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Frankenstein Laser Engraver

by ianmcmill on April 22, 2013

Table of Contents
Frankenstein Laser Engraver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: Frankenstein Laser Engraver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: Indentifing the salvage loot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: Scanner massacre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: Printer mayhem #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Printer mayhem #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 5: Cabeling #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 6: Getting the black magic stuff on the magic black brick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 7: Prototyping on breadboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 8: Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 9: First contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 10: Mt. Laserdiode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Step 11: Making the PCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Step 12: Soldering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Step 13: The Laser Diode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Step 14: Igor !! IT'S A LIVE !!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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Intro: Frankenstein Laser Engraver

This Frankenstein Laser Cutter was built out of an old scanner and printer.
The whole thing evolved around the instructable of Groover and his 'Pocket Laser Engraver'.
This is a Making-Of. Although a lot, if not everything, of the mechnical construction requires ingenuity I tried to document the complete build process as much as I could.
Every scanner and printer mechanics are different so this could not be used as a step-by-step guide. More of a "how it can be done"-guide. I try to cover the questions
that could arise in the process of making.
I had absolutely no clue about electronics. All I knew was that RED is (often) + and BLACK is (often) Ground.
Therefore I have learned a lot in this project. Starting from mechanical stuff like self-replenishing brass bearings to electronical stuff like stepper motors and the difference
between bi- and unipolar motors to soldering and etching my own board.
The whole cutting area is 270mm x 200mm. Just about right do cut some flip-flops for the summer.
The building costs (without mispurchase [easydriver clones were for the trash can]) is:
Arduino-clone = 10
Easydriver x 2 = 20
Electronic bits and pieces = 10-15
Aixiz housing /w lens = ~6
Alu-profiles = ~5 (0 if you have connections)
-------------------------------------------------Total= 46-56
============================

Image Notes
1. backplane of old picture frame
2. scanner bed
3. print head carriage
4. dvd laser 300mW
5. printer section with rod, belt and stepper

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Image Notes
1. Y-Axis from printer
2. X-Axis from scanner
3. Easydriver test setup on breadboard

Step 1: Indentifing the salvage loot

Identifing the parts of old devices is often a pain but I had luck with at least the scanner stepper.
Scanner / X-Axis
The scanner is an old Tevion 2400 dpi scanner. Equivalent to a Microtek Scanmaker 5800.
The stepper is a 96 step bipolar stepper motor. It's description is NEOCENE 2T354207.
Do not believe anyone other that says this is a 100 step motor. It is not ! It has 96 steps. Not more not less.
I used the bed of the scanner as the basis of the whole construction.
The rail and the timing belt aswell as the sled which carried the photoelectronics is used.
Though the sled needed to be trimmed to give more space for the laser.
There is something special about the stepper. It has a 4 gears mounted on its foreplate.
The gear ratio is luckly negligible. If you are still curious how to calculate a gear ratio have a look at this.
The scanner stepper serves as the x-axis.
Printer / Y-Axis
The printer was an old Epson Stylus Photo 925.
The stepper I salvaged is oddly described in the Service Manual.
It says it is a 4-phase 48 pole bipolar stepper motor for 42V (??) but as it is a bipolar stepper there must not be 4 phases but 2.
Turning the shaft by hand and counting the steps I came up with 48 steps.
This motor (and plates for printer head) serves as the y-axis.
X-axis Tevion 2400 dpi / Microtek5800
Phase: 2
Step angel: 3,75/Step = 96 steps
Voltage: 5 V
Current : ?
Resistance: 5,5
Holding torque : ?
Y-axis Epson Stylus Photo 925
Phase: 2
Step angel: 7,5/Step = 48 steps
Voltage: 5-12 V
Current : ?
Resistance: 7
Holding torque: ?
Later in the process I found out that both motors draw less then at least 300 mA.
The Easydriver V4.4 still has the bug with the silk print on it mixing MAX and MIN of the poti.
So in V4.4 they switched the print on the PCB but simultaneously replaced the poti with a reverse poti.
At least this is what I have read in some forums or the comments over at Sparkfun.

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Smart :)
So long story short:
The poti is set to a low resistance that means the steppers get a fraction of the current the Easydriver can deliver. Max 750mA per coil. The poti is set to roughly 25%.
Just so that they dont scream in pain.
Stepper motor pinout:
On my journey through the endless deepth of the internets I often stumbled over question as how to get the correct pinout from the steppers.
You just need to take a piece of wire and connect the pins. If you connect the correct pairs you should feel a resistance when turning the shaft of the stepper

Step 2: Scanner massacre

As I guess you don't have the exact same old scanner and printer this step is more like a rough lineout of what needs to be done and what must be cared for in special.
Different scanner or printers have different mechanics but all in all they have similar structure.
I reused the bed of the scanner and its slide that contained the photo-electronics. All the electronics and glass mirrors where removed. Use a screwdriver and wear
protective gloves.
So in the end just the bare plastic remained and afterwards was cut into form to have a slightly wider space for the printer head carriage which later carries the laser
module with fan.

Image Notes
1. this plastic was removed to give more space

Image Notes
1. ...and here

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Image Notes
1. sawed off here

Step 3: Printer mayhem #1

This was the most tedious step in the whole project. Took me about complete 8 hours to complete with the help of an advanced craftsman (Father).
The plate of the printer which supported the print head and rod was excessively treated with my beloved metal saw.
I had to cut out pieces of the L-profile to get room for the stepper.
In the original printer structure there was a DC motor where now the stepper resides. Often (hopefully) the washer of the stepper, which is from the same printer, has the
same spacing so it fitted nicely into the DC hole.

Image Notes
1. part of the carrier was removed. I kind of regreted it later on as it would have
been perfect for the of the laser/pen

Image Notes
1. original printer plate where the DC motor and print head was mounted on
2. aluminium L-profile. Cut out with hacksaw where needed.

Image Notes
1. printer plate
2. aluminium profile; L-shape. Mounted to the printer plate with 2 screws

Step 4: Printer mayhem #2

The rod on which the led the print head carrier had some decentered metal nobs on it. They could we easily removed by twisting them and pulling them off with a plier.
They revealed very nicely centered metal tips.
I used two T-profiles and drilled holes in them. So I could just plug the tips from both end through and mount both profiles on the L-profile. This step needs to be precise
as possible as later on the y-axis might drift off. This might distort the whole drawing/lasering process as the Y-axis isn't right-angled to the X-axis. Use a caliper is a
must. Drawing by eye, too.

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Image Notes
1. L-profile which supports the printer plate is screwed to the the scanner sledge.
2. 90 nose cut away to fit the profile

Image Notes
1. lucky me for having good connections to a local metal processing company.

Image Notes
1. sawed off

Step 5: Cabeling #1
Y-axis cables
As the motor moves with the Y-axis (obviously) I had to think about how to do the cabeling.
I used an salvaged 5-pin connector from an old mainboard and simply soldered it to the stepper motor wires. A 4-pin ribbon cable served as an extension to a little piece
of stripboard which I mounted to the L-profile.
The stripboard is a "gateway" for all electronics on the movable Y-axis to the arduino.
I took the flat cable which used to be connected to the scanner sledge and soldered some female pin headers to it. Very crude job with room for improvement. If I would
have been more cautious I could have soldered 8 pins to the flat cable but this is a very fragile task. You will see why later.

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Image Notes
1. pins from stepper
2. pins to Easydriver
3. pins from laser
4. pins to laser driver
5. from fan
6. to fan controller (relay)
7. used hot gun to glue the back of the stripboard so it can not make contact with
the alu by accident

Step 6: Getting the black magic stuff on the magic black brick
To control the EDs you need to get grbl up and running on your Arduino.
I used GRBL 0.8c which can be obtained from https://github.com/grbl/grbl
Scroll down to 'Downloads' and grab the 0.8c version. It is a precompiled hex file and can only be uploaded to the Arduino with an hex-uploader.
I used http://www.ngcoders.com/downloads/arduino-hex-uploader-and-programmer/
To avoid the 'out of sync' error you need to modify the baud rate at whiche the uploader sends to the Arduino from 19200 to 115200. See picture.
To modify the pinout of GRBL you need to get the sources from above link and manipulate the file config.h and recompile it afterwards, of course. There you are able to
relocate the pins as you like. This might come in handy if you use another stepper driver board.
To recompile type in the shell:
make clean
make grbl.hex

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Step 7: Prototyping on breadboard

Before making a PCB you actually want to try out if the stuff is working as you want it to.
So I put together all the electronics on a breadboard first.
The pinout from the Arduino is as following:
The steps/dir pins of the Easydriver are connected in the following manner:
Easydriver Arduino
X-step - Digital 2
X-dir - Digital 5
Y-step - Digital 3
Y-dir - Digital 6
For each Easydriver the pins MS1 and MS2 are conntected and are both on 5V. This tells the Easydriver to work in 1/8 stepping mode. The Easydrivers have a seperate
power supply. Any 12V 600mA+ wall wart should work. Later on the shield the EDs are powered by the Arduino. As is the laser and the fan.
I took a short film from the running prototype. The Easydrivers can get quite hot. For continuously running them, a fan is required.
Ehem... The fan mount is a protoype as well...

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Image Notes
1. jack for external power supply.
Do not cross the streams...

Image Notes
1. beautiful lights
2. beautiful lights

Step 8: Calibrate
Before doing fancy stuff with the steppers they need to be calibrated. This is an essential step and must not be left out.
I have found a nice and explanatory video tutorial over at BuildYourOwnCNC .
In generall it says you need to calculate the estimated step/mm.
From that point you move your desired stepper via gcode (x200 for example). Then you need to take the discrepancy and calculate your new step/mm until it moves the
exact range you commanded. But see the video for more information ans some math.
I suggest to create an excel sheet to save you some headache.
I ended up with an precision of 1/10 mm on both axes. Could be tweak even more if I could measure the distances more accurate.
You can use every kind of terminal tool to communicate with grbl. I used CoolTerm .
I guess you know how to load a terminal and connect to your Arduino.
In the picture you can see my current calibrated data.

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Step 9: First contact

To communicate with (and send gcode to) the Arduino and its stepper drivers there are several solutions.
You could check the GRBL Wiki . Scroll down and you'll find plenty of software that deals with GRBL and Arduino.
There are even some nice GUI tools. Nevertheless I used Groovers Gcodesender. Can be found on Groover's Pocket Laser Instructable (Step 7).
Go ahead and try some g-code commands.
Get your steppers in the correct starting position before powering them (e.g. zero position) and type
G91 G28 X0 Y0
This tells GRBL that the current position is the zero position.
X50 Y50
This moves the 'spindle' to the absolute position of X50 Y50
G01 X50 Y50
this would move the spindle 50mm on the X and 50mm on the Y-axis from whatever position the spindle currently resides. This is the relative positioning.

Step 10: Mt. Laserdiode

To mount the laser diode (or a pen for first use) the print head carriage needs to be modified.
I found those cover plates from a desktop computer quite nice that cover empty PCI slots. Besides, one cover just happened to lie in my line of sight. Poor thing.
Somehow I managed to bend, saw, drill and screw the plate to the carriage. Just be creative in this step and keep the precision up. Precision in building is your friend but
can be your worst nemesis once you neglect it !

Image Notes
1. angular
2. u-profile. Did I mentioned I love alu profiles.
3. first drawing. and there was much rejoicing. yay.

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Step 11: Making the PCB

After I managed to get my prototype breadboard running successfully some sample g-code I went on to create a PCB.
Never have done such a thing before but I am a chemical laboratory assistant and chemicals do not raise fear in me.
Again I used Groovers lasershield layout . It comes in EagleCAD format.
I mirror printed the layout on ordinary paper and glued it to a photosensitive copper board and used my dremel clone to drill the holes. As I do not have a fancy exposure
timer I took some alcohol and removed the protective varnish.
With a overhead projector pen and a ruler I traced the layout by hand. I tried to use a thin Edding but the result was a thick ugly line.
Although I just need to draw the trace once and not several times to get a nice coating.
To etch the layout I used Fe(III)Cl. Don't like the other stuff that is available. They could vaporate, they stink and stuff that contains peroxid can explode when kept in
sealed bottles. So Fe(III)Cl is the most convenient solution to store and dispose.
Nevertheless : !! Don't pour it down the drain !! It is going eat your drainpipe if it is made from copper and it will definitely kill all the little usefull bacteria in
your local sewage disposal facility.

Image Notes
1. 1. drill the holes with layout glued to the blue protective foil.

Image Notes
1. 2. remove all photosen. varnish with some alcohol

Image Notes
1. traces were to dense so I had to draw some extra drill holes
2. 3. use a overhead projector pen to draw the traces

Image Notes
1. Fe(III)CL

Image Notes
1. some fat fingerprints

Image Notes
1. use alcohol again to remove permanent pen.

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Image Notes
1. cleaned up PCB
2. used some edding. not nice
3. overhead pen. nice !

Step 12: Soldering

I do not know how to solder the pins (that connect to the Arduino pins) from the wrong side so I just placed them on the top side of the PCB and pushed the tips through.
To safe some time I wrote on the PCB were the parts for the laser driver should go. Side note: for test runs without laser you can leave out the circuit for the laser for now.
Partslist:
Part Value Device Package Description
VR05R051 RR1A RR1A RR1A RELAY -> Reichelt = DIP 7212-L 5V
C1 0,1uF C-US075-052X106 C075-052X106 CAPACITOR, American symbol
C2 47uF CPOL-USE2.5-5 E2,5-5 POLARIZED CAPACITOR, American symbol
D1 DIODEDO-1N4148 DO-1N4148 Diode
D2 SA15A ZENER-DIODEP1-Z12 P1Z12 Z-Diode
FAN W237-102 W237-102 WAGO SCREW CLAMP
IC1 LM317TS 317TS VOLTAGE REGULATOR
J1 J30MM J30MM 30 Bridge
JP1 PINHD-1X2 1X02 PIN HEADER
JP3 JP1E JP1 JUMPER
LASER W237-102 W237-102 WAGO SCREW CLAMP
R1 3,9 R-US_0414/5V 0414V RESISTOR, American symbol
R2 2K2 R-US_0207/10 0207/10 RESISTOR, American symbol
R3 51 R-US_0414/5V 0414V RESISTOR, American symbol
R4 1k R-US_0414/5V 0414V RESISTOR, American symbol
R6 500 TRIM_US-S64W S64W POTENTIOMETER
SV1 MA04-1 MA04-1 PIN HEADER
SV2 MA04-1 MA04-1 PIN HEADER
T1 2N2222 2N2222 TO18 NPN TRANSISTOR
U$1 EASYDRIVER EASYDRIVER EASYDRIVER Easydriver V4.4
U$2 EASYDRIVER EASYDRIVER EASYDRIVER Easydriver V4.4
U$4 ARDUINO-NOHOLE ARDUINO-NOHOLE ARDUINO-NOHOLE Arduino Diecimila/Duemilanove
NOTE:
I did order the wrong relay from my electronic supplier so I ripped apart an old pc power supply I found in my electronic chest of wonderments. I am actually quite glad I
keep alot of the "old stuff". Most of the electronics are still working. I rather keep them instead of making the recycling depot happy. They sell it to Africa as "2nd-hand"
which is not realy the truth. Kids scavange old junk, burn the pcbs and sell the copper. They may get some cents to buy food, but dying with 30 years of cancer is really
not worth it.
Hence I have build this laser. Show people that "the old stuff" is no junk. In the right hands it is as precious as real money.

Image Notes

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Image Notes

1. Heatsinks from old graphic card cooling upgrade. Made to fit.

1. This one is already pushed. The others not yet.

Image Notes
1. never use superglue to fix pin headers. never. ever.

Image Notes
1. laser driver circuit.

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Step 13: The Laser Diode

The laser diode I used here is pretty strong. 300mW red laser is a Class 3b diode which means goggles must be worn at all cost.
You will get pinkeye and a cataract. It is not like with smoking were you could possible get cancer. No, looking into the beam will definitly get you a cataract. Even the
scattered light the diode produces when bouncing of surfaces is stronger then directly looking into the sun. You don't want to risk you sight. Period.
BE CAREFULL !!
The laser goggles should filter 600-670nm (OD4+). Those glasses are not cheap but your eyes are precious !
The first thing to do when having stripped the diode from an old DVD Burner or got it from the internet is to get the polarity of it.
I just took 2 AA batteries that were in a case with + and - and tried the pins of the diode until it lits up.
Laser diodes of this type are placed into an aixiz housing with heatsink. They often come with a focusable plastic lens. Glass lenses are better as they give you about 1020% more efficiency.
Focusing the laser:
To focus the diode I first turned the lens until I got a very small dot on the wall. Then I tried to light a match.
To get a "rough" focus I taped a ruler to my desk with the laser housing at 0mm.
A black sheet of paper was placed in front of the laser and moved until it burned.
You may need to play around with the lens and the paper distance.
Overall this gives you the later distance your laser needs to be mounted to get a nice cut.
I can only give an estimated focus point of around 10cm. Depends on position of the aixiz housing and its heatsink.
Material to cut/engrave:
White and red materials are not cuttable. They reflect too much of the laser light. Especially red.
It should cut with ease through 2mm craft foam with a speed of 75mm/sec for black and very dark colors and 50mm/sec for brighter colors.
Paper from magazine should be cuttable with ease as well. A speed of around 100 mm/sec (+/-15) should be enough.

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Balsawood with a 1mm thickness is just engraveable. I tried to do several runs with very slow feed rates but it didn't go through.
10mm/sec may just burn the wood around the laser line.

Step 14: Igor !! IT'S A LIVE !!!

Just some cuts and engraves.
The rocket model is from elabz .
He has some nice models on his website , too.
Craft foam - 2mm - black - 75 mm/sec
Balsawood - 1 mm - the dark lines were engraved with 50 and afterwards with 10 mm/sec. The outer rings were drawn with 100 mm/sec.
The calculator case was engraved with around 75 mm/sec.

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Image Notes
1. backplane of old picture frame
2. scanner bed
3. print head carriage
4. dvd laser 300mW
5. printer section with rod, belt and stepper

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