Laser Engraver/ Cutter

[Lesgold]

It was then a simple task to cut and solder the wires together and build a container to hold the battery pack and the laser. I used the engraver to make this component. Double sided tape was then used to hold the laser bracket to the laser module. The photograph shows the laser before it was focussed.

[Lesgold]

As this laser beam was situated about 30mm from the actual cutting beam, I needed to measure the offset in both the X andY directions and then use a feature in the software to tell the laser to move to a new spot before starting its program. After a couple of tests and minor adjustments, I was able to get the starting point to within a mm. A bit more tweaking could get things very close but this is more accurate than what I require at this stage. For really accurate jobs I would construct jigs.

[Lesgold]

The software package that is used with the laser comes with a feature that allows you to engrave or cut out pieces that are larger than the bed of the machine. The maximum size that can be cut in one go is approximately 400x 400mm which makes it difficult to cut equipment that is the length of a bee box. A feature called ?Print And Cut? allows this to happen. In theory, the design space on the screen is infinite in size so it is possible to draw up anything that you want. The trick with this feature is the break the project down into a number of components and cut each one individually. The design must include a couple of reference points in the form of cross hairs a bit like what you would see on a rifle scope. One part of the project is engraved or cut (including the cross hairs) and then the project is slid through so that the next part can be cut. The laser is told where the reference points are and the next part of the project is completed. A beam of light from the laser is used to line up with the reference points. Unfortunately with my type of laser, lining up reference points was difficult due to the protective cover that shields the laser beam. Dark and reflected light made it impossible to get things extremely accurate. Below is a picture of my first attempt. I have designed a plywood frame cage made entirely of plywood. As you can see from the photos, I was way out on aligning the two halves of the excluder. If I can resolve the issue, I will make a cage today and post it up. I have a couple of ideas that may help to solve the problem.

[Lesgold]

Shining a torch through the orange window of the laser gets rid of any reflection and shows up alignment marks clearly. This solves the problem and allows for accurate positioning of the laser beam.

[BeeMaster2]

Les,
I?m not sure what you are saying. Please explain what shining a light through the orange filter. I have not seen anything about alignment marks. Is it in LightBurn?
Jim Altmiller

[Lesgold]

Hi Jim,

If you have a look in the ?Laser Tools? drop down menu in Light burn, you will see a feature called ?Print and Cut?. It allows you to engrave objects that are larger than the table area of the engraver. For example, if you wanted to engrave a long banner you could do so in sections. As part of the design, you would add a series of alignment marks along the banner which would be used as reference points to align the laser beam to. The test fire button on the laser is used to align to these marks. A low powered beam of light is produced and the laser is toggled so that the beam is aligned with that mark. On our laser, there is a small orange window near the bottom of the laser module that you can look through to see the beam. Unfortunately, any marks on your work piece are hard to see as the area directly below the laser is quite dark and often light is also reflected off the orange window. Shining a torch through this window gives the detail required. If I get a chance later, I will take a picture of what I?m talking about. Print and cut is an amazing feature that I?ll be using more often.

[BeeMaster2]

Thanks Les. I will check this out this morning when I get on my computer.
I have never tried to line up the laser to an existing burn. I have only used frame to line it up. Learn something new every day.
Jim Altmiller