CO2 Laser for CNC Machine

[Tonka742]

Hi guys.

So im planning on building my own CNC maching using arduino(hopefully) motors and such but first would like to organise all the laser business first. Ive been looking at these sealed laser tubes on ebay for around £120 that are used in CNC machines and see that they also sell power supplies for them. Im really not into the electronics side of things here and would rather not mess around with these sorts of voltages without a much deeper understanding. From what I gather these are pretty much plug and play with some watercooling and power but wanted to make sure I wasnt missing anything. The planned output would be around 40W for cutting and engraving.

My main goal of this project is that actual CNC machine itself so getting this done first would be ideal. Basically any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Dan

 

[Anthony P]

Plug and play is pretty much correct. A simple pot or PWM can be added to control power. Also, a Ma meter is a nice feature. I highly recommend Cloudray Laser... assuming they are open for business during covid.

Cloudray Official Website : A Global Leader in Laser Solutions

Welcome to Cloudray Official Website. Cloudray , a world-leading laser parts and solutions provider, has established a whole series of laser product lines, featured with laser marking/engraving machine & fiber cutting machine parts ,also range from CO2 engraving & cutting machine parts.

www.cloudraylaser.com

 

[Tonka742]

Thats the exact store I was looking at but Via their ebay store, Perfect, Thanks for the help.

 

[FRITZ HID]

Keep in mind... plug and play machines are fine but having the knowledge on how they function is of a great service to you... these devices are not toys and can kill you if you're not aware.
Please use caution when working on them.

 

[Cyparagon]

They're current-limited to like 20mA - they are, after all, a constant current driver. It WILL hurt like a bitch, but it's not gonna kill you unless you have a heart condition or suffer some secondary injury, like falling off a ladder in reflex/recoil. For comparison, regular neon sign transformers are more dangerous, as those are current-limited to 30 or 60mA.

Fritz's other points stand and I second them. CO2 lasers are certainly on the higher end of danger you'll find in this hobby, both optically and electrically.