Laser engraver: buy or make it yourself. Laser engraver from waste Laser engraver from a printer with dried

It took the author 4 months to assemble such an engraver; its power is 2 Watts. This is not too much, but it allows you to engrave on wood and plastic. The device can also cut Cork tree. The article contains all required material to create an engraver, including STL files for printing design components, as well as electronic circuits for connecting motors, lasers, and so on.

Video of the engraver at work:

Materials and tools:

Access to a 3D printer;
- rods from of stainless steel 5/16";
- bronze bushings (for plain bearings);
- diode M140 2 W;
- radiator and coolers to create diode cooling;
- stepper motors, pulleys, toothed belts;
- Super glue;
- wooden beam;
- plywood;
- bolts with nuts;
- acrylic (for creating inserts);
- G-2 lens and driver;
- thermal paste;
- protective glasses;
- Arduino UNO controller;
- drill, cutting tool, screws, etc.

Engraver manufacturing process:

Step one. Create the Y axis
First, you need to design the frame of the printer in Autodesk Inventor. Then you can start printing out the Y-axis elements and assembling it. The first part that is printed on a 3D printer is needed to install the stepper motor on the Y axis, connect the steel shafts and ensure sliding along one of the X axis shafts.

After the part is printed, two bronze bushings need to be installed in it; they are used as sliding supports. To reduce friction, the bushings need to be lubricated. This perfect solution for such projects because it is cheap.

As for the guides, they are made of stainless steel rods with a diameter of 5/16". Stainless steel has a low coefficient of friction with bronze, so it is excellent for plain bearings.

A laser is also installed on the Y axis; it has a metal body and gets quite hot. To reduce the risk of overheating you need to install aluminum radiator and coolers for cooling. The author used old elements from a robot controller.

Among other things, in the block for the 1"X1" laser you need to make a 31/64" hole and add a bolt to the side face. The block is connected to another part, which is also printed on a 3D printer, it will move along the Y axis. To transmit movement, it is used toothed belt.

After assembling the laser module, it is installed on the Y axis. Also at this stage, stepper motors, pulleys and timing belts are installed.

Step two. Create the X axis

Wood was used to create the base of the engraver. The most important thing is that the two X axes are clearly parallel, otherwise the device will jam. To move along the X coordinate, a separate motor is used, as well as a drive belt in the center along the Y axis. Thanks to this design, the system is simple and works perfectly.

You can use superglue to attach the crossbar that connects the belt to the Y-axis. But it is best to 3D print special brackets for these purposes.

Step three. We connect and check the electronics
The homemade diode uses an M140 diode; you can buy a more powerful one, but the price will be higher. To focus the beam you will need a lens and a regulated power source. The lens is installed on the laser using thermal paste. When working with lasers, you must wear safety glasses only.

To check how the electronics work, the author turned them on outside the machine. A computer cooler is used to cool electronics. The system runs on an Arduino Uno controller, which is connected to grbl. To enable the signal to be transmitted online, Universal Gcode Sender is used. To convert vector images to G-code, you can use Inkscape with installed plugin gcodetools. To control the laser, a contact is used that controls the operation of the spindle. This is one of the most simple examples using gcodetools.

Step four. Engraver body
The side edges are made of plywood. Since the stepper motor extends slightly beyond the body during operation, a rectangular hole must be made in the rear edge. In addition, you need to remember to make holes for cooling, power connections, and a USB port. The edges of the top and front of the body are also made of plywood, in central part acrylic walls are installed. An additional wooden platform is attached above all the elements that are installed at the bottom of the box. It is the basis for the material with which the laser works.

Acrylic is used to make the walls orange color, since it perfectly absorbs laser rays. It is important to remember that even a reflected laser beam can seriously damage the eye. That's all, the laser is ready. You can start testing.

Of course, complex images are not of very high quality, but the engraver can burn out simple ones without difficulty. It can also be used to cut balsa wood without any problems.

Many of those home craftsmen who in their workshop are engaged in the manufacture and decorative design products made of wood and other materials, you have probably thought about how to make laser engraver with your own hands. The presence of such equipment, the serial models of which are quite expensive, allows not only to apply the most complex drawings With high accuracy and detailing, but also to implement laser cutting various materials.

A homemade laser engraver, which will cost much less than a serial model, can be made even if you do not have in-depth knowledge of electronics and mechanics. The laser engraver of the proposed design is assembled on the Arduino hardware platform and has a power of 3 W, while for industrial models this parameter is at least 400 W. However, even such low power allows you to use this device for cutting products made of polystyrene foam, cork sheets, plastic and cardboard, as well as perform high-quality laser engraving.

Necessary materials

In order to make your own laser engraver using Arduino, you will need the following: Consumables, mechanisms and tools:

hardware platform Arduino R3;
Proto Board equipped with a display;
stepper motors, which can be used as electric motors from a printer or DVD player;
laser with a power of 3 W;
laser cooling device;
voltage regulator direct current DC-DC;
MOSFET transistor;
electronic boards that control the laser engraver motors;
limit switches;
a housing in which you can place all the structural elements of a homemade engraver;
timing belts and pulleys for their installation;
ball bearings of various sizes;
four wooden boards(two of them with dimensions 135x10x2 cm, and the other two – 125x10x2 cm);
four metal rods round section, the diameter of which is 10 mm;
bolts, nuts and screws;
lubricant;
clamps;
computer;
drill various diameters;
a circular saw;
sandpaper;
vice;
standard set of locksmith tools.

Electrical part of a homemade laser engraver

The main element of the electrical circuit of the presented device is a laser emitter, the input of which must be supplied with a constant voltage with a value not exceeding the permissible parameters. If you do not comply this requirement, the laser may simply burn out. The laser emitter used in the engraving installation of the presented design is designed for a voltage of 5 V and a current not exceeding 2.4 A, therefore the DC-DC regulator must be configured for a current of 2 A and a voltage of up to 5 V.

The MOSFET transistor, which is the most important element of the electrical part of a laser engraver, is necessary in order to turn the laser emitter on and off when receiving a signal from the Arduino controller. Electrical signal, generated by the controller, is very weak, so only a MOSFET transistor can sense it and then unlock and close the laser power circuit. IN electrical diagram For a laser engraver, such a transistor is installed between the positive contact of the laser and the negative contact of the DC regulator.

The laser engraver's stepper motors are connected through one electronic control board, which ensures their synchronous operation. Thanks to this connection, timing belts driven by multiple motors do not sag and maintain a stable tension during operation, which ensures the quality and accuracy of the processing performed.

It should be kept in mind that the laser diode used in a homemade engraving machine should not overheat.

To do this, it is necessary to ensure its effective cooling. This problem can be solved quite simply: a regular computer fan is installed next to the diode. To prevent overheating of stepper motor control boards, computer coolers are also placed next to them, since conventional radiators cannot cope with this task.

Photos of the electrical circuit assembly process

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Build process

The homemade engraving machine of the proposed design is a shuttle-type device, one of the moving elements of which is responsible for movement along the Y axis, and the other two, paired, for movement along the X axis. For the Z axis, which is also specified in the parameters of such a 3D printer, the depth to which the material being processed is burned is taken. The depth of the holes into which the elements of the shuttle mechanism of the laser engraver are installed must be at least 12 mm.

Desk frame - dimensions and tolerances

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Aluminum rods with a diameter of at least 10 mm can act as guide elements along which the working head of a laser engraving device will move. If it is not possible to find aluminum rods, steel guides of the same diameter can be used for these purposes. The need to use rods of exactly this diameter is explained by the fact that in this case the working head of the laser engraving device will not sag.

Manufacturing of a movable carriage

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The surface of the rods that will be used as guide elements for the laser engraving device must be cleaned of factory grease and carefully ground to perfect smoothness. Then they should be coated with a lubricant based on white lithium, which will improve the sliding process.

Installation of stepper motors on the body of a homemade engraving device is carried out using brackets made of sheet metal. To make such a bracket, a sheet of metal whose width approximately corresponds to the width of the engine itself, and the length of which is twice the length of its base, is bent at a right angle. On the surface of such a bracket, where the base of the electric motor will be located, 6 holes are drilled, 4 of which are necessary for fixing the engine itself, and the remaining two are for attaching the bracket to the body using ordinary self-tapping screws.

To install a drive mechanism consisting of two pulleys, a washer and a bolt on the electric motor shaft, a piece of metal sheet appropriate size. To mount such a unit, a U-shaped profile is formed from a metal sheet, in which holes are drilled for attaching it to the engraver body and for the output of the electric motor shaft. The pulleys on which the timing belts will be placed are mounted on the shaft of the drive electric motor and placed in the inner part of the U-shaped profile. Toothed belts mounted on pulleys, which should drive the shuttles of the engraving device, are connected to their wooden bases using self-tapping screws.

Installation of stepper motors

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Software installation

Your laser grower, which must operate in automatic mode, will require not only installation, but also configuration of special software. The most important element Such software is a program that allows you to create the contours of the desired design and convert them into an extension that is understandable to the control elements of the laser engraver. This program is freely available and can be downloaded to your computer without any problems.

Program downloaded to the manager engraving device computer, unpacked from the archive and installed. In addition, you will need a library of contours, as well as a program that will send data on the created drawing or inscription to the Arduino controller. Such a library (as well as a program for transferring data to the controller) can also be found in the public domain. In order for your laser homemade product to work correctly, and for the engraving performed with its help to be of high quality, you will need to configure the controller itself to the parameters of the engraving device.

Features of using contours

If you have already figured out the question of how to make a hand-held laser engraver, then it is necessary to clarify the question of the parameters of the contours that can be applied using such a device. Such contours, the inside of which is not filled even if the original drawing is painted over, must be transmitted to the engraver’s controller as files not in pixel (jpeg), but in vector format. This means that the image or inscription applied to the surface of the processed product using such an engraver will not consist of pixels, but of dots. Such images and inscriptions can be scaled as desired, focusing on the surface area on which they should be applied.

Using a laser engraver, almost any design and inscription can be applied to the surface of the workpiece, but to do this, their computer layouts must be converted into vector format. This procedure is not difficult to perform: special programs Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator are used for this. A file that has already been converted to vector format must be converted again so that it can be correctly processed by the engraving machine controller. For this conversion, the Inkscape Laserengraver program is used.

Final setup and preparation for work

Having made a laser engraving machine with your own hands and uploaded the necessary information into its control computer software, do not start work right away: the equipment needs final setup and adjustment. What is this adjustment? First of all, you need to make sure that the maximum movements of the machine's laser head along the X and Y axes coincide with the values obtained when converting the vector file. In addition, depending on the thickness of the material from which the workpiece is made, it is necessary to adjust the parameters of the current supplied to the laser head. This should be done in order not to burn through the product on the surface of which you want to engrave.

A very important and responsible process is fine tuning (adjustment) of the laser head. Alignment is needed to adjust the power and resolution of the beam produced by the laser head of your engraver. On expensive serial models of laser engraving machines, adjustment is performed using an additional low-power laser installed in the main working head. However, in homemade engravers, as a rule, inexpensive laser heads are used, so this method of fine-tuning the beam is not suitable for them.

Sufficiently high-quality adjustment of a homemade laser engraver can be performed using an LED extracted from laser pointer. The LED wires are connected to a 3 V power source, and the LED itself is fixed to the working end of a standard laser. By alternately turning on and adjusting the position of the beams emanating from the test LED and the laser head, they achieve their alignment at one point. The convenience of using an LED from a laser pointer is that adjustment can be performed with its help without the risk of harm to both the hands and eyes of the operator of the engraving machine.

The video shows the process of connecting the engraver to the computer, setting up the software and preparing the machine for work.

Step 6: Preparing the arduino

When I took up arduino, I started by writing my own software.
But as I started looking for ways to control motion via the serial port, I came across something called "GRBL". It turns out that this is a g-code interpreter with a lot of interesting functions.

I had everything already connected to the arduino and so I had to do one of two things: either swap the connections or change something in the code
It turned out that it is much easier to change the control pins in the program.

IMPORTANT:
The current version of Grbl (0.6b) has a bug in the queuing system. The laser turns on and turns off immediately (M3, M5).
The commands are not queued and the laser turns on and off immediately as soon as the arduino receives the commands.
This will be decided - but I can’t say exactly when... Instead, we do this:

you can use the source from here, or just take a ready-made compiled hex. the file I used is . This should solve the problem until it does. a new version Grbl.

No matter which path you choose, you must end up with a hex. file that you should load later into arduino.

I tried a few different ways, and the one I liked best was when I used the Xloader program.

Programming is pretty straightforward.
Select the correct serial port for arduino.
Select hex. file, then arduino type, then click on upload.
If you use a new arduino uno, the Xloader program will not work and you will get a loading error.
So I recommend using ARP/Arduino Uploader - but even this uploader has some problems with arduino uno.
When programming arduino, select the com port and type of your arduino (what model is the full name, so that the program understands how to work with it) in the corresponding drop-down list.
After this, you must make changes to the "avr dude params" text.
Erase "-b19200" - without quotes and click on the download button.

Either way, in a couple of seconds you'll be done and ready to experience.
Exit Xloader and go to the next paragraph.

The Arduino must be configured to get started. Open your favorite terminal window and open the port your arduino is connected to.

There you should see a welcome message:

Grbl 0.6b
"$" to dump current settings"

If you enter $ followed by return you will get a list of options. Something like this:

$0 = 400.0 (steps/mm x)
$1 = 400.0 (steps/mm y)
$2 = 400.0 (steps/mm z)
$3 = 30 (microseconds step pulse)
$4 = 480.0 (mm/sec default feed rate)
$5 = 480.0 (mm/sec default seek rate)
$6 = 0.100 (mm/arc segment)
$7 = 0 (step port invert mask. binary = 0)
$8 = 25 (acceleration in mm/sec^2)
$9 = 300 (max instant cornering speed change in delta mm/min)
"$x=value" to set parameter or just "$" to dump current settings
ok

Grbl 0.6b
"$" reset current settings"

If you enter $ you will get a list of options. Something like this:

$0 = 400.0 (steps/mm x)
$1 = 400.0 (steps/mm y)
$2 = 400.0 (steps/mm z)
$3 = 30 (microseconds per step pulse)
$4 = 480.0 (mm/sec default feed rate)
$5 = 480.0 (mm/sec default search speed)
$6 = 0.100 (mm/arc segment)
$7 = 0 (step port invert mask. binary = 0)
$8 = 25 (acceleration in mm/sec^2)
$9 = 300 (max instantaneous turn speed change in delta mm/min)
"$x=value" set a parameter or simply "$" reset the current settings
ok

You have to change steps/mm for both o53.333 - for both. Simply enter "$0=53.33", followed by return, and then "$1=53.333", followed by return. The Z axis can be ignored - since we are not using it. Acceleration can be increased to 100 (“$8=100” and back). Since the car is moving slowly, the acceleration can be set high. To others side effect Low acceleration may be that curves can be burned out more than straight lines as the controller is constantly trying to speed up and slow down and never reaches full speed.

If you build the device the same way as I do, then the following error may appear: one of your axes will be mirrored. But this is easy to fix. Option $7 gives you the ability to change the direction of the axis. I would like to change the direction of the X axis, so I entered: "$7=8" since I wanted to change the bitness to 3 (8 = 00001000 binary). If you want to change the direction of the Y axis, you need to enter 16 (00010000) or 24 (00011000) to change both.

Full documentation on mask inversion can be found here

Today I finally finished the engraver itself and tested it.

Now let's talk about everything in order.

Initially, the idea to build a laser engraver was born when I saw a NeJe craft on Ali Express - an engraver made from DVD drives.

Price 4-5 thousand rubles, expensive. But the toy seems interesting.

I sat and searched the Internet and watched videos on YouTube. It doesn't seem difficult to assemble yourself.

I had a couple of stepper motors from an Epson inkjet printer (something like 25 steps per revolution), some aluminum profiles from Leroy.

I decided to try to depict something like this from what I have. There would only be 2 axes.

I decided to use belts for the drive, it’s simpler.

Based on the guides that remained from the printers, I estimated the size and assembled the base. I secured the motor, belt tensioner, guides, installed the movable table and secured the belt.

There are no photos left with the belt installed.

Everything would be fine, but the table ran from edge to edge in just 2.5 revolutions of the stepper motor. Such a scheme would not provide accurate positioning.

I disassembled the belt drive, started thinking about how to remake the circuit for an M5 lead screw, and abandoned it.

There was so much work to do, there was no time.

At this time, a friend gave me several DVD drives to disassemble. DVD RW writer Sony and a couple of CD-RW DVD-ROM LG.

As a test, I decided to assemble an engraver using pieces of a DVD drive. Where he left is what he came to. In order to understand whether this will interest me or not, it will be enough.

Assembling the engraver on the casing of a CD drive seemed unaesthetic to me. I decided to assemble a frame for the engraver from different aluminum profiles. I had a square 20x20x1.5, a corner 20x20x1.5, a shank 60x2 and a U-shaped profile 12x15x2. I set myself another task to get better at working with the profile. Aluminum is a nasty material, the drill will lead away when drilling, your hand will tremble when cutting, or the blade will bite. In general, it’s not superfluous for training and sharpening skills. In the future I plan to assemble a printer on a profile from Leroy.

The frame was fastened with a riveter. Fast and reliable.

If the goal is to make it cheap and cheerful, you can and should assemble it on the housing from the drive.

I used a piece from LG for the X axis and a piece from Sony for the Y axis. I removed everything I could from the moving carriages of both drives. We won't need this.

For both axes I designed and printed different spacers on the printer. On the Y axis with thread.

Short spacers for the X axis

For the Y axis I designed and printed a table stand. I glued it to the carriage with superglue.

I used a piece of 6mm plexiglass as a table. After assembling the engraver, I glued the plexiglass to the printing table with superglue.

Instead of all sorts of nuts, shims and gaskets, it was convenient for me to print various fasteners on the printer. No glue guns or snot :)

From square profile 20x20 cut into 4 pieces for the base and posts.

First I assembled the base for mounting the carriage along the X axis

A piece of corner 20x20x1.5 was needed to space the racks so that a piece with a carriage could fit between the racks, driving along the Y axis.

Assembled the base for the Y axis. Two pieces of square profile and an aluminum strip. Fastened with a riveter.

I riveted steel corners in place to secure the X-axis portal.

I used steel angles from Leroy as X-axis strut holders. 14 rubles apiece.

And put it all together.

X riveted 2 corners to the back of the portal for attaching electronics.

Almost done mechanically. At the back I screwed homemade brains through printer-printed spacers.

Mom soldered wires and connectors to the stepper motors

Buying a ready-made laser with a controller on Ali is expensive, in the end I only bought a TTL controller for the laser.

Like this:

For 250 and a few kopecks rubles.

The laser diode was taken from a Sony drive. I took the lens from an LG drive. A laser diode in a square case was inserted into a U-shaped profile, the module with the laser fit very tightly, and in front of it was placed a lens assembly from LG, with focusing coils and other tripe. It fit perfectly in width and height. In this option, it becomes possible to adjust the focal length from the laser to the lens.

The photo partially shows the design of the laser module itself.

A laser diode with soldered wires, and a lens in front of it.

I couldn’t think of anything better and easier than to tighten the laser module to the X carriage with cable ties. It is quite reliable and you can adjust the distance from the laser to the workpiece.

I soldered the electronics to the engraver at work. After assembly, I showed my toy to my colleagues. And it began: will it cut paper, and black electrical tape, and blue tape, and if you paint a piece of solder black, will it melt? :)

I tell you, the laser leaves a mark on the cardboard, black electrical tape and black polyethylene cuts. Blue tape on cardboard cuts.

In general, the toy turned out to be funny.

Already home. The laser emitter was cut to length. TTL hid the scarf inside the profile.

The program for converting pictures into g-code is called CHPU.

Controls the GRBLController router.

Engraves the picture. The first one, so to speak, damn it. Compare with my avatar :)

Naturally, you need to select the engraving mode. And a small fan for blowing would not hurt to blow away the cutting smoke. Engraved on a piece of cardboard.

I uploaded the firmware to the board with GRBL 1.1f, this is in the entry about the board.

Regarding firmware settings:

The DVD drive stepper motor most often has 20 steps per revolution.

Screw pitch 3mm.

20/3=6.6666666666667 steps per 1mm

The a4988 drivers have microstepping set to 16.

Accordingly, 6.6666666666667*16=106.67

The voltage on the a4988 drivers (for 100 Ohm resistances in the driver) was set to 0.24 V

To enable the laser engraver mode, you must enter in the firmware

I have a laser (via a controller) connected to leg 11 of the Arduino, with PWM.

Those. The laser power can be adjusted, and the laser can be turned on and off programmatically.

To turn on the laser, give the command

The laser will not turn on until the carriage moves.

To turn off the laser the command

If you forgot to tell me about something, ask.

I repeat, the toy turned out to be interesting, I am pleased with the toy.

Someday I’ll get around to finishing a large engraver.

BE AWARE OF YOUR EYES! Avoid direct and reflected laser beam contact with your eyes. Do not look at the operating laser without special glasses. Keep pets away from the engraver while it is in operation!

Looks like he warned me.

Good time everyone!

In this post I want to share with you the process of creating a laser engraver based on a diode laser from China.

A few years ago I had a desire to buy myself ready-made option engraver from Aliexpress with a budget of 15 thousand, but after a long search I came to the conclusion that all the presented options are too simple and are essentially toys. But I wanted something tabletop and at the same time quite serious. After a month of research, it was decided to make this device with our own hands, and away we go...

At that moment I did not yet have a 3D printer and 3D modeling experience, but everything was fine with drawing)

Here is actually one of those ready-made engravers from China.

Having looked at the options possible designs mechanics, the first sketches of the future machine were made on a piece of paper..))

It was decided that the engraving area should be no smaller than an A3 sheet.

The laser module itself was one of the first to be purchased. Power 2W, since it was the most the best option for reasonable money.

Here is the laser module itself.

And so, it was decided that the X axis would travel along the Y axis and its design began. And it all started with the carriage...

The entire machine frame was made from aluminum profiles different shapes, purchased in Leroy.

At this stage, sketches no longer appeared on notebook paper; everything was drawn and invented in the Compass.

Having bought 2 meters of a square profile 40x40 mm to build the frame of the machine, in the end only the carriage itself was made from it..))

Motors, linear bearings, belts, shafts and all electronics were ordered from Aliexpress during the development process and plans for how the motors would be mounted and what the control board would be changed along the way.

After a few days of drawing in Compass, a more or less clear version of the machine design was determined.