hello all, I was wondering if there were any DIYers out there in these forums that have any knowledge of lasers and the workings of them. I dont want to go into my detailed questions yet, just curious if there is anyone out there?

JD

Ok I will bite....

why??

being an ex scientific laser person,,,,,ummm high power laser's that was !!!

I hope you realise they are uasually single wavelength,,, and only kypton lasers will give you white light

And whilst red diode lasers are fairly cheap now, green and blue diode lasers are pretty expensive. Plus you'd need to find ones with wavelengths that matched the filters in your LCD panel.

I have started looking into them for a DIY CNC Machine, to cut materials from wood, plastic and metals, And also engraving.

Joe

Class 4 CO2, or something smaller (or bigger o_0).

http://www.eio.com/sealco2.htm

Wow, 22 Watts is pretty impressive for a home-built laser.

I dont know much about the inner-workings of LASERS,

But I did work with a laser-cutter for a while in the packaging industry (steel rule dies).
It was like a CNC the size of a box-truck. Used it mostly to cut 3/4" birch for die-boards, which are like very complicated cookie-cutters. But it also cut metal and other stuff too. It makes very sweet dovetails!!!

I really want to get a hass box cut on that laser!!

I am more or less just curious on how they work. well more than say 'how stuff works' would tell me.

I know by saying this will probably result in the usual ~ read up on it, however my questions are a little more indepth than HSW.

I know that a laser cuts/heats by accelerating the molecules on the surface it is applied to given a certain wavelength of the light.

I have seen a chart on the wavelengths, but dont really know what the corresponding reactions would be.
I want to melt some plastic much like the thickness of a transparency. dont really know what the material is(i know that that is very important ) but for conversations sake right now. And I want to do it at a relatively fast pulse rate.
Could anyone steer me in the right direction for information. Oh and I want this to be as small as possible.

Thanks for all of you 'biting' on the question,
JD

I wonder how much that CO2 laser cost to build

here is a drawing.

Mine is 30 watts

My Class IV 30w CO2 has a wavelength of 10600nm and can cut through razor blades(takes a while though).I mostly use it for woodburning.
Here's the link that led me to build mine: http://www.altair.org/CO2laser.html

if you want to mold or make plastics like a frensel or pvc of plex or whatever melt and flex to your will use a heat gun there like $30 at home depot

that site is quite vague, what parts did you use, it seems most of the parts he described are specifically for lasers and relatively hard to come by. Would you mind showing some pics and talking a bit about yours?

I like the ones that are in actual engraving machies, the last longer and burn hotter, but you need a lath or somthin to that affect for cutting the parts... Im trying to find the diagram, I wouldnt want anyone to suffer through my crapidly drawn diagrams

I saw this the other day, pretty cool if you ask me. You ought to be able to burn/etch wood, and cut thin plastics for about $40-$50! Let me know if I missed something, but I figure it would do all of this if given enough time.



here is the link



DVD-Laser mod

hehe I can see some hack-a-day readers here
I might try building such device some day in the near future, but where do I get such high-tech glass? I will surely cost a lot...