This is a nearly completed laser cutter project built on the chassis of a $15 desk found on Craigslist. The heart of the project started as...
This is a nearly completed laser cutter project built on the chassis of a $15 desk found on Craigslist. The heart of the project started as a 75% complete group of parts that I also scored on CL for $520. This included: the XY frame, steppers, Gecko G540, optics, and 40W laser tube & P/S, water pump, radiator, and honeycomb. I bought the desk on 9/10/2013 and started cutting & welding. Today is 10/1, so basically 3 weeks of tinkering was involved with this project.n The frame's X axis had a bit of wobble, so I bought a THK linear rail to beef up and smooth out the right hand side (another $75 / Ebay). The gantry is now very stable. I bought about $80 worth of leadscrew, acme nuts, sprockets and #25 chain to build a manual Z axis. This was from Surplus Center in Nebraska, an A+ outfit.n Other misc purchases were about $20 of 80-20 T-slot AL to mount the tube on, $100 worth of misc hardware like the plexiglass lid, piano hinge, angle iron for the frame (which is welded), and $8 for a water flow sensor. The bottom of the box is thick sheet metal scrap that I had laying around, and the sidewalls are made from black laminated MDF shelving that I found in the scratch and dent pile for $1.50 each x 2. I bought a beefier Y axis stepper for $25 since the gantry is now a bit heavier than the original stock design. I slipped in at around $900 total for everything, but that does not include some things I already had, like the FanTech fan, airbrush pump, Thorlabs optical mounts, 24V PSU, cables, Igus chain, etc... (it's good to be a hoarder).n The people I would like to thank are: Aaron for giving me the smokin' deal on the majority of the parts, Dan B for the great deal on the desk, and the following youtubers whose videos gave me some good ideas: Christopher Robinson, LPFThings, & Stephen Hobley- you guys may not know it, but your videos really helped me out!n-Mike Less
