Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 2Rough Description
You'll need a drill and drill bits if you make your own pantograph, some epoxy or silicone caulk, tape, rubber bands, ballpoint pen or pencil, toothpicks, needle nose pliers, wire cutters and stripper, etc. Nothing fancy.
Build a DVD burner laser as Stephanie shows.
Either use a breadboard to assemble the power supply, or you'll solder a few wires and connections with a solder pencil. If you've got shaky hands, go with the breadboard.
Order the electronic parts through the mail, get a few pieces from Radio Shack, and one item on eBay.com (seller has 99+% positive feedback).
Build the pantograph from yardsticks and nuts & bolts or buy one here and practice using it while you wait for the other stuff to arrive. Practice soldering a few wires together to get the hang of it.
When the electronic parts arrive, solder them together and stick them on to the pantograph. Take a few minutes to learn how it all works and let the laser cutting and engraving begin!
Basically, this is a solid-state, red, visible, LED laser beam shining through a small lens to focus the beam, just like focusing the sun through a magnifying glass. It has a 'focal point' -- a specific distance away from the lens where the beam is focused down to a tiny point.
It's mounted on a pantograph (see photos), one of those parallelogram-looking gizmos used to copy a drawing while making it larger or smaller. Instead of copying your drawings in pencil lead, you'll use an LED laser.
A fingertip switch where you hold the pantograph at the stylus turns the laser on and off instantly so you can skip around. Variable power (burning/heating ability) for the laser is controlled by a volume-control-like slider that runs a simple 3-wire voltage regulator, which is supplied by any power supply you can scavenge (or buy) that's rated from 4 Volts to 32 Volts DC at 1 Amp or better.
If that was all gibberish to you, just stick with us and it will become clear.
Look on any power supply and you'll find the rating. If your power supply is smaller than 1 Amp (may be called 1,000 mA), that's OK, but the power of the laser beam will be less. Many folks (especially folks who frequent this website) have SOME kind of old power supply / power brick / outlet brick laying around looking for a new home. If you're really living thin, ask your friends and neighbors. Otherwise, you can get one for around $11 from MPJA.com.
My skinny $60 budget did not include the power supply, as I have lots of them around, so your cost might be $71. Before complaining too loudly, take the $5,929 you saved and buy yourself a really nice milk shake to cool down. Then let's get back to work . . .
Build a DVD burner laser as Stephanie shows.
Either use a breadboard to assemble the power supply, or you'll solder a few wires and connections with a solder pencil. If you've got shaky hands, go with the breadboard.
Order the electronic parts through the mail, get a few pieces from Radio Shack, and one item on eBay.com (seller has 99+% positive feedback).
Build the pantograph from yardsticks and nuts & bolts or buy one here and practice using it while you wait for the other stuff to arrive. Practice soldering a few wires together to get the hang of it.
When the electronic parts arrive, solder them together and stick them on to the pantograph. Take a few minutes to learn how it all works and let the laser cutting and engraving begin!
Basically, this is a solid-state, red, visible, LED laser beam shining through a small lens to focus the beam, just like focusing the sun through a magnifying glass. It has a 'focal point' -- a specific distance away from the lens where the beam is focused down to a tiny point.
It's mounted on a pantograph (see photos), one of those parallelogram-looking gizmos used to copy a drawing while making it larger or smaller. Instead of copying your drawings in pencil lead, you'll use an LED laser.
A fingertip switch where you hold the pantograph at the stylus turns the laser on and off instantly so you can skip around. Variable power (burning/heating ability) for the laser is controlled by a volume-control-like slider that runs a simple 3-wire voltage regulator, which is supplied by any power supply you can scavenge (or buy) that's rated from 4 Volts to 32 Volts DC at 1 Amp or better.
If that was all gibberish to you, just stick with us and it will become clear.
Look on any power supply and you'll find the rating. If your power supply is smaller than 1 Amp (may be called 1,000 mA), that's OK, but the power of the laser beam will be less. Many folks (especially folks who frequent this website) have SOME kind of old power supply / power brick / outlet brick laying around looking for a new home. If you're really living thin, ask your friends and neighbors. Otherwise, you can get one for around $11 from MPJA.com.
My skinny $60 budget did not include the power supply, as I have lots of them around, so your cost might be $71. Before complaining too loudly, take the $5,929 you saved and buy yourself a really nice milk shake to cool down. Then let's get back to work . . .
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
2
comments
|
Add Comment
|
1
Mar 31, 2010. 1:26 PMpufferfish9108
says:
how do u do the dvd burner thing? is there a link?
Reply
Jul 24, 2010. 9:46 AMArmchair Pyro
says:
first page where it says "Stephanie Maksylewich" 1) click on it 2) hover mouse over "high-tech stuff" 3) then "lasers" 4) then click on "DVD Laser" or similar
Reply
 |
Add Comment
|
