. You will need some optics to focus the laser on the work.

Here i had found this was thinking this could possibbly do both?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-wood-burning-pen/

Also i plan on having the laser interchangeable with router. So is there a recommended PCB to maybe control the router at the same time or is that not needed?

[zax15uk]

I started down that road too, using DVD-burner diodes but soon decided a real CO2 laser was required. The diodes (165mA rated, running at over 200mA with active cooling) were capable of burning designs in wood and cutting some plastics but it was too slow and not a very clean cut.

Zax.

I also want the laser to be strong enough to like burn through plastic at a couple feet away if at all possible.

[Konstantin]

Also i plan on having the laser interchangeable with router.

Yeah, you might want to make the whole thing turn into a transformer. J/k.
While it is possible it is not practical. Of course you can do whatever you want. Budget is going to grow you know. Especially if you lack tools like bench drill, lathe, taps and dies, mill. If it is a diode, well you can hook it up almost to any cnc machine and give it a try.
If it is a CO2 then it gets more complicated since you need to deliver the beam with some mirrors and lenses that must be dirt free and a router as you know is ideal to make dust.

[enixidfrag]

Yeah, you might want to make the whole thing turn into a transformer. J/k.
While it is possible it is not practical. Of course you can do whatever you want. Budget is going to grow you know. Especially if you lack tools like bench drill, lathe, taps and dies, mill. If it is a diode, well you can hook it up almost to any cnc machine and give it a try.
If it is a CO2 then it gets more complicated since you need to deliver the beam with some mirrors and lenses that must be dirt free and a router as you know is ideal to make dust.

Yeah i know thats why i wanna have the laser removable i actualy don't care if the router piece is but can i have multiple XYZ Home origin profiles (or something of the similar) in Mach?

I actually have 2 old drill press's & lathe already

What about the laser i just showed though?

[Konstantin]

Interesting laser.
I know little about fiber coupled laser diodes. I guess it could work. If there is a way to use focusing optics after the fiber it would be even better.