My First Laser cut gears

[ArtF]

Hi Guys:

  I promised Id show my laser progress. ( Next release has comped dxf output which shows the path of the cutter for autocompe nsation
of sych things as laser output. )

 Here are my first 2 acrylic gears.. bit of screweing about with power.. and could be better, but Im pretty impressed overall ..

Art

[Dan]

Nice, Art

Dan

[Ken_Shea]

Looks really good.
Is the edge pretty clean?
What is the thickness?  recall where you mentioned this and looked but could not locate.

What would be the max thickness you could properly cut acrylic using your 50W?

By what means is the .dxf loaded into the laser, thumb drive perhaps?

[ArtF]

Hi Ken:

  The thickness is only 2mm on those gears, Ive cut up to 6mm though so far. I think the limit woudl be around 1/2" ( using multiple passes.) Edges are very clean. ( CO2 and water are what comes off acrylic when you laser it.)

 The files are sent USB or thumbdriv e..

 Experimen ts are going well, Ill post more photos soon.

Art

[Ken_Shea]

Thanks Art, that gives me some idea on what to expect from a 50W laser, that is pretty good performan ce I think.

Ken

[ArtF]

Ken:

   Im still learning how to use it.. Im finding several tricks.. Dipping wood in water first, leaving paper on plexi..
I find I can cut very thick..as long as I do it in multiple passes..

 Accuracy is much higher than I expected really. .Here's some photos of what Ive done in the last couple days..

The first photo is something all new laser owners need to do , a plexi bug.. About 8" long sitting on my emco lathe.

The Second photo is a planetary gear rotated by a small pinion extruding from the black.. ( Excuse the bad glue, I havent
yet gotten proper acrylic glue.. ) Its about 5.5" long.. made from 1/4" plexi.. Only the center pinion is glued in.. all others float in
pockets cut in the center blank..

The third photo is a much smaller version.. ( works better too ). Its about 2" x 1.1" in size, with each of the pinions about
1/3rd inch in diameter. Works pretty slick. My version of a GM business card..


  The next is just a photo of a small wooden gear.. and finally, a 2 shot series showing the planetary cutout.. and how tight the inside is after a cut..

  Ill post the phots in 2 posts ..

ITs fun to use I must say..

Art

[ArtF]

last 2 photos..

[Ken_Shea]

Art,
That is so neat.

If understoo d correctly, the laser does not accept Gcode directly so what are the steps to get the get out put from GM to the laser.

Thanks
Ken

[BobL]

Hi Ken;

 Art's new laser cutter imports dxf data. GM will create DXF's via the output manager of your gears and it's a simple import from there on.

Cheers
Bob
 

[Dan]

Nice work. Love the bug (I am sure I've seen it somewhere before), though hard to see the details on that photo.

Can you pocket with a laser?!

Dan

[ArtF]

Dan:

  Yes, but its hard to set a depth.. You just raster scan at a speed and power that removes a bit each time it passes. SO trial
and testing is the only way. Plus if its not acrylic, ( liek wood) it may have differing denisitie s.. so the pocket woudl be uneven..

Art

[ArtF]

Dan:

  Most of these lasers accept HPGL printing language. . so usually a program that comes with it accepts dx's, Ai's..a plethora of file formats , which is why next version of GM puts out compensat ed dxfs..

  The lasers cut on the center line.

 ( Byt the way..all the electroni cs necessary are sold for about 750.00 from the COLE laser web site from china.. )

Art
 

[ArtF]

Hi Guys:

   HEres one last laser cut.. American Eagle.. about 15" tall..

Art

[Ken_Shea]

Hi Ken;

 Art's new laser cutter imports dxf data. GM will create DXF's via the output manager of your gears and it's a simple import from there on.

Cheers
Bob
 

Thanks Bob, seems uncomplic ated.

[Ken_Shea]

Hi Guys:

   HEres one last laser cut.. American Eagle.. about 15" tall..

Art

OK, now were starting to show off