Building a laser engraver (cutter?) using existing 3d printer components

To start: I am a sensible person who understands the risks involved with high voltages, lasers and other hazardous things. In the past I have repaired TVs and other electronic devices both for a living and for pleasure, built three 3d printers and I have even built a sports car from scratch. I have a strong sense of self-preservation and have survived to the age of 68 without doing myself much harm, and intend to continue in the same vein!

I have been thinking about getting myself a small laser engraver/cutter to experiment with - for example, something out of the NEJE range. The smallest one looks a bit restrictive in size, and the larger ones seem ungainly and wobbly. I don't have space for a K40 laser cutter, nor am I sure I need one at the moment. Then I realised that I have a redundant Prusa i3 clone that I built ages ago currently sitting partly dismantled in my garage. This has the usual Arduino/RAMPS setup. If I replace the heated bed with something more expendable like plywood, modified the Z axis, and replaced the extruder and hot end with a laser module, then I should have the makings of an engraver/cutter.

However, I need guidance on how to start this project, e.g.

• Which laser module would be most suitable to start with? Preferably something upgradeable.
• What do I have to do to the RAMPS and Marlin to make it work with the laser module?
• I also have an Arduino with a GRBL shield - would that be more useful?
• Where can I get the appropriate safety gear to go with the laser? This is a particular issue as I wear glasses, so the usual safety glasses aren't much use - I'll probably need a visor.

I do have a reasonable understanding of safety issues - eye protection for myself and any bystanders, keeping body parts away from the beam, risks associated with smoke & fumes, etc. - but any other guidance accepted with gratitude. If everything is successful and useful then I'll probably build a proper enclosure in the future.

I'm not expecting anyone to give me all of this information in this thread - although I'll welcome anything useful - but links to articles, features and the like describing similar projects would be very useful.

Thanks in advance for any guidance,
David

Hi David,

... scanning through this "Laser"-subforum will bring you a lot of information

Some of my old threads are exactly around of this area -- here some related infos too: [reprap.org]

The easiest way to laserengrave with 3D-printer-software+hardware ist to use the STEP-pulse, normally meant for the extruder, as pulse source for the laser, as it's "path-synchonous" and will prevent burned edges, like when using standard PWM. Here it's as simpe as moving without laser with "G0", and laser-engraving with "G1"-moves ...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2020 05:34AM by VDX.

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Thanks Viktor!

This is what happens when I have a clever idea in the middle of the night - I type up a question and completely forget the RepRap wiki!

I will investigate...

Well, I did a load of research and reading - and got rather overwhelmed! I think a lot of posts here are for people who've made a start and are experiencing some problems, not for an absolute beginner like me - beginner to lasers anyway.

Then I found this video on YouTube, which looks to be exactly what I was looking for: [youtu.be]. He's kept it simple, but doesn't neglect the safety issues such as eye protection and the problems with smoke. I wasn't happy with his idea about taking the unit outside - too much risk of onlookers getting eye damage as far as I'm concerned - but it may be that he's got a secure and/or enclosed outside area. Other than that, it should be a good starting point for me.

I'm sure the experts here will criticise some aspects of what he's done, so I'll be watching with interest! I will order one of those laser modules though, as it seems adequate for my initial needs.

I also need to order some safety glasses, but I don't know if those BangGood ones are suitable for me as I normally wear glasses - is it possible to buy suitable and SAFE filter material in flexible sheet form? If so, I can use the design I've got for a Covid-19 visor to make something appropriate for me, on the basis of "if it's easy and convenient to wear, it will get used". I also have several welding helmets, both auto-darkening and "not auto" so I could put rigid filter material in one of those if necessary.

buon giorno a tutti . scusate se mi intrometto . sono nuovo e non so se è qui per chiedere una spiegazione . ho costruito la mia stampante 3d con marlin ramps1.4 devo fare ancora un po di esperienza ma funziona tutto. adesso ho la necessita di sostituire l'estrusore con un laser 15w che gia ho comprato . potete indicarmi dove posso istruirmi per i collegamenti del laser e quale modifica portare al firmwear di marlin . grazie in anticipo