Tweakie,
I tried several times to post this to your "Laser" thread, but blocked at each attempt, hence this new thread.
Thanks to Dave, here's my version of his butterfly (
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15111.0.html),
and many thanks are due to you as well for showing me the way in some of your previous posts and on your web site.
I burned it from 1/16 inch hobby basswood at 4 ipm using a 445nm laser diode with my own design constant current driver
set at about 1.1 amps. I had to burn it from both sides to get clean parts release, but almost made it through from just
the one side.
With my setup, I am able to burn various woods at up to about 30 ipm, but I can not do gray scale pictures with Art's plug-in
(need more laser power for that). After the first of the year, I may set up another 445 diode at max spec power to see if
it gives better results.
For other readers who may be thinking of trying a laser diode, I use the C axis direction pin with +0.0005 inch as laser off and -0.0005 on.
This greatly minimizes the "dots" at the start of burn lines. I pre-focus the laser to table surface and use the Z axis to adjust
for different wood thickness. It was a PITA trying to reset the lens frequently.
Happy Holidays,
John Champlain
www.picengrave.com
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