Bulltear Ad
Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Any thoughts on adding a laser module for engraving and wood cutting?

  1. #1
    Bulltear forum member New to the forum
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Chapin, SC
    Posts
    3

    Any thoughts on adding a laser module for engraving and wood cutting?

    After going through a bit of a funk and letting my CNC machine languish for way too long, I've begun spinning it back up and setting up for some actual paying jobs with it. I eased into this by making some measurement changes to an intake flange I came up with several years ago for one of my custom intakes. These new flanges are thicker and I adjusted some of the cuts to accommodate a few manual adjustments after the fact that I had to make on the previous iteration. Below is the first one after I did a few passes to see where things were at temperature and cutting bit wise:

    Name:  dmc-manifold-take2.jpg
Views: 967
Size:  10.2 KB

    The finished product drops right in place on my jig and I should have it welded up soon.



    Once these were done, I switched bits and tried out a regular wood cutting bit on some scrap 1x6 to get a sense of scale for an image a friend sent me to do on a large piece of wood:

    Name:  troop-gateway2.jpg
Views: 971
Size:  95.2 KB


    Then out of curiosity I decided to see if I could do some actual engraving on some porcelain tile...which I believe I can now that I've adjusted the bed clamp apparatus though in this example I was on my last engraving bit and had smoked my others learning how to hold the the work properly while accommodating an appropriate pressure on the uneven tile via Z value. That's why the last letters up top are wiggly, I had to dial up the pressure considerably as the bit was dull but since I was just playing around to find out it didn't matter all that much:

    Name:  donthewise.jpg
Views: 937
Size:  20.9 KB




    All this is to say that I believe there to be more money in engraving random stuff than in cutting/milling car parts as I originally intended. I'd like to add a laser module to the CNC machine so I can etch away without any real consumables. I see such modules on Amazon for a few hundred dollars and while I'm sure the CNC can scoot such a device around, I'm not sure how to go about controlling it to pulse on and off appropriately. I am still running Mach3 on my machine so it may be that a software update is in order prior to going this route. I'd appreciate any thoughts or direction from people familiar with these tools.

  2. #2
    Bulltear forum member Cook
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Antarctica
    Posts
    15
    I would also like to do this, any info anybody?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Bulltear Ad