CO2 Laser Engraver/Cutter Addition to a CNC-Retrofitted Sieg X2 Mini Mill

[prutchi]

I just posted to www.prutchi.com a detailed description of my construction of a CO2 engraving head and its addition to my Mach3-controlled, CNC-retrofitted Sieg X2 mini mill.  This mod lets me laser-cut up to ¼”-thick acrylic, engrave anodized aluminum, raster-scan pictures on wood, etc.

Cost in parts (not counting the stuff that I had in my junkbox) was around $300 to add the laser to my mini mill.

The blog post’s URL is:
http://www.prutchi.com/2012/02/04/co2-laser-engravercutter-addition-to-a-cnc-retrofitted-sieg-x2-mini-mill/

Cheers,

David

[Tweakie.CNC]

Although a brilliant idea and a relatively simple installation, mounting CO2 laser tubes (metal as well as glass) vertically is not to be recommended.
This has to do with debris, which is produced during operation, falling (under gravity) onto the inner surface of the output coupler leading to a reduction in efficiency together with localised heating and early failure.
It is for this reason that the manufacturers, such as Synrad, withdraw their warranty for vertically mounted tubes.

Tweakie.