How to assemble a laser cutter. Self-made cnc laser machine

Turn your laser pointer into a cutting laser with a DVD writer emitter! This is a very powerful (245mW) laser and is also the perfect size for the MiniMag pointer.

Please note that not all laser diodes (not all DVD or CD-RW models) are suitable for this laser cutter.

CAREFULLY! As you know, lasers can be dangerous. Never point the pointer over a living creature! It is not a toy and should not be handled like a normal laser pointer. In other words, don’t use it in presentations or when playing with animals, don’t let children play with it. This device must be in the hands of a sane person who understands and is responsible for the potential hazards that the pointer poses.

Handle laser radiation with extreme caution. Any contact with the eyes, due to refraction in the lens, manages to burn out several cells in the eye. Direct hit will cause loss of vision. A ray reflected from a mirror surface is also dangerous. The absent-minded one is not so dangerous, but still does not add visual acuity.

Interesting experiments can be done with a laser cutter. Lighting matches is not the most spectacular option. You can burn paper, you can remotely pop balloons at demonstrations. It is desirable to have a ball of dark color, green or blue, red does not burst.

The focused beam leaves a rather deep groove on the black plastic, and a small spot of white or specular color appears in the transparent plexiglass at the focal point. If such a diode is attached to the plotter head, then it can be engraved on plexiglass.

First you need a faulty DVD-RW (with faulty mechanics, not a laser). Although not every DVD can be broken, for example Samsung does not fit at all, there are unpackaged diodes and the crystal is not protected by anything, it is disabled by simply touching the end.

For making a laser cutter with your own hands, LG drives are best suited, only different models have different diodes in power.

The power of the installed diode can be determined by the following characteristics of the drive: you need to look at what speed it writes double-layer discs, if on the tenth, then the power of the diode is one hundred and eighty - two hundred, if on the sixteenth - two hundred fifty - two hundred and seventy.

If you don't have a faulty DVD drive available, try purchasing a separate laser from the radio market first. If it does not work, then we purchase a faulty DVD from the junk dealer.

Although DVD drives are different, each drive has two rails along which the laser carriage moves. Remove the screws, release the rails and remove the carriage. Disconnect the connectors and ribbon cables.

With the carriage out of the drive, begin disassembling the device by loosening the screws. There will be a lot of small screws, so please be patient.

Disconnect the cables from the carriage. There may be two diodes, one for reading a disc (infrared diode) and a red diode itself, with which the burning is carried out. You need a second one.

A printed circuit board is attached to the red diode using three screws. Use a soldering iron to CAREFULLY remove the 3 screws.

You can test the diode using two AA batteries, taking into account the polarity. You will have to remove the diode from the case, which will differ depending on the drive. The laser diode is very delicate, so be very careful.

This is what your diode should look like after "release".

Peel off the sticker from the housing of the purchased AixiZ laser pointer and unscrew the housing to the top and bottom. Inside the top is a laser diode (5 mW), which we will replace. I used the X-Acto knife and after two light blows, the native diode came out. Actually, with such actions, the diode can be damaged, but I have previously managed to avoid this. Using a very small screwdriver, knocked out the emitter.

I used some hot melt glue and carefully installed a new DVD diode in the AixiZ package. Using pliers, I SLOWLY pressed the edges of the diode towards the body until it was flush.

Make sure the polarity of the diode is correct before you install it and connect the power! You may need to shorten the wires and adjust the focus of the beam.

Place the laser pointer in a suitable flashlight with two batteries. Reinsert the batteries (AA), screw on the top of the flashlight (diffuser), including your new laser pointer! The plexiglass must be removed from the reflector. Attention!! Laser diodes are dangerous, so do not aim the beam at people or animals.

Let's do it this way: a laser cutter for metal is like a men's watch. A cool and unique tool that is necessary for a modern man who has his own garage and knows how to do something with his own hands.

This tool can be made by hand. It is not difficult if the necessary rules and instructions are followed. The power of a homemade laser knife will not come out God knows what, but if necessary, it can be increased in several ways.

Of course, you will not have a tool for industrial needs, but yours is quite suitable for household household work.

Firstly, you can get by with the materials at hand, that is, you don't have to buy anything specially in the store. The most important thing is to find an old laser pointer.

Additionally you will need:

• screwdrivers of different calibers;
• a laser-driven matrix from a used DVD-ROM;
• a flashlight powered by rechargeable batteries;
• soldering iron.

We disassemble the laser pointer and disk drive with great care and utmost care. First you need to remove the drive from your computer drive.

An important nuance: this drive must be not only read, but also write. All drives of modern computers have such properties, so before disassembling, check the model and characteristics of the drive.

Laser cutter for metal.

The second step is to find and remove the red diode, with the help of which the recording is performed on the disc in the form of burning. Removing this diode is simple: you need to unsolder the mounts with a soldering iron.

Perform all actions with tenderness and care: diodes and other trifles associated with them - things are fragile and ready to deteriorate at the slightest opportunity. Reducing the risk of breakage is simple. To do this, it is enough to change the diode to a red light from the DVD wire.

Now we begin to make the body of the cutter from the stored flashlight and rechargeable batteries that will be needed. Using a flashlight will allow you to produce a compact and comfortable model for work.

Do not forget to remove the protective glass from it, as it may obstruct the laser beam later on.

The most important point in the manufacture of the case is the correct choice of current polarity.

Now you need to power the diode by connecting it to the battery charger.

As a final step and before starting work, we check:

• whether the fixation is firm in the clamps and clamps;
• polarity of the device;
• direction and focus of the beam.

What can your cutter do?

Do not forget that your new homemade one cannot cut thick metal - it simply cannot do it. But you can strengthen the tool to handle almost any metal if needed.

Drawing of plasma cutting of metal.

First, you will need to stock up on a capacitor, because a knife with enhanced power can in no case be connected directly to the network. Therefore, first the current must go to the capacitors and only then to the batteries.

You can increase the power by using additional resistors. Your knife will receive additional power from the use of the so-called collimator, which serves to concentrate and accumulate the laser beam.

Collimators are very inexpensive and sold in any electrical department.

In the case of an increase in power, at the same time, the static that no one needs is increased. It can be easily removed by winding aluminum wire around the diode.

Now measurements are needed: we measure the current at the ends of the cutter after they are connected to the diode. The indicators are adjustable, the most suitable range is from 300 to 500 mA.

Why bother?

The gadget is cool and necessary. But dear. But it is not difficult to make a metal cutter with your own hands, even for beginners. So the motivation to start implementing our advice is obvious.

Let's better understand the principles of the laser knife, it will be useful to everyone: those who bought it and those who made it with their own hands.

The main character is a focused laser beam, which, thanks to its directionality and radiation, acts, for example, on metal. The beam itself is extremely narrow - its diameter is very small. This makes the cuts on the workpieces extremely precise.

The penetration depth only depends on the power of the tool. Here, of course, the professional factory models with high deepening rates win. As for our homemade laser knife, the depth is available here at the level of 10 - 30 mm.

Gas cutter operation diagram.

Metal cutters are classified into three types:

Solid state cutters

Made of special glass or LEDs of crystal composition. These are relatively cheap models produced and used in industry.

Fiber laser knives

In this case, optical fiber is used, as a result of which these models are very efficient in terms of cutting depth. In essence, the actions resemble solid-state devices - close relatives. But more efficient and more expensive.

Gas cutters

The gases used are nitrogen, carbon dioxide, maybe helium. These models are much more efficient than the two previous types. They cut everything from polymers and rubber to the hardest metals.

It is the most advanced, but also expensive technology. But with its help, you can achieve results that are beyond the power of other methods of metal processing. The ability of laser beams to shape any material you want is truly endless.

The unique capabilities of a laser are based on characteristics:

• Sharp directionality - due to the ideal directionality of the laser beam, energy is focused at the point of impact with a minimum of losses,
• Monochromaticity - the wavelength of the laser beam is fixed, and the frequency is constant. This allows you to focus it with conventional lenses,
• Coherence - laser beams have a high level of coherence, so their resonant vibrations increase the energy by several orders of magnitude,
• Power - The above properties of laser beams provide the highest density energy focusing on the smallest material area. This allows you to destroy or burn any material in a microscopically small area.

Device and principles of operation

Any laser device consists of the following components:

• energy source;
• a working body that produces energy;
• an optoamplifier, a fiber-optic laser, a system of mirrors that amplify the radiation of the working body.

The laser beam creates a point heating and melting of the material, and after prolonged exposure - its evaporation. As a result, the seam comes out with an uneven edge, the evaporating material is deposited on the optics, which shortens its service life.

To obtain even thin seams and remove vapors, the technique of blowing out the melt products from the zone of laser action with inert gases or compressed air is used.

Factory model lasers equipped with high grade materials can provide a good indentation rate. But for domestic use, they have too high a price.

Home-made models are capable of cutting into metal to a depth of 1-3 cm. This is enough to make, for example, details for decorating gates or fences.

Depending on the technology used, there are 3 types of cutters:

• Solid state. Compact and easy to use. The active element is a semiconductor crystal. The low-power models have an affordable price.
• Fiber. Fiberglass is used as a radiation and pumping element. The advantages of fiber laser cutters are high efficiency (up to 40%), long service life and compactness. As little heat is generated during operation, there is no need to install a cooling system. Modular designs can be produced to combine the power of multiple heads. The radiation is transmitted over flexible optical fiber. The performance of such models is higher than solid-state ones, but their cost is more expensive.
• ... These are inexpensive but powerful emitters based on the use of the chemical properties of a gas (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium). They can be used to cook and cut glass, rubber, polymers and metals with a very high level of thermal conductivity.

Homemade household laser

To carry out repair work and the manufacture of metal products in everyday life, do-it-yourself laser cutting of metal is often required. Therefore, home craftsmen have mastered the manufacture and successfully use hand-held laser devices.

At the cost of manufacturing for household needs, a solid-state laser is more suitable.

The power of a home-made device, of course, cannot even be compared with production devices, but it is quite suitable for domestic use.

How to assemble a laser using inexpensive parts and unnecessary items.

For the manufacture of the simplest device you will need:

• laser pointer;
• rechargeable flashlight;
• CD / DVD-RW writer (old and faulty one will do);
• soldering iron, screwdrivers.

How to make a handheld laser engraver

Laser cutter manufacturing process

1. You need to remove the red diode from the computer drive, which burns the disc during recording. Please note that the drive must be a writing drive.

After dismantling the upper fasteners, remove the carriage with the laser. To do this, carefully remove the connectors and screws.

To remove the diode, it is necessary to unsolder the fasteners of the diode and remove it. This must be done very carefully. The diode is very sensitive and can be easily damaged by dropping it or shaking it violently.

1. The diode contained in it is removed from the laser pointer, and a red diode from the drive is inserted in its place. The pointer body is disassembled into two halves. The old diode is shaken out by poking it with the edge of a knife. Instead, a red diode is placed and secured with glue.
2. It is easier and more convenient to use a flashlight as a laser cutter body. The upper fragment of the pointer with a new diode is inserted into it. The glass of the flashlight, which is an obstacle to the directed laser beam, and parts of the pointer must be removed.

When connecting the diode to battery power, it is important to clearly observe the polarity.

1. At the last stage, they check how securely all the elements of the laser are fixed, the wires are correctly connected, the polarity is observed and the laser is evenly installed.

The laser cutter is ready. Due to its low power, it cannot be used in work with metal. But if you need a device that cuts paper, plastic, polyethylene and other similar materials, then this cutter is fine.

How to increase the power of a laser for cutting metal

You can make a more powerful laser for cutting metal with your own hands by equipping it with a driver assembled from several parts. The board provides the cutter with the required power.

You will need the following parts and devices:

1. CD / DVD-RW writer (old or faulty one will do), with a write speed of more than 16x;
2. 3.6 volt batteries - 3 pcs.;
3. 100 pF and 100 mF capacitors;
4. resistance 2-5 Ohm;
5. collimator (instead of a laser pointer);
6. steel LED lantern;
7. soldering iron and wires.

Do not connect a current source directly to the diode, otherwise it will burn out. The diode takes its power from the current, not from the voltage.

Beams are focused into a thin beam using a collimator. It is used instead of a laser pointer.

Sold in an electrical store. This part has a socket where the laser diode is mounted.

The assembly of the laser cutter is the same as the above model.

To remove the static from the diode, they are wound around it. Antistatic bracelets can be used for the same purpose.

To check the operation of the driver, measure the current supplied to the diode with a multimeter. For this, a non-working (or second) diode is connected to the device. For most home-made devices, a current of 300-350 mA is sufficient.

If a more powerful laser is needed, the indicator can be increased, but not more than 500 mA.

It is better to use an LED flashlight as a housing for homemade products. It is compact and easy to use. To prevent the lenses from getting dirty, the device is stored in a special case.

Important! The laser cutter is a kind of weapon, so you cannot point it at people, animals or give it to children. It is not recommended to carry it in your pocket.

It should be noted that laser cutting of thick workpieces with your own hands is impossible, but it will quite cope with everyday tasks.

Hello everyone. After buying a printer and realizing the principle of operation of CNC machines, I began to look at other types of machines. My father wanted a milling cutter, but I was more interested in engraving. Having calculated how much a more or less sane milling cutter would cost, it became clear that an engraver would appear first. So I got a 2.5W diode laser.

I decided to make Stanin with a margin and it turned out a working field of 70x60cm. Carriages and other assemblies have been printed. After the start of operation, it became clear that I made the working field clearly with an excessive margin, in fact I did not have to engrave more than A4 format. Further, after one successful modernization of the printer, I had many profiles left and a mini version of the engraver clearly in A4 format was assembled from them, how successful is it not?)) And the large frame migrated to the wall where I spent six months. For engraving, I used paid software that allows you to dynamically change the speed and power of the laser, this greatly accelerated the process and the quality turned out to be excellent. Over time, I slightly changed the design by putting the motors on the bed, I did not like the fact that they make the carriages heavier and bend the belts. Why is this epilogue? To the fact that at the time of collecting information on the cost of different types of lasers, I was told that for the assembly of CO2 from less than $ 500 and do not approach. It so happened that I had a lot of free time, and having studied the CO2 laser machines in more detail, there was a misunderstanding where the $ 500 was. After thinking about what you can do yourself using a 3D printer, an almost complete assembly of the machine was simulated in SolidWorks. The conclusion was that, in fact, only laser components are needed in the form of the laser tube itself, a power supply unit for it, a mirror and a lens. Everything else could be printed or obtained)))

I decided to make the carriages on wheels, firstly, if you do not use proprietary controllers, then the operating speed is not too high, and the laser head turned out to be very light for me, and if the wheels with the printer's head can cope, then why the laser cannot cope, and secondly, the wheels I just had with a double reserve.

The cost of the laser component turned out to be only 12000r (including paid delivery). For the sample, a laser tube of only 40W was ordered. I ordered on Ali, there were only 3 specialized sellers, and one clearly outweighed the orders, and after talking with him it became clear why, the managers are very sociable and quickly answer any questions. The order was placed and the agonizing wait came, brightened up by the assembly of all the other parts of the machine.

Quite a lot of different parts remain from the Re-D-Bot assembly and its subsequent modifications. We had to re-order mere little things like springs and bearings with bumpers. Finally, the large bed came in handy.

It was decided to make the body of the machine from laminated chipboard, I wanted the mills to be compact, since the space in the workshop is becoming less and less.

I estimated the dimensions of the case based on the dimensions of the tube from the bed, a square of 105x105cm came out, I decided to make a height of 20cm, this was quite enough for working with materials up to 50mm. Cutting the sheet onto the body and the table on which it will stand cost 2100r (including the cost of the sheet itself).

Printing of various units of the machine was in full swing, since everything was modeled taking into account the subsequent printing and this helped to avoid problems "the unit does not fit in place". Although all the same, some nodes had to be finalized, for example, the head had only 1 freedom of adjustment, in height, just getting to the nuts for tightening cost a lot of nerves spent, it turned out that the back of the head carriage did not seem to bear much load, but with a fair tension on the belts, it just turned out.

By the way, about the degrees of freedom. The factory mirror mounts had 2-3 degrees of freedom (apart from the ability to rotate the mirror), which somewhat complicated the alignment of the mirrors. In my project, I gave them only 1 freedom each, head up / down, side forward / backward, the mirror at the laser is also down / up, that's all. Less mobility - less chance of mistakes.

In the factory design, the table lifting mechanism is responsible for adjusting the focus, this option did not suit me, and I began to think about adjusting the focus on the head, so the collet clamp of the sleeve with the lens inside was modeled. All parts were printed from PETG, the absence of shrinkage allows you to set exact dimensions without worrying,

that the parts will not fit together.

I must say right away that this unit had to be redone, since if the lens gets dirty for some reason, then it starts to warm up not weakly during operation, so once the lens melted into the cylinder and was broken when trying to remove it.

The toad did not allow buying a ready-made head, and suddenly an old lensed flashlight caught my eye, in it a node with an LED and a driver was perfect for clamping a lens, the dimensions were the same, all that was left was to cut off the extra part of the flashlight (by the way, it was inoperative, the money was returned for it)). There were also problems with the blowing spout, it turned out that the beam heats not only a point on the surface, but also the air around itself, because of this, the tip constantly melted, it was decided to make an insert, for this already damaged nozzles for the printer fit perfectly, only it was decided to drill to 2mm hole to leave space for installation error. The laser came a week before NG, the holidays promised to be fruitful)))

A large set-up turned out with a shaft that was supposed to synchronize the carriages Y. They promised to make it, but they constantly fed breakfast until the 31st, and then they said that it would only be on the 9th ... The wait was unbearable and it was decided to temporarily use the hairpin, but since 8mm hairpin is not 8mm at all, it was decided to use 5mm using bushings. This trick worked quite well (by the way, the shaft was given to me only on January 29 and then not 8mm, but 8.2 and even a curve).

Since the laser head is quite light, NEMA17 was directly involved in its movement, but for the Y beam, pulleys had to be installed, as a result, having received a gear ratio of 1: 2. Not a lot, of course, but quite enough. I thought about cooling the tube for a long time, it was decided to use Peltier elements, but while the winter in the next room (garage) is always + 10 °, it was decided to simply remove the cooling tubes with a capacity there. The water was pumped by a small pump from Ali for 500r, 800l / h is declared, optimistic Chinese, but about 200 it gives out and this is enough for us.

The structure was assembled and the machine finally came to life. The disadvantage of my compact design was the terrible inconvenience of alignment, for it I had to remove the side wall, otherwise the screws would not crawl. But these are all little things. Half an hour of postrelushki in plywood and paper and all the mirrors are adjusted. The first cuts showed that without drawing it is possible only to cut paper. An old 140x140mm fan perfectly suited as it, I don't know what it is from, but it blows extremely powerfully, and makes noise on a par with a vacuum cleaner. The hood was tested with an electronic cigarette (it was purchased for such purposes) and the result was excellent.

Then began testing the capabilities of the 40W tube. The results surprised me a little. There is no need to talk about 4mm plywood. Only 1mm of plexiglass was found, its laser cuts even at extremely low powers. In 1 pass it was possible to cut up to 8mm of plywood, but slowly. It even turned out to cut 12mm, but in 3 passes, although it is not worth talking about the quality of the cut ... Tests and trial products were made from rather bad 44 grade plywood and had been in the garage for 2 years. When trying to buy a good one, I found out that in my city ONLY 1 office is engaged in this and the wait is 3 weeks. I'm sitting waiting)))

Oh yes, then what to become in general - the cost of the machine, taking into account the purchase of all parts, is less than 16,000 rubles. And this is with a field of 60x70cm. And the field can be of almost any size.

You can see more photos by clicking on the link to the album. I am also attaching a "estimate" with links.

Many craftsmen make something new from unused equipment, including homemade laser machines for cutting metal. Although it is impossible to achieve high power, the functionality is sufficient for domestic use. The use of some improvised means is allowed to increase it.

How to assemble a laser cutting machine by yourself

Craftsmen make laser cutters with their own hands because of their high cost. In everyday life, you can create only a solid-state cutter with a power that allows you to cut into metal by only 1-3 cm. This is enough for the manufacture of decorative elements. The laser is powered by crystals used in LED equipment and special glasses.

Necessary materials

The main element is the laser of a writing disk drive for a computer, which has a high write speed (the higher it is, the more power). In addition to it, it is required:

• battery-powered flashlight;
• laser pointer;
• soldering iron;
• locksmith tools.

If you need a more powerful tool, you will need additional elements to make the driver:

• resistors 2-5 ohms;
• two capacitors (capacitance 100 pF and 100 mF);
• collimator (collector of light rays into a beam);
• LED flashlight (body must be metal);
• multimeter.

If there is no driver between the batteries and the light bulb, it may burn out.

Even more power can be obtained by using a commercially available 60W laser diode.

It is best to install such a laser metal cutting machine with your own hands on a frame; use a computer equipped with a special program for control. Therefore, in addition to the laser, you will need:

• a body that contains all the elements;
• stepper motors (from DVD players or printers);
• boards and transistors that control electric motors;
• a regulator that controls the voltage on the emitter;
• toothed belts and pulleys for them;
• sheet steel for the manufacture of brackets;
• ball bearings, ties, nuts, bolts, screws, clamps;
• ring switches;
• a controller and a USB cable connecting it to a computer and a board with a display;
• cooling system;
• metal boards and rods.

A frame is made from the boards, metal rods act as guides.

Important! There is an option to buy a laser cutter kit for electronic filling.

Manufacturing process

The first step is to disassemble the drive to remove the light bulb from it. It is installed in the carriage and reinforced. The mounts are soldered with a soldering iron. During operation, do not expose the light bulb to strong mechanical stress that could damage it.

Before assembling the cutter, you need to decide what it will be powered from, where to mount the diode and how to distribute the currents.

Important! The diode requires more current than the pointer elements.

It is necessary to carefully disassemble the pointer and replace the diode with a lamp removed from the drive. It is best to use glue for fastening. It is important that the eye of the bulb is centered on the hole.

The power of the pointer for the cutter is not enough, it is increased with the help of batteries for the flashlight. For this, the lower part of the flashlight is aligned with the part of the pointer, which houses the bulb from the drive. The glass is removed from the flashlight, the light is connected, observing the polarity.

Attention! Power is enough to burn through the skin on your hands!

When the power is increased by the driver, it is necessary to wind an aluminum wire around the light bulb, which removes the static, and mount it in the collimator. When making a laser for cutting metal with your own hands, the resistor elements are connected to the batteries in a sequential manner. Accuracy is required in determining polarity. To change the current strength, a multimeter is connected to the diode, which allows you to adjust the indicator in the range of 300 mA to 500 mA.

A metal flashlight can still serve as a body for manual laser cutting of metal.

For the most powerful version, after mounting the body from the boards, rods are installed. They are preliminarily ground and lubricated with a composition containing lithium.

Mounting of stepper motors requires brackets made of sheet steel bent at right angles. Requires 6 holes for self-tapping sheet and motor mounting. The brackets also need to be made to mount the drive created from the two pulleys. Only the sheets need to be bent in the shape of the letter P. Holes are also needed to attach the profile and exit the shaft, on which the belt pulleys are then fitted. The belts are connected to the base using self-tapping screws.

For the cutter to work automatically, you need a special program that can be downloaded and installed on your computer for free.

Important! If you plan to perform engraving work, you should download the contour library. It takes time to set up the software.

Final cost

The cost depends on the capacity of the finished product.

Material prices

The simplest cutter can be made almost free if you have a flashlight, laser pointer, and a soldering iron at home. To strengthen it, you will have to spend 546-1520 rubles. A laser machine for cutting metal with your own hands on a frame is the most expensive. Even if the house has materials at hand for making the case and the cooling system, electric motors, boards, pieces of steel, screws, nuts, switches, you will have to spend about 5,000 rubles.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Home Cutting Method

Cutting metals with a laser has high precision, does not deform the material, and allows you to obtain a high-quality cut surface. Cutting is non-contact, without mechanical stress and dust. However, this method is not suitable for thick metal, as heating can create problems in subsequent processing.

Safety engineering

When working, be sure to wear protective glasses and gloves, try not to look directly at the beam. The room should not contain substances that are easily flammable. There should be a fire extinguisher (not powder) nearby. Since not only the beam is dangerous for a person, but also its reflection, it is impossible to work with metals that have a reflective surface. Regularly, you need to check the integrity of the wiring through which the current flows.