i brought back this machine from ex-company 18 months ago. at that time, they allowed us to bring back to-be-disposed item from company.
i found this machine which i believe it was x-y plotter/cutter prototype.
mechanical structure still in good condition.
wiring is a mess. missing motor and motor driver. i dont know if it is functional.
vertical axis motor missing. looks like a nema17 stepper motor.
limit sensor still in place
the machine uses timing belt, not lead screw for x-y motion.
i guess this might be the reason why they threw it.
i feel the machine might suffer from under power motor or low precision problem.
my plan is to revive this bot as a x-y laser plotter machine.
first of all, i am going to test if this machine still functional.
ordered a nema17 motor, arduino cnc v3 shield and few pcs drv8825.
will test once the components arrive.
Parts arrived, assembled and install on the machine.
some wiring job. the wiring still is a mess. got to find some time later to clean it up. my priority still to get the machine run for the first time.
have a quick setup with grbl. this is my first time on it. i like the simplicity of grbl, hassle free if using arduino uno. the configuration is done later using UI.
ordered a 2500mw laser head, havent received. i test only x-y movement with laserGRBL UI. https://lasergrbl.com/en/.
I have to acknowledge Simen Svale Skogsrud, Sungeun(Sonny) K. Jeon, and arkypita. Their work make my life easier.
The machine is well built, movement is smooth.
homing.
dummy drawing without laser head
waiting for this laser head. cant wait to have my first laser engraved wood by next week.
I got the laser head arrive yesterday.
make a not so nice looking bracket to mount it on the machine.
cant wait to test it out. power is on, connection is on, protection glass is on.
tested my first drawing on an acrylic sheet.
There are still some issues to solve before I can get my first pretty print.
On the first few minutes, the machine runs without problem. It start jerking afterwards, I guess the driver is too hot and has thermal shutdown.
Laser power is too strong, and it penetrates the sheet. Also, I need to adjust the laser head focal length to get the best resolution.
Protector/Cover for this machine.
I think it is enough to get me busy for another 1 or 2 weeks.
finally, i get the printing done.
driver overheat problem - reduce current limit rating to slightly higher than what motor needs.
laser power is not too strong after tested with medium density fibreboard. i should have bought 10w laserhead. can get faster printing speed with that.
still thinking if want to make a cover for it. i am having new idea to repurpose this machine to a flying probe machine.
printing process, with 20x fast forward
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