IT WORKS!!! The laser cutter frame that we built using off the shelf components has x, y and z movement controlled by GRBL. It needs to be calibrated and other fun stuff like that, but I am ridiculously proud of it. Pictures later.
This is the current state of our laser cutter/engraver. As long as it works it will have a cutting area of about 50cmx50cm.
At the moment it has some bits held on with clamps and we still need to make a better system for tensioning the belt for moving the x axis, but it works, at least in that it moves on three axes and moves consistently as far as we can tell without putting the laser on it and trying to repeat a complex cut a bunch of times.
And now I have burned out a fuse on the CNC control board.
I have broken more on this project that I have on any other project.
How fun.
Why do they have a fuse if you can't replace it reasonably? If the fuse blows there isn't a reasonable way to replace it.
The solution on the internet seem to be 'replace the fuse with a wire'. So yeah, I guess that is what I am doing.
@inmysocks what can you cut with it?
@InTheLandOfTheRisingSun at the moment not much because we have a pretty weak laser, but we are waiting on a 10w diode laser that claims to be able to cut through 5mm think plywood and thin metal.
So when we have that we should be able to cut a lot of stuff.
We are planning on using it prototype parts for the robot and for engraving and doing art projects.
@inmysocks could it, in theory, be used to cut sandwiches into complex shapes?
@InTheLandOfTheRisingSun in theory yes. Andrew that you have mentioned it, once I get it working I think I will have to do that.
@inmysocks Having a fuse is still much better than failing unsafely (read: crash and burn, baby, burn), but yeah fuses that can't easily be replaced or rearmed are super annoying.
And I am certainly going to write up how to make this. I need to do that for a lot of things I have made, but this one is one that other people may have actual interest in.