Newbie- Maybe a weird question

[vincenttor]

Well,
i just bought a 40w co2 laser from LLC company and i have not get it working like it should but.

The engraving / cut area is 12 x 16 inch if im correct.
What i was talking about with my dad is what is the problem to make it bigger ?

I mean, if i make everything bigger, the rails X/Y axle and bigger belts for the stepper motors.
is this possible ?
or is the beam losing power if the range expanded from 12x 16 to 40 x 40 ?

a laser cutter doesnt seem really rocket science to me, i mean the mechanical part then.

i thought the biggest problem would be the controller card then if im correct. that says the place to stop is 40" instead of 12"
right ?

just curious if something like this is possible withouth to mouch trouble.
not that im going to do this right away but maybe if i get it running good and get the hang of it after a few years,
i do like to cut/engrave bigger things ( don't we all )

[zax15uk]

Yes, you could increase the machine size if desired. Depending on the design of your upgraded rails it may be necessary to replace the steppers too.

Loss of beam power isn't an issue, but the alignment would become more difficult.

The controller board may work with a larger machine too, or you could change the gearing but that would result in reduced accuracy (may still be acceptable).

This isn't that different to buying a tube, PSU, mirrors and lens for installation onto an existing CNC, except that you may be able to keep the controller too.

Zax.

[vincenttor]

thanks for the reply, its a bit like i expected to be then
maybe a nice project like i said if i get the hang of using the laser engraver/cutter.

[bpoulin]

I would STRONGLY suggest getting all the bugs out of it before you tweak the size. You're going to run into enough problems changing the machine without having to figure out why it's not working, and figuring out if it's something you did or something that was already a problem.

[vincenttor]

bpoulin, yes haha i did not planned to change the configuration right away.
first i would be happy to use the 12 x 16 bed format for a while and get the laser running like it should.
trying to get rid of the EMI problem i have.
anyway thanks for your info