Hello everyone, this is my first post here
After disassembling some laser diodes from CD/DVD drives I was thinking, what can I do with them? then I saw some guys who made CNC engravers from them.
My idea is, instead of having a laser head that moves above the material plate (wood/plastic) to be cut, I will be moving the plate below a stationary laser head, like a jigsaw table:
My question is, how practical is this idea:
Are dvd lasers strong enough to cut about 3mm thick wood plate, with the proper lenses? From what I see on youtube these diodes are only able to light matches and cut tapes, but in these videos they are shooting the laser from a distance, In my application, though, I will be able to focus the laser to a fixed point and shoot it from a close distance. From my understanding the more focused I want the laser to be, the more expensive the lenses get. Do you think I can achieve the burning ability specified above with, say, 20$ lens?
I will have no problem with driving the diodes, I have the required components already, and I am aware to the safety issues with this kind of lasers, that's why I am asking about this here, before I spend money on goggles and then realize these diodes are not worth it.
Hope I was clear,
Itay.
After disassembling some laser diodes from CD/DVD drives I was thinking, what can I do with them? then I saw some guys who made CNC engravers from them.
My idea is, instead of having a laser head that moves above the material plate (wood/plastic) to be cut, I will be moving the plate below a stationary laser head, like a jigsaw table:
My question is, how practical is this idea:
Are dvd lasers strong enough to cut about 3mm thick wood plate, with the proper lenses? From what I see on youtube these diodes are only able to light matches and cut tapes, but in these videos they are shooting the laser from a distance, In my application, though, I will be able to focus the laser to a fixed point and shoot it from a close distance. From my understanding the more focused I want the laser to be, the more expensive the lenses get. Do you think I can achieve the burning ability specified above with, say, 20$ lens?
I will have no problem with driving the diodes, I have the required components already, and I am aware to the safety issues with this kind of lasers, that's why I am asking about this here, before I spend money on goggles and then realize these diodes are not worth it.
Hope I was clear,
Itay.