Michael’s Open Numerically-Operated Cutting Laser Engraver

It all started on MakerForums. Peer pressure. You should get a laser, Michael. All the cool kids have one. You should try it, they said. It will be easy, they said. I held out. I was strong. But then my family convinced me that we needed one. Game over.

But when I do something, It’s never easy. I couldn’t buy a laser cutter that someone else designed. No. I had to start more or less from scratch. None of the designs I found satisfied all my criteria. They couldn’t possibly satisfy all my criteria, because one criterion was to have the fun of doing the design myself.

Work In Progress

This is currently an unbuilt and unproven design.

What’s different?

  • Edge-to-edge X — the Y gantry runs on rails set at opposite ends of the case. I haven’t reserved dead space at the side for electronics. The display and controller board will live in a “wart” attached somewhere. The rest of the electronics live underneath the laser tube, with high voltage isolated from low voltage.

  • Parametric — At least, intended to be highly parametric, and thus easy to adjust to different size requirements. My first attempt at making this work in Solidworks was a learning experience, and I plan to start over with the end goal in mind. My hope is that you put in that you want a 750mm x 500mm x 450mm large desktop unit (or maybe you add some constant to an easily-available bed size), and out pop drawings, cutlists, etc. I might be able to annotate drawings with adjustments for different sizes so that you don’t need to run CAD at all.

  • Accessible — Intended to be possible to assemble with fairly common, relatively inexpensive shop tools, and a 3D printer. This will require either a way to cut aluminum extrusion to length squarely and accurately, or ordering it from a service (such as Misumi) that will cut precise lengths.

What’s the Goal?

Ultimately, this project is intended to provide models, drawings, and sources for components that allow you to use this work as a starting point for creating your own design. It is intended to follow best practices for safety. If you see a missing safety feature, please open an issue to describe it.

Cost? The archetype BOM for a floor-standing 100W 1500x1000x1000 unit is under $4K including sufficient refrigerated cooling, air assist, exhaust to outside; everything required to start cutting.

WARNING

This design is not safe.

DANGER: DO NOT LOOK AT LASER WITH REMAINING EYE

Despite the fun tone of this site, lasers are not toys. Not even laser pointers are toys. That bright green laser pointer you picked up at the store can blind an airline pilot a mile up; even a normal red laser pointer is more intense than looking at the sun. But laser cutters, yes, even the kind you can build at home, are in another league entirely. These are Class IV lasers, the highest (most dangerous) classification.

That’s not the only danger. This site can’t list them all, but hobbyist CO2 lasers are typically activated by somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 volts. This is a potentially lethal voltage. Do not attempt to build this or any other CO2 laser unless you are or first become competent to properly isolate this high voltage.

The whole point of the laser is to burn combustable objects; they will catch fire from time to time. You might leave your 3D printer or your CNC router alone, maybe. You don’t step away from your laser for a glass of water or for relief without pausing the work. People have lost their shops and houses to momentarily-unattended laser cutters. This is not a joke.

Different lasers have different dangers. Blue solid state lasers may burn your retina before they destroy your cornea; CO2 lasers might burn away your cornea and vitreous body before they crisp your retina. Does it matter?

Read Sam’s Laser FAQ Laser Safety section before you do anything with a laser. Whether it helps you be safe or convinces you that you aren’t the right person to do anything with a laser, it may save your vision, your house, or even your life. This is not a joke.

Disclaimer

Everything shared on this site, and everything connected in any way with Project Monocle, is shared without warranty, and without any expectation or representation of fitness for any purpose. Any use whatsoever that you make of any information associated in any way with Project Monocle is entirely at your own risk, and by using any of this information you affirm that you are responsible for every result of the use of this information.

All of this information may be used only in accordance with the terms of the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, incorporated herein by reference. You are fully responsible to read and understand the entire terms of the license. Among those terms are included this disclaimer:

Section 5 – Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability.

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