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Step 10Adjust the Laser Lens
You should now have a working pantograph. You should also have all the electronic components soldered together. You should also have collected a DVD burner laser as described by Stephanie Maksylewich
Make a simple gripper to hold the laser on the end of the pantograph. Use a scrap piece of thin wood like one of the paint stirrers or the cut off end of a yardstick. Drill a 1/2" hole in it to hold the laser tube. Since the tube diameter is 12mm, which is slightly less than 1/2", you'll wrap some cellophane tape or packing tape around the tube to make it press fit into the hole in the wood. Drill a 3/8" hole in the gripper and bolt it to the pantograph, then press the laser into the first hole. You can move this gripper to the other location on the pantograph to switch from reducing to enlarging your original image. The inch or so that the laser is moved away from the 'ideal' position won't be enough to affect your finished product, so long as it doesn't rotate around the bolt. Just tape the gripper to one of the yardsticks to keep it stable.
Or, you could just drill a 1/2" hole in the end of the yardstick and use that. Experiment and see which you prefer for your purposes by testing with a ballpoint pen or felt tip marker placed where the laser would be.
Insert the black spring and screw the lens back halfway in to the end of the laser tube with the slots on the outside. You'll use a toothpick (NOT your fingers or you might get burned) across the two indents in the end to adjust the lens for maximum effect at the correct distance.
Get your fireproof work surface ready and put a piece of paper or other target on it. Point the laser at the target so you can see the diameter of the beam. This target will get burned, so use paper or something other than the wall in the dining room. Remember that anything underneath the paper or target will get burned at the same time. See if you can put an air gap of at least one foot behind the target.
Turn the power on, and adjust the volume-control-like slider to set the power down as low as you can while still seeing it clearly. Turn the power back off.
Use the toothpick across the slots on the side of the lens to adjust the lens. Remember; if you need to change anything, always turn the laser off and then make your changes. Continue to power on, test for distance, power off, adjust lens, repeat.
Technically, the closer you can get the laser to your work, the more accuracy you'll obtain. Focus just right, and the paper will burn. Just like crisping ants with a magnifying glass on a sunny day. (No ants were harmed in the making of this instructable.)
Set the focusing distance at about one inch. This will be the distance that the pantograph will hold the laser above your work. Adjust your true working distance with the length of the bolts holding the pantograph above your working surface and/or adjusting the laser tube in its hole, or where the gripper sits in the stack of yardsticks. You'll need some gap to be able to see the original image you're copying with the pantograph stylus unless you made your pantograph out of clear plastic or your stylus is at the very end of the pantograph.
If you find later that you need more clearance (e.g., my fingers are too big, I can't see what I'm doing, I didn't practice enough, uneven work surface, etc.) just replace the bolts with longer ones and refocus or move the lens in the gripper.
Make a simple gripper to hold the laser on the end of the pantograph. Use a scrap piece of thin wood like one of the paint stirrers or the cut off end of a yardstick. Drill a 1/2" hole in it to hold the laser tube. Since the tube diameter is 12mm, which is slightly less than 1/2", you'll wrap some cellophane tape or packing tape around the tube to make it press fit into the hole in the wood. Drill a 3/8" hole in the gripper and bolt it to the pantograph, then press the laser into the first hole. You can move this gripper to the other location on the pantograph to switch from reducing to enlarging your original image. The inch or so that the laser is moved away from the 'ideal' position won't be enough to affect your finished product, so long as it doesn't rotate around the bolt. Just tape the gripper to one of the yardsticks to keep it stable.
Or, you could just drill a 1/2" hole in the end of the yardstick and use that. Experiment and see which you prefer for your purposes by testing with a ballpoint pen or felt tip marker placed where the laser would be.
Insert the black spring and screw the lens back halfway in to the end of the laser tube with the slots on the outside. You'll use a toothpick (NOT your fingers or you might get burned) across the two indents in the end to adjust the lens for maximum effect at the correct distance.
Get your fireproof work surface ready and put a piece of paper or other target on it. Point the laser at the target so you can see the diameter of the beam. This target will get burned, so use paper or something other than the wall in the dining room. Remember that anything underneath the paper or target will get burned at the same time. See if you can put an air gap of at least one foot behind the target.
Turn the power on, and adjust the volume-control-like slider to set the power down as low as you can while still seeing it clearly. Turn the power back off.
Use the toothpick across the slots on the side of the lens to adjust the lens. Remember; if you need to change anything, always turn the laser off and then make your changes. Continue to power on, test for distance, power off, adjust lens, repeat.
Technically, the closer you can get the laser to your work, the more accuracy you'll obtain. Focus just right, and the paper will burn. Just like crisping ants with a magnifying glass on a sunny day. (No ants were harmed in the making of this instructable.)
Set the focusing distance at about one inch. This will be the distance that the pantograph will hold the laser above your work. Adjust your true working distance with the length of the bolts holding the pantograph above your working surface and/or adjusting the laser tube in its hole, or where the gripper sits in the stack of yardsticks. You'll need some gap to be able to see the original image you're copying with the pantograph stylus unless you made your pantograph out of clear plastic or your stylus is at the very end of the pantograph.
If you find later that you need more clearance (e.g., my fingers are too big, I can't see what I'm doing, I didn't practice enough, uneven work surface, etc.) just replace the bolts with longer ones and refocus or move the lens in the gripper.
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