What do you use you laser for?

[Blackholesun]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone uses their lasers for art, or scanning effects, or anything other than build, learn, and burn? Laser scanners are cool. Laser show effects are what I'm getting at. I had an $80 simple laser show once, gave it to my nephew, and he loves it. If I were to buy a scanner, what one. or company should I consider?
Any suggestions for real cool uses for lasers I can get into right away would be great also. Some kind of wow thing would be good.
Thanks.

 

[paul1598419]

There are many members here that photographed laser art. Not as much now as they used to. Many used prisms, other types of glass and several different wavelengths of pointers to do this. There are also professional scanners that available from manufacturers like Kvant, but they are expensive.

 

[RedCowboy]

Wood burning " art " can be a lot of fun but because you will fill your workshop up with smoke a smoke collection hood and a fan to force the smoke outside is a good idea.

Have you seen any of brucemir laser art photos ?

hello again

It has been a few years since I last posted any photos on LPF. Out of the blue, Encap PM'd me asking me how am I doing and if I am still photographing my lasers, to which the answer is yes. In the past few years I have purchased a Sanwu RGB and many Sanwu low power Pocket lasers. I have also...

laserpointerforums.com

 

[Eseyria]

I am new to this but it's so exciting guys!

 

[Blackholesun]

Are laser scanner boards and parts available somewhere?

 

[Commander J. Bloodmaker]

I engrave with my most expensive lasers. Whole reason I found this place. Needed to find a part to build my own high end laser. While I didn't want to spend $500 on one single laser module, so I spent $2400 reengineering my machine. lol. I have 12 modules of varying wave size, it is now TEC cooled, and keeps the lasers at 65 degrees, or whatever the diode needs for maximum efficacy. It has a controller for temp on each motor and the laser module. The steppers are kept at 80 degrees. I have a read out of voltage and amps to the diode, to the driver, and to the controller. I create art with my engraver, or so I'd like to think.

With my pens, I mainly just like playing around with them. Blowing smoke through the beams on my lower powered ones, dancing like a mad man, you know the usual. I do some hand engraving, but I have yet to fully design my hand engraving machine, it will have a foot pedal and be a whole work bench system. In the distant future when I know enough to build the lasers I need for my experiments, well then its going to get real. That a few weeks down the road though. lol

I don't know about scanners or anything. Not into laser shows or anything like tht.

 

[skijohn]

It's just for looking through...

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[dunderMethods]

I'm a Mechanical Engineer so having some means to quickly cut flat parts is really handy. The office, which has a Glowforge Pro (40w Co2), is only 20 min away but during the 'demic I grew very VERY lazy (pun intended) and didn't want to drive 40min round trip just to cut something. So I decided to build my own cutter.

I'm fairly new to the laser game. My previous major hobby is 3D Printing. I built my first cutter/engraver around 1/1/2021. It was a FoxAlien LE-4040 PRO 15000mW. Shortly after assembling the kit I added limit switches and designed a motorized z-axis... THEN I found DTR and the NUBM44 with a G8 Lens and rebuilt/tuned my laser module to a 20w system.

Last month I designed my own laser engraver from the ground up (~17w system, x,y axis with a manual z-axis). I built a new laser module, reusing the diode I removed form my FoxAlien kit and and gave the machine to my sister who is a graphic artist and didn't want to spend 5K on a Glowforge. (image attached)

For me it's kinda like realizing you can simply freeze water to make ice - I can stick a light cannon on the end of a 3D printer and boom, whole new world of possibilities. I'm only about 6mo in but thanks to my safety goggles I can still see a bright future of laser exploration for me.

 

[Commander J. Bloodmaker]

I am new to this but it's so exciting guys!

I'm an addict for shiny thing. Motors, my pet pig, and laser beams ftw!! I've spent a lot of money on laser stuff in the year I've been messing with lasers. Few grand in just the last 2 months!!! You know when you are addicted to lasers, you'll never afford to be a drug addict, lol.