Machsupport Forum

Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Davek0974 on March 13, 2017, 02:10:38 PM

Title: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Davek0974 on March 13, 2017, 02:10:38 PM
I have got a laser cutter on the way ;)

No intention of a refit (yet) but just wondering how Mach plays with a laser cutter -

Is it fast enough?
Does it do PWM power control?
Is it better than the built-in controllers found on eBay laser cutters?
Anyone running a 50-60W laser on Mach3?

Just thinking ;)
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on March 14, 2017, 05:41:48 AM
Looks like more fun then Dave.  ;)

Quote
Is it fast enough?

Depends on the maximum axis speed of your laser cutter but I would say Yes Mach3 is fast enough.

Quote
Does it do PWM power control?

Yes, using the S### command

Quote
Is it better than the built-in controllers found on eBay laser cutters?

That is a matter of opinion - I would not say Mach3 is better but I think I have managed to do anything that the built-in controllers can do.

Quote
Anyone running a 50-60W laser on Mach3?

Unknown, my laser is only 40 Watts.

Tweakie.

Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Davek0974 on March 14, 2017, 05:50:42 AM
Yeah, musty admit that a laser cutter is probably every adult kid's dream toy :)

Prices are silly now and i'm sure my business needs one, just have to figure out why later.

Speeds seem to be pretty fast, 1000mm/s not unheard of.

Hopefully be here next week.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: J.Hunter on August 24, 2017, 07:34:39 PM
How did the laser work out? I've run Mach3 based waterjet cutting machines at over 1200mm/s at 1G with no issues.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Davek0974 on August 25, 2017, 02:01:52 AM
Laser is fun, its still running on the standard Ruida controller though :)
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on August 30, 2018, 11:45:52 PM
Hi Tweakie, I'm actually planning ahead with my 2nd cnc build to be fitted with a laser to cut 5mm thick wood, maybe plastic slightly bit thicker and a 40 watt laser soundss to be a decent size for my application. Although I would still to do some more research about this, would you mind telling me what type of laser you have and maybe where you bought it from? The thing is that I'm not a fan of co2 lasers because they relatively bulky and delicate, as opposed to the diode types.
Thanks
Marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on August 31, 2018, 01:29:09 AM
Hi Marting,

Laser technology is advancing on a daily basis and it is impossible to say what is best so the deciding factor is probably what you can afford to spend. A 40 Watt C02 laser although bulky is still cheaper than a 40 Watt diode or fiber laser but prices of the high end products are continually falling. All I can suggest is that you Google lasers and gain as much info as you can on the latest products.

If it’s any help, my laser adventures with lasers (including where parts were purchased) is here;  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12444.0.html

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on September 01, 2018, 12:54:40 AM
Hi Tweakie,
Thanks for the information,  yes the up side of co2's that they are cheaper. The main thing that concerns me most of all are the vibrations that may cause damage, since I have in mind to run it both as router and laser. I still have to figure out if this is the ideal situation (on one side having saw dust while on the other clean mirrors is a must) and if so how to go about it.
Marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 01, 2018, 01:55:43 AM
If you check out the thread I mentioned above you can see how I tackled the dust problem and this may help you come up with a suitable solution. My laser stuff is all pretty rigidly mounted and I have never had any problem with vibration as a result of the router use.

Everything is a challenge  ;)

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on September 05, 2018, 02:14:45 PM
Ok. So I've done some research and read most of the thead you suggested.  It turns out that from a 40W laser I'm intrigued to step it up to 130W since the prices don't defer that much. Anyway from the information I searched the later can easily cut 15mm thick wood and polycarbonate. While I was at it I started wondering if with much power I could engrave on anodized aluminium since I have some projects that I intend to do in aluminium and have them anodized.  Any experience with the later?
Thanks
Marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on September 05, 2018, 02:25:02 PM
Also would be adopting a similar setup as yours Tweakie, but still have to figure out how to keep out the dust but mostly to come to terms with the risk of vibrations. Truth be told ,I will be fixing the laser to the upper part frame (as it will be enclosed to contain dust) of the cnc and suspened on shock absorbers, but on the other hand experience thought me never to under estimate what nature can do from behind your back without noticing whats going on. Anyway I'll have to see.
Thanks
Marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 06, 2018, 01:59:47 AM
Hi Marting,

130 Watt sounds good, excellent in fact.

15mm wood would cut OK but bear in mind the effective focal distance of the beam and associated kerf width. You would also need a lot of air assist.
As for polycarbonate, well you would just have to try it and see – it is terrible stuff and can often end up as a sticky lump. Acrylic would be best.
I doubt you would have enough power to cut into aluminium at the CO2 wavelength but you can certainly ablate the anodizing dye layer.

Sound like you are in for a lot of fun. Please keep us informed and post some pictures of your progress.

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on September 08, 2018, 04:47:40 PM
Hi Tweakie,
Thanks for the information, I still have a long way to go until I finish. Although I had planned to install a laser from the beginning, I haven't given it that much thought but since I've started enquiries I need to know what I need to order and where to install it and so this is the right time to take it in consideration. Attached is a photo of my progress so far.

Regards
Marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 09, 2018, 01:39:03 AM
Looking good  ;)

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: wmgeorge on September 16, 2018, 05:10:35 PM
Having owned and operated several co2 machines and one galvo fiber laser I can speak from some background.  Not sure of what power your talking about and material.  But my 40 or 50 watt machines can cut  .250 or 6 mm plywood without an issues, cedar wood or pine same thickness it does a better job.  The glue in the plywood is sometimes an  issue.  Anodized aluminum engraves without issues.  Dust or smoke removable via exhaust fans to outside.  At one time I looked into building one, but its cheaper just to purchase a pre-built Chinese and fix as needed.  ;).    The more expensive US and German machines use a air cooled RF metal tube.

Tube (glass) is fixed at one place, water cooled usually in the Chinese ones. Mirrors direct the beam, the moving carriage has the last mirror and it reflects down thru the lens to focus the dot.   The really larger machines, as the Kern has the tube mounted so it moves with the gantry.

If you want to engrave, Mach3 is not the way  to go, cutting yes.  The DSP controllers do a great job for engraving and cutting.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on September 17, 2018, 01:02:19 PM
Hi Wmgeorge,
Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated particularly with the issue of engraving with Mach3. Would you care to elaborate a bit more what the issues might be / are? Originally my plan was to cut 6 to 10mm thickness in wood and similar materials, plastics (naturally excluding those containing chloride) etc.Further considering future projects with anodised aluminium requiring engraving, have made me decide to go for the 130w laser.

I only use Mach3 as an intermediate program between a cam programm and the cnc, so the way I see it (and I stand to be corrected here) there shouldn't be any issues unless if these are related to the postprocessor. So far I have engraved on irregular surfaces with a V cutter and never had any issues with the results, hence  would very much welcome any eye openers.
Thanks Marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: wmgeorge on September 18, 2018, 05:57:11 PM
Engraving on a laser means cycling the beam (dot) on and off very rapidly and sometimes changing the power while moving the X and Y.  Mach3 I am sure is not anywhere close to fast enough. You can do a solid line engraving, or cutting without issue I am sure.  But in this regard the Chinese DSP controller is the way to go, along with the software for that controller.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 19, 2018, 02:37:11 AM
Quote
Engraving on a laser means cycling the beam (dot) on and off very rapidly and sometimes changing the power while moving the X and Y.  Mach3 I am sure is not anywhere close to fast enough. You can do a solid line engraving, or cutting without issue I am sure.  But in this regard the Chinese DSP controller is the way to go, along with the software for that controller.

I have to disagree.
Whilst the DSP controller may be superior to Mach when it comes to laser control Mach3 can, for example, perform laser engraving operations with great precision. This laser produced lithophane is just 50mm square.

Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: wmgeorge on September 19, 2018, 09:35:44 AM
I would imagine the g code  file for that would be huge.  Try doing one on granite 300 mm square.


Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 19, 2018, 10:05:48 AM
Quote
Try doing one on granite 300 mm square.

Why ??

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 19, 2018, 10:36:57 AM
I should perhaps mention that engraved items, such as this tree image (330mm x 280mm) can easily be laser reproduced by either Mach3 or Mach4 without generating (or using) any Gcode at all – they are produced directly by the motion controller which scans the specified .jpg image then outputs axis movement together with a PWM signal (to control laser power) relating to the relevant pixel value from the image. It may sound complicated but it is simple enough.

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: chuck767 on September 20, 2018, 11:22:06 AM
 Hi   Tweakie,
 I now have my laser “cutting” very welll.    I was not aware that Mach3   Could be used for engraving.  So I am very interested in your comment, “ I should perhaps mention that engraved items, such as this tree image (330mm x 280mm) can easily be laser reproduced by either Mach3 or Mach4 without generating (or using) any Gcode at all”.

 Could you point me to where I can learn more about this  process ?
Thank you,
Chuck


Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on September 20, 2018, 03:09:11 PM
Wmgeorge,Since I have no experience with laser yet, I stand to be corrected on the following......could it be that you may have been running the cnc through  a printer port ? If so, could this be limiting the response speed?
marting
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: Tweakie.CNC on September 21, 2018, 01:59:15 AM
Hi   Tweakie,
 I now have my laser “cutting” very welll.    I was not aware that Mach3   Could be used for engraving.  So I am very interested in your comment, “ I should perhaps mention that engraved items, such as this tree image (330mm x 280mm) can easily be laser reproduced by either Mach3 or Mach4 without generating (or using) any Gcode at all”.

 Could you point me to where I can learn more about this  process ?
Thank you,
Chuck




Hi Chuck,

The attached copy draft document details the Mach4 laser setup when using the Warp9 ESS motion controller. You will note that a small Gcode file is used to set the laser origin and define the parameters but no Gcode is used to raster the image.

Check out the laser thread for details of using Mach3 but be warned it may be a long read. http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,12444.0.html

Tweakie.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: wmgeorge on September 21, 2018, 08:21:45 AM
I was using GRBL USB and a blue light diode rated at about 3 watts.  It was like watching paint dry, it did line by line and the gcode file was large for what needed to be done. Yes I am sure the Warp9 ESS way would work if Tweakie says it does. But I gave up and went back to using my commercial co2 machine.
Title: Re: Mach3 on a laser cutter...
Post by: marting on December 30, 2018, 01:38:08 PM
Hi guys, ..... first of all I'd like to send my greetings for the festive season to all you people who make up this great family.
So, after some while on radio silence, I've been doing work on my second build and as promised attached are some photos of my progress so far. Nothing out of this world but if this gives ideas tto other poeple then the purpose of sharing would have been reached.
So far I have installed all servo motors, homing and limit switches, drivers electrical system, lubricating tubes to all ball and linear bearings. The 130W laser is on its way and is due to arrive in mid / end February along with the power supply, cooling temperature controller and the whole lot.
Furthermore I've done a dry run and checked the total working volume and all is so far as planned.
Anyway below are the pics.
Regards
Marting