The DIY CNC milling machine is nice, but working with plating requires different tooling. Why not build a laser cutter myselfs?
After reading a couple of blogs about creating a DIY laser tube, that seems to be too much work, while still generating an unreliable max.40 Watt laser beam. Still very cool, but actually I want to use a laser cutter.
So time to buy one. There are plenty offerings, especially overseas. I also read a lot of complains about broken laser tubes etc. So time to make a wish list:
- At least 60W laser.
- Big working area, so standard sized plates could be used.
- Mid range budget.
A bigger laser (+100 Watt) would be cool, being able to cut thin metal sheets, but this is getting out of my budget.
MetaQuip
I ended up, buying a laser cutter: MetaQuip-Lite. It was one of the earlier models, with a working space of 40×40 cm & 40 Watt tube.
Since there was a lot of space inside the metal cabine, I gambled on the idea to enlarge this space, so a standard 61 cm width plate could be cutted. A lot of laser cutters having a metal tube sticking out of the machine, so longer laser tubes could be installed. So why not improve this machine too?
Contacted the supplier and asked for a bigger laser tube and he was willing to make this change and so I bought this first Lite-60W modified machine.

Time to do some laser experiences and measured the whole machine and do some back-wards engineering. Shifted a couple of things and finally it was just possible to create a 61×42 cm working area.
Together with MetaQuip, we moved a coupling of things inside the laser cutter, although warrenty was gone by now.


Finally the bigger work area was completed. Created a larger bed myselfs and added a diode, which is very handy.



Tube replacements
Winter started early and so did the freezing temperatures in the garage. Maybe the heater was at too low setpoint, so I guess this was the cause of the broken laser tube inside the machine.
Ordered a new laser tube via German reseller. Unfortunately it came broken by post. Lucky enough I got my money’s back.
So ordered a different 50 Watt laser tube via Amazone, including 50 euro packing costs. That one came in as one piece.
Conclusions
Slowely increased the amount of tools (cnc mill, 3d printers), the laser cutter seems to be used most.
I like the simplicity of designing something 2d and the speed of creating a large part. It’s so much faster then 3d printing. So every new part needed, is first passing the least-amount-of-effort method.
Geef een reactie