Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

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Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:13 am

Well, I decided to post a few pictures and describe some of the things I'm doing. I know this build's been 'done to death' so I'll do mine on the minimal side. Anyway, I've dimensioned mine slightly larger than the stock 2.X. My outer dimensions are LxWxH, 1150mm, 660mm, 360mm. This will yield an approximate cutting area of about 27"X15".

I have manufactured all the plastic parts from the online DXF's and cut them on my CNC router. The Metal parts I bought from another user here, 'RSM5178'.
All the pulley's, bearings, shaft couplers I bought from 'Inventables', as well as the MAKERSLIDE rails. The slotted aluminum tubing and components I purchased from MISUMI. There are a few other suppliers I bought from over time and I now have 99.9% of everything I need to complete this build.

I intend to use an 80 watt RECI instead of the stock Chinese 40 watt (not that there's anything wrong with that;)) because I want to assure I have all the machine I can afford so there's no regrets later on. I'm an RC Modeler so I'll mostly be using this machine to cut balsa and ply.

Thus far my cash outlay's a little under $2k and this includes the laser tube, power supplies and electronics. I'm not going to use a DSP to start out because I'm not sure how useful it would be for me. I have several CAD packages I use and I have CUT2D and MACH3 which I think will be adequate to do what I want to do.
My 2k includes items that I will use for cooling too. I was lucky enough to find an aquarium chiller on Craigslist and I bought a pump from Harbor Freight.

I've seen others post their outlays for the stock 2.X in the past and most said around $2500 but prices have come down on a lot of the big ticket items.
Given I’m using an 80 watt tube that has a circumference of 80mm I had to redesign the tube brackets. I was careful to keep the center of the new bracket in the same relationship with mirror1 and mirror2, however, because of the fatter tube the tube just barely clears the RH Makerslide so I decided to raise the tube brackets ¼” and subsequently had to do the same for both mirrors and the laser head on the gantry.
One of the photos shows my Combiner Fixture (Lightobject) that I’ve yet to design a mount for. Hopefully this will work out without much BS. It’s pretty close to the left side Y drive shaft.
Bob T.
Some photos in no particular order:
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Last edited by injunear on Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby Yaro » Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:33 am

Nice build. Can you tell me dimensions of screws on laser combiner? Spring screws are M3 or M4? and precision screws are M5?
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:43 pm

deleted.... ;)
Last edited by injunear on Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:50 am

I took some time out today to design a bracket for the Laser Combiner. I made it on my CNC Router (had to make two versions until I got it right :roll: ) and designed it to attach vertically (see photos) using 1/2" spacers attached to the 1/4 thick bracket.
I made sure I have lots of adjustment in all planes so that it can be aligned more precisely when the tube's installed. I temporarily fired up the red dot laser and messed with the focus. To tell you the truth, I'm not impressed with this cylindrical laser. I have laser pointers from the flea market that focus better and have exceptional range. We'll see in the near future if I use the supplied part.

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Bob T.
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Sun Nov 02, 2014 3:54 pm

Well, I ran into a bit of a snag with the mirror mounts I got from Lightobject. It seems that the mounts sold to me are the mirror image of what they should be. I knew something didn't look right when I installed the combiner mount as the centers didn't seem to be in alignment between the rear mirror mount and the combiner mount. I'll have to see if I can disassemble these mounts and correct their orientation. I'll have to email Marco at Lightobject to see what he has to say.

See photos:

Note that this mirror mount favors the right side, and this is the one I have:
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This is the way it's supposed to look, favoring the left side:
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Bob T.

EDIT UPDATE- It was simple enough to correct but be aware of this if you order from Lightobject lest you install them in the wrong orientation to center.
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby pourcirm » Sun Nov 02, 2014 5:54 pm

It's a good thing I read your post as my mirror mounts are assembled the same way. Looking at them again I'm guessing you disassembled them and flipped the orientation? Or was there another method that you used to fix the issue?
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:11 pm

pourcirm wrote:It's a good thing I read your post as my mirror mounts are assembled the same way. Looking at them again I'm guessing you disassembled them and flipped the orientation? Or was there another method that you used to fix the issue?


Yes, I disassembled them then figured out how they should be reassembled. It's relatively easy. There's two springs and 4 pins that hold the pieces together.

Bob T.
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby TLHarrell » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:22 pm

With so many of the red dot pointers being crap, I wonder if anybody has decided to use a green 5 mW one instead?
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:33 pm

TLHarrell wrote:With so many of the red dot pointers being crap, I wonder if anybody has decided to use a green 5 mW one instead?


I was looking for one at the flea market in a pointer. Didn't find any. I suppose you can find them at Dig-key or Mouser, or even on EBAY. I'll try the supplied dot pointer first and if that doesn't do the trick, like I said, I have a few of the pointers I got from the Flea Market for $1 each. They project a perfect dot up to 75+ feet away. They amaze me.

Bob T.
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Re: Bob's 2.X sorta, kinda, build log

Postby injunear » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:49 pm

Got a bit more done yesterday although I had to stop. I ran out of M5-12 screws! I thought I bought enough? I'll likely find a bag of them after I receive the new order from McMaster Carr :lol: .....
I stole Scott's idea and mounted my Z axis motor on the bottom rail and raised the motor using standoff's and a spacer block. In this way I can keep it away from the laser tube and my Combiner Lens mount.

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Bob T.
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