I cut a lot of parts on my home built machines. These machines were never designed for production work, so I have developed strategies to get the most productivity out of my work. My goals are to get the best yield out of my material, have the shortest run times, spend the least time babysitting the machine, […]
I recently got my laser to do 3D printing via RepRap electronics. I thought a fun exercise in hacking would be to get the ReplicatorG program and the RepRap controllers to control the laser. Is this practical? It is probably not the ideal solution, but if you are trying to make a dual purpose machine […]
The Buildlog.net Open Source Laser cutter/engraver just added 3D printing to it’s capabilities. The printer system uses the existing CNC motion system of the laser cutter along with standard RepRap electronics. A quick release plastic extruder carriage is added to the existing gantry. The upgrade project is called the Chimera Project because this is a […]
I saw this while checking up on the progress of his selective laser sintering (SLS) project. Basically his idea was smaller power lasers might be able to cut through thicker material by “sawing” through it. The required power density might only be high enough at the exact focal point of the laser. Therefore, if you […]
James Williamson posted this on his REDTOROPE blog. It sounds like he was looking for an alternative to the really expensive TherMark laser marking ink. Basically he used some spray paint intended for use on wood stoves. He did a lot of preparation to make sure the paint was perfectly adhered to the matal. He […]
Full Spectrum Engineering is about to release it’s new Retna Engrave laser engraving controller. It is initially targeted at the hobby and DIY market. There are Chinese controllers available, but most people are quickly underwhelmed by the software that comes with them. The Moshisoft and Newlydraw interfaces are quite quirky. Note: The image above is probably […]
I am working on a fun, geeky project and I needed a little stand for an iPad. I am not a real fan of the Apple company, but my wife got this though work and it will be perfect for my project. I love this flat-pack style of construction and I was inspired by my […]
I saw this over at Hackaday. Magx1 has created a homebuilt CO2 laser using air exhaled into a balloon as the gas source. There is a great Flickr set and a video. He explains a little bit about how it works in the video. To fill in some blanks…a flowing gas electrical discharge plasma laser […]
Everywhere I look these days I see a blog article about someone laser cutting old vinyl LPs. I think the first place I saw it was on the Make Magazine Blog. It seems like a great idea, especially if you choose an image that fits the record you are cutting. It also fits the recycle/upcycle trends. I […]
I decided to give the MachStdMill Mach3 screen set a try. This is the new look and feel that the yet to be released Mach4 will have. They decided to make a version available for Mach3 to get some early feedback and to lower the learning curve when Mach4 is released. You need to upgrade […]
