Laser cutters are used in many industries, including woodworking, mining, metalworking. When these devices appeared on the market, their price was quite high. At the moment, improved models are appearing, while the cost is no longer so frightening. What is remarkable about this equipment and how expedient it is to buy it for a small business, let's take a closer look.
Working principle
The word "laser" has English roots and literally translates as "amplification of light by stimulated emission." The process itself is a transformation of one energy into a narrowly directed, coherent, monochromatic, polarized stream.
Laser cutters are designed on this principle.
The radiation beam is formed by the lens and turns into a small spot. A system of mirrors mounted on a coordinate table moves the beam to any position relative to the material being processed by means of reflection. Under the influence of radiation, with a high energy density, the treated point of the product is heated to a state of evaporation in a short time. With the help of such installations it is possible to process wood, metal, plastic.
Benefits
The main advantages of laser systems include:
- Low power consumption compared to other installations.
- No mechanical wear of equipment. The torch operates at a distance from the work surface.
- For a laser beam, the quality of the material does not matter, it is able to affect any type of wood, including uncured wood.
- Lack of large vibrations and noise.
- High performance. Achieved due to the ease of equipment nodes.
- No chips and dust in the production process.
- Mobility of equipment. Lightweight design allows you to transport and install anywhere you want. No lifting equipment required.
- Strict adherence to the parameters set by the CNC.
- Ability to work with any material: plastic, wood, metal, ceramics, rubber, leather, paper.
This range of benefits has earned the high praise of professionals.
Flaws
These include a number of parameters:
- The inability to process chipboard, so it cannot be used in the production of laminatedfurniture.
- Processing plastic will become an expensive pleasure, as harmful fumes will be released during work.
- You should carefully consider the parameters declared by the manufacturer. As a rule, such machines can process material with a thickness of no more than 20 mm.
- Unable to create shadows on the image while engraving.
Disadvantages suggest that you should familiarize yourself with the technical data of the equipment and decide whether this or that model is suitable for a particular production.
Laser wood cutter
Woodcarving is highly accurate. Therefore, under normal conditions, milling and turning machines are used, as well as manual labor.
The principle of operation of the above types is based on a mechanical effect on the surface to be treated, during which a part of the material is cut off. In this case, chips and cracks may form. The quality of the work performed directly depends on the type and condition of the workpiece during such processing.
The laser wood cutter operates on a different principle, so it received a fairly high rating. It works with spot reflow. Due to this, it is more gentle, but at the same time, the edges will be darkened due to thermal exposure. This feature gives carved products additional visual appeal. Due to the principle of operation, such installations are positioned as a laser engraver-cutter. Next, consider the design of the apparatus.
Device mechanism
To orderto make a laser cutter with your own hands, you should understand what it consists of. There are five main parts of the mechanism:
- Emitter. With its help, radiation is generated with the necessary parameters. It consists of elements of a pumping system, an active medium, and a resonator mirror. If necessary, it is equipped with a radiation modulation device. There are three types of emitter - solid, fiber, gas.
- The system for the formation and transportation of radiation, gas. This mechanism transmits the beam from the emitter to the surface to be treated, and also serves to remove particles of reflow and cool the equipment.
- Coordinate device. Produces the movement of the laser beam and the product in space.
- Desktop. It fixes the workpieces.
- ACS. Own control system. With it, you can set the cutting parameters.
Given these data, you can make a laser cutter for metal with your own hands. It can be used to process other materials, including wood.
Handheld laser cutter
This is the easiest piece of equipment you can build yourself.
For assembly you will need a laser pointer, a handheld flashlight, a set of batteries for it, a CD / DVD-RW writer (the drive must be with a working laser), a soldering iron and a set of screwdrivers.
Initially, the laser is extracted from the drive. The work must be done carefully, when dismantling you will need a soldering iron. Insert the extracted part intopointer to replace the old one. The process is painstaking, you should perform all actions without jerks and haste so as not to damage the device. Install the assembled new pointer into the flashlight and connect it to its power supply, observing the polarity. Nothing should interfere with the beam, so glass and interfering parts should be removed. The structure must be firmly fixed.
If the technology is followed, then this manual type device can be used. As you can see, the assembly technology is quite simple. Such laser cutters are low-power, but they are quite suitable for some thin products and engraving work.
For the production of more powerful equipment, you will need, firstly, a room where it will assemble and stand, as well as a number of scrap materials. It should be calculated whether there will be savings in the long run. It is possible that it will be cheaper to purchase a finished model.
A number of subtleties
When assembling laser cutters with your own hands, it should be understood that if there are no materials at hand, then buying spare parts can be much more expensive than buying a finished device. The market is moving forward and laser cutting models are no longer as expensive as they were when they first appeared.
When choosing ready-made equipment, you should carefully consider a number of characteristics:
- Equipment power. This parameter is directly related to productivity and cutting thickness.
- Dimension of the desktop. A parameter should be provided that will allow the processing of the estimated dimensions of the products. They can be of various configurations.
- Producer. It is worth taking equipment only from trusted manufacturers.
- Availability of service centers in the region. So that in case of breakdowns it would be possible to eliminate them as quickly as possible.
- Consider the exhaust device when installing the equipment. It should not be forgotten that during heat treatment, gas will be released that accompanies the combustion process of a particular material. This is especially important when processing plastics.
If all the characteristics are taken into account, then you can choose the right model.
Safety
It should be remembered that the laser beam was originally designed as a weapon.
Therefore, it carries a danger. It is impossible to direct such radiation at a person, he can get burned. Work should be in special glasses to prevent vision loss. The equipment or room itself must be equipped with an exhaust system or workers will need respiratory protection.
Cost of laser equipment
Why are these devices now? Of course, it all depends on the brand and performance of the equipment. There are desktop and floor models. The first option at a price starts from 25 thousand rubles. Floor models can be from 120,000 rubles. There are many devices from Chinese manufacturers on the market, the price and quality of which are quite worthy.
For example, a laser cutter for metal, the price of which, depending on the size of the desktop,performance and options from 120 thousand rubles to 900 thousand rubles. While Western producers of interest will be 30% more expensive.
Laser equipment was once a fantasy. Now this device is found in almost all industries. For small businesses, such metal and wood processing plants open up new promising areas, which makes the business more sustainable. Do-it-yourself assembly of low-power installations for private use is fully justified if you have improvised means and any initial knowledge of physics.
