Converting a laser printer into a 3d laser printer

[João Carimo]

WilliamD, can you tell what resin would you use?
And which laser do you think is more suitable?

I am also examining the cdr´s laser assembly unit...
6 cdr´s laser assembly units are used to cut foam in a vat.
It would trace all the faces in order to create an object.
It´s a cheap and simple machine to build.
May not be able to build as complex forms as the Stereolithography,
but it´s fast.

[zoltan]

Hi,

I would like to ask you guys about laser diode of printers and cdr, is possible to be used for engravings or cutting? If yes, what materials and in which conditions? What power can these units, in general, to push out? I have several of these....maybe I can do something with them???

Thank you.

Zoltan

[Corvus corax]

The laser diodes used in laser printers are FAR too low powered to do any kind of direct marking/ engraving. There are VERY powerful laser diodes available, in a variety of wavelengths, but they are designed primarily for use as pumping diodes, wheree they are used to excite a lasing crystal, or frequency doubler, to produce green and blue solid state lasers. Green laser pointers use these.

To effectivley mark materials at anything more than a snails pace requires about 10 watts of power in infrared, and several watts of power in the green wavelengths. The laser diodes in laser printers (toner, drum type) are rated in the milliwatt range, typically less than 10 milliwatts at that. As far as cutting wood or metals, you would see results similar to using a flashlight.

I would suggest if you are interested in doing something like this, that you read through the significant amount of information online. For cutting materials cheaply, a CO2 laser is usually the weapon of choice. you would need one in the 100 Watt range to do any real work, and the ones that we can afford are quite large and fragile. The plasma tube is made of glass, is quite heavy when filled with its cooling water, and is about 5 feet long, so beam handling optics are required. CO2 lasers will NOT work with conventional optics, they require Zinc Selenide lenses, as their output is just on the edge of being called "light" at all. They are in fact, closer to being microwave tubes.

CO2 lasers are bad at cutting aluminum. Better to use YAG laser for that. The wavelength is 10 times shorter, though still infrared, and the laser is MUCH smaller. If you can find one off the shelf, great, but unless you are gifted with optics, and have money to burn, don't try building one of these yourself. Forget the old flashlamp pumped units, they are dinosaurs. Find a nice DPSS laser and use that.

[cristian gabor]

it is not better puder then Liquid Plastic

[cristian gabor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7h09dTVkdw

[slp_prlzys]

fun with laser diode

[cristian gabor]

wat power must a laser diode have to melt the plastic powder?
i finaly started my first projetc
i ordered a cnc kit 3 Axis CNC Router or Mill Stepper Motor complete kit (ebay)and some of the hardwere
any other info on this?

[JohnCNC]

I've looked into rapid prototyping and found the Rep Rap, Fab@Home, even a way to convert a Lexmart printer into a 3d printer on the Web. Desktop Factory has the most promising, yet the resolution really sucks. It sells for 5 grand. A kit for the FabQHome sells for around 3 grand. The Fab is great because you can experiment with any kind of built-up material such as silicon gel, chocolate, etc.
Sincerely, JonCNC

[davaro]

Joao, where you able to build the 3d printer laser?
I built my own cnc and would be very interesting on starting a new project.
obrigado,

Originally Posted by João Carimo WilliamD, can you tell what resin would you use? And which laser do you think is more suitable? I am also examining the cdr´s laser assembly unit... 6 cdr´s laser assembly units are used to cut foam in a vat. It would trace all the faces in order to create an object. It´s a cheap and simple machine to build. May not be able to build as complex forms as the Stereolithography, but it´s fast.

[snyman]

Hi Guys my name is TJ .
I haven't been posting much over here in the zone. I am active though in various other similar forums..
I am a avid cnc'er
I have started this whole new project, Please check out my site
where I am open sourcing a rapid proto type printer,My aim is to make it available in Kitform. There is also a wealth of information for you regarding UV Resins and waxes The software interface is in process and is totally reworked and geared towards modular rapid prototyping machines.


-SNYGRO- a 3D Rapid prototype printing | TJ Snyman Comments/Forum

Thanks
TJ Snyman

[Nth]

Can't you make a laser based rapid prototyping machine without any linear x or y motion? Using two mirrors attached to fast servos you can direct the light anywhere on a 2d surface. You would still need the table to lower after each layer and a wiping arm to deposit material. Anyone know how big of laser is needed for these things? I doubt blooming would be a factor.