assmbling a co2 laser for my shop

[trussmonkey25]

I want to put together a co2 60watt. I'm sure i need more than just the tube and power supply and water pump..anyone point me in right direction for parts list.. i want to set it uplike a drill press and turn it on an off with foot controller. it.would be nice to have plexiglass housing like I've seen in another thread.

 

[Cyparagon]

Any reason a drill press won't work?

 

[trussmonkey25]

Yes. i want to free form burn and cut materials of many different kinds....please don't put junk on my thread. i just want to build my laser..besides it would be cool to have big glowing laser tube in my shop

 

[Meatball]

Yes. i want to free form burn and cut materials of many different kinds....please don't put junk on my thread. i just want to build my laser..besides it would be cool to have big glowing laser tube in my shop

What junk?
There are CNC solutions made for this. "free form" anything and a 60W invisible searing beam do not mix. Personally, I highly recommend finding a much safer solution.

 

[trussmonkey25]

The junk i was referring to was the video sombody posted. how about i move the table x and y and work is safely behind the shroud

 

[Things]

Building a laser cutter is a complex and very mechanically testing feat. I've tried it myself 4 times, progressively getting better and better, so I'd highly recommend you do a bit of reading up into what's involved, and make sure you have at least $3K of money stashed away to spend on the project. Taking shortcuts to cut cost definitely effects your machines final performance, as I've found out many times. For that kind of money you could buy a really nice drill press, and hey, you can use it on metal too

 

[pschlosser]

if you're going to use a foot controller, then I imagine you are not interested in a computer controlled (CNC) XYZ table, is that correct?

unlike a drill press, the laser won't stop drilling once it penetrates the substrate. Further, a 60W CO2 laser will slice through some materials so quickly, you'll want fractional second pulse widths... to several decimal places. Meaning, no matter how fast your foot is, it will hold the foot switch down too long.

If you hope to have your hands in there, and move the substrate around while its lasing, then you have a good shot at winning the Darwin award. Bad, bad, idea. No insurance company will insure you, and OSHA will definitely prosecute if they find this in a commercial shop with employees.

One more thing, you can't see where a CO2 laser is aiming, because its invisible, so you'll want to use optics and combine the CO2 beam with something in the visible range, such as red or green.

With all this said, believe it or not, there are multiple sources in China that sell the tubes, power supplies and most of what you need to set this up. Unlike most other gas laser systems, the gas tube in these systems are the least costing component (nearly, anyway)

If I were setting up my first CO2 laser system, I could see myself considering a drill press concept like you're discussing. But once you see what it can do, you'll realize you're playing with plutonium in a setup like this.

Consider locating a shop using a CO2 laser and go see what it can do.

Yes, we mess around with lasers, here. But for the most part, we work in the visible spectrum, so we can see the damage to our eyes coming. The things a CO2 laser can do to the human body, is like comparing a tricycle to a freight train.

 

[trussmonkey25]

I'm familiar with high power pointers.. yes id put a spot indicater where beam will strike. here i ask for safety tips and pointers for a good safe build befor i even purchase the parts.. i may consider just getting a router cnc and mount lenses on that instead. or buy the cnc from full spectrum for about 4000 clams. But by the same token I work with dangerouse tools daily.. this ia intendedd for arts and crafts of disimilar material which a drill pressjust. won't do

 

[trussmonkey25]

Can any one tell me where i can find a nice shroud for a laser tube. like the clear one that shows it off. i dont want dust settling on tube or for it to creat a shock hazard. also should i double insulate the power supply that comes with it. ive seen other members put it in another encasment in cardboard or a plexiglass outer box. i really want to do this safely...glasses..osha approved anyone?

 

[Things]

You'll have to find a way to make your own, no one makes those perspex boxes ready to go. See if you can find a local plastics place with a large laser cutter, they should be able to do it pretty cheaply for you.

 

[trussmonkey25]

You'll have to find a way to make your own, no one makes those perspex boxes ready to go. See if you can find a local plastics place with a large laser cutter, they should be able to do it pretty cheaply for you.

Im a carpenter so Ill make one that resembles a display cabinet with oak trim..much like Frankenstien's lab..I also want to put the coolant in large apothocary jars and put colored dye for effect. I wont be recieving the tube till later this month. China is on holiday this week

 

[trussmonkey25]

So far i have ordered the 60 watt tube and psu on FleaBay and a head with mirror and lens built in. going to get submerged fountain pump and a small air compresser to attatch to head. the head lense is f/ 50mm. With air attachment to blow away smoke.

 

[MarioMaster]

You will need a chamber of some sort around the working area with a decent size exhaust system. Smoke and fumes from burnt materials will quickly fill a room if you don't. Cutting plastic especially can release nasty (read: toxic) things into the air.

I really think you should've thought this through before plowing ahead and ordering parts.

It's one thing to create a cool demo setup for a CO2 laser, it's another to try and use it as a drill press.

Another thing to consider is that humans are not very good at making precise movements at constant speeds. Unless all you're cutting is paper you will quickly become frustrated when your cuts only actually cut all the way through the material 10% of the time.

I own a laser cutter, they're not magic - it takes a fair bit of setup, wasted material and experimenting to get materials to cut cleanly (and that's with a computer doing the movements)

 

[trussmonkey25]

I already planned on exhuast fan and shroud for cutting table..i plan to cut through moat things except stone or tiles..i know there is a learni.g curve to whittling with a light saber. lol. this is for hobby work.. not production. otherwise i would have just bought a cnc unit...i want the work to show natural human movement. cnc too steril for arts and craft work. I do plan to make a pantograph and to put a pressure switch to turn on and off the beam as well as learn how to dail thepower output for different things and adjsting the focus

 

[trussmonkey25]

My parts arrive tomorrow I can haedly wait

 

[trussmonkey25]

the parts are here! now what hole do I plug the other cable leading to the tube..witch end is the cat end? the business end or the tail end. there is a thin wire coming from back of psu.. is this just the frame grounding wire? . as you see the long cable is dis attached but no indication where it goes into psu