CNC - Electronics Blog

Posts Tagged ‘CNC’

DVD-CNC is still very much a project in progress. The purpose of this and the future posts in this series is to present project build notes which will, hopefully, help someone building a similar DIY laser cutting device. The project is not complete but some of the biggest issues have already become apparent. So, if you are interested in building your own DVD-CNC device, read these notes at least to avoid making the same mistakes. Besides, despite the project as a whole is still in progress, some parts of it, such as the TTL-controlled laser diode driver for example, are already at a workable stage and can be used in your own projects.

This project came about as a result of my propensity to never throw away parts that were designed to or can be adapted to move electrons. I am also very interested in mechatronics and motor control in general and so it was all but certain that over time I would have accumulated enough of various discarded data storage devices because they are so cleverly combining parts of both mechanics and electronics. We live in world filled with discarded devices that only a few years ago were the stuff of science fiction. I always feel bad about the discarded yesterday’s technology and it gives me an extra kick to have it re-purposed for today’s needs. Read the rest of this entry »

{adinserter Internal_left}I should have said “laser diode cutting” but did not want to spoil a great looking title 🙂 I had this CNC setup for about a year now and and have been tinkering with different setups for the laser diode but only recently have made any progress.

SAFETY FIRST!
Please make a note that if you are going to do this yourself, you owe it to yourself to buy a pair of nice ($35 or so) color filter safety glasses designed for the particular wavelength of the laser you are going to use. Mine is 650nm – red. I specifically wanted a laser in the visible part of the spectrum – if it’s going to burn my eye I want to at least know about it and give my reflexes a fighting chance to blink and shield my eye(s) from more damage. An infrared might have been more efficient and less picky about colors (with red laser forget about cutting any light colored material) but it requires more safety discipline.

The CNC machine it’s based on is Sable-2015 which I bought in the Summer of 2009 from eBay seller Luke-Chen in China. I have also bought the controller and the 24V DC power supply from Luke-Chen and had it running within hours after the package came in the mail. Read the rest of this entry »