How the reconstruction is going on

This week all important parts arrived. I'm still waiting for the limit switches and some litz wire.

Even though they are important, I was able to start with the easiest things. I think I'm going to publish the whole tutorial at once. I think the work will be finished in the week between 11.2. and 18.2., maybe earlier.

On this video you can see how one axis moves slowly. The x and y axis already work. The steppers run much more silent than before with the Moshidraw controller. 

Unfortunately the limit switches haven't arrived yet so I have to turn off the machine before the laser head reaches the limit and crashes. So I can't control the machine with the arrow keys yet. 

All in all I'm happy with my work. More will be uploaded soon.

Cover Safety Switch

How to make a "cover safety switch"

in this tutorial I show you how you can upgrade your laser's security. As I already mentioned, it's not safe to operate the laser while the cover is open.
With a microswitch, some wires and 20minutes of work you can install the switch which turns off the laser beam when the cover isn't closed.

Level: easy
Costs: less than 5€

What you need:

1. microswitch (2-3€ on ebay)
2. cable
3. electrical tape (duct tape)
4. thin and long screws + screw nuts + washers

Tools:

1. drilling machine with fitting drill for screws
2. soldering gun with tin-solder
3. in general: screwdrivers and tongs

Here is the how to: 

(Please check if the switch is set right before you attach the switch to the machine!)

Your machine is now "one step safer".

Even though it istn't completely safe, it complies with one of the most important laser safety rule now.

Post by Nycon: Unboxing the G350 - Or should I say "uncrating"?

My unboxing experience with the DC-K40 was similar to that of fasensu, albeit mine was better packed and sent directly from Germany. For this reason, I am going to spare you with a similar unboxing story, but I think I might share the onboxing of my newer purchase, the larger G350 machine.

The item specifications listed the machine to be around 60x60x90cm with a weight of 65kg. I did know that I had to expect a crate to be delivered, but was quite astonished with what DHL unloaded in front of my door.

All in all: 116kg of Chinese goodness shipped form the UK in 3 days. Luckily I quickly found someone to help me carry the box to the elevator and then into my flat.

Everything was pretty neatly packed and undamaged. All of the acessories were stuffed into the compartment under the unmotorized up/down-table, air pump and rotary device were packed in bubble-wrap like hell (the rotary device alone had 16 meters (!) of bubble wrap around it.

As I did not really have time to complete the unboxing mostly because it could not be done alone, I dit not take further pictures of what was included, so here you are with the final result (the bigger machine of course):

Post by Nycon: Introduction of a new recruit

Hi everyone,

I came into contact with fasensu, the initiator of this blog, on a German message board (laserengravers.com) and we started to have a pretty vivid discussion concerning several aspects of DC-K40 and basically all cheap China lasers in general. I started using a similar laser just two months ago and liked the possibilities of laser material processing so much that I just upgraded to a bigger (and of course overall better) unit.
I made quite a bunch of modifications to my small DC-K40-type machine and was already compiling a manuscript documenting the various changes and additions, of which I think many are interesting for other users as well (Honeycomb table, Air-Assist, Red Dot, LED illumination, etc.). As of now the document is still in the making and should be ready to be “let loose” to a wider audience in about two to four weeks, but I might be able to release it bit by bit on this blog sooner. I hope that I will be finished with the English translation in time, as the intended version was for the above mentioned message board which is in German.

Having covered the reasons for me joining this blog let me briefly introduce myself. I am a Biomedical Scientist, or aspiring to be one to be honest. I have been working on my PhD thesis for a market-leading German Biotech company for about 18 months but had to quit at that point for various reasons. Right now I am trying to find a new group to join and to start with another project leading to my PhD. I have always been a DIY-person and was always eager to try new thing, especially if some kind of technical device is involved. 

The reason for me getting into the “laser business” is a bit whacky: I was playing “Settlers of Catan” with a few friends of mine and we criticized the newer versions’ plastic figurines instead of “ye olde” wooden ones. Somehow the idea “let us make a Settlers version completely from wood” sparked into existence, two weeks of research later I was the proud owner of a DC-K40-type laser ;-)

That is about it, stay tuned ;-)


 My modified DC-K40 with its bigger brother, the G350. And yes, the thing in the back is a Sega Naomi Arcade machine, and yes, I have the laser in my living room ;-)