The Laser4DIY machine consists of two parts: the actual laser/structuring machine is in placed in laser safety housing made from stainless steel sheet, in which the laser setup, the XY table and electronics located. The power supplies and the cooling system have been moved to a separate supply unit. This offers the advantage that the laser housing only contains low voltages of up to 24V, making it significantly more compact and lighter.
Left: Exploded view of the LaserPCB protective housing, Right: the two enclosures, lid of laser chamber is removed for a view on the laser source
The main enclosure is divided into two parts: The left part contains the electronic components (laser driver, TEC controller, protective circuit, controller for the XY table) as well as the connections for power supply, water cooling and exhaust air. The right part is lightproof and connected to the left part via a shaft. Cables, cooling and exhaust air hoses are routed around two corners, so that no light can get into the left part of the case, where it could get out through ventilation openings. The laser source sits on a breadboard made of 8 mm thick laser-cut aluminum and is protected against dirt and accidental contact with a laser chamber made of sheet steel at the top. The laser beam is directed downwards through an opening onto the XY table, where the PCB to be processed is located. For loading, the work table can be moved out to the right side. The cover is secured with safety switches, when opened the laser is switched off. An external suction device is connected via a hose that leads directly under the breadboard to the working point of the arrangement.
With this safety housing, the device meets all the requirements for certification as laser protection class 1, so that it can also be operated outside of a laser protection room.
For more details check out the description of the individual components:
- Laser source
- Electronics
- TEC (Thermo-Electric Cooling) Controller
- TEC Controller description
- Github Repository: https://github.com/Laser4DIY/TEC-Controller
- Constant Current Power Source (version 1, outdated)
- Github Repository: https://github.com/Laser4DIY/Laser-Driver
- Constant Current Power Source (version 2, work in progress)
- Laser Diode Driver (English)
- Laserdioden-Treiber (German)
- Github Repository: https://github.com/Laser4DIY/Laser-Driver-v2
- TEC (Thermo-Electric Cooling) Controller
- Low Profile XY Table
- Low Profile XY Table
- Github Repository: https://github.com/Laser4DIY/XY-Table
- Enclosure
- Github Repository: https://github.com/Laser4DIY/Laser4DIY_Enclosure
The Laser4DIY laser structuring machine is controlled via USB. You need a CNC control program capable of talking to a GRBL compatible CNC controller, we use LightBurn at the moment. The basic configuration (without optical amplifier) produces laser light with an average power of 0.25 W at λ= 532 nm. This corresponds approximately to a pulse energy of 20 µJ and a peak power of approx. 9 kW. We are using 2 passes with 40 mm/min each to create reliable, electrically isolating ablations. The width of the ablation is approx. 15-20 µm, which enables very fine details.
Circuit board created with the Laser4DIY device (left), microscope view of an ablation (right)
The DIY XY table we designed uses relatively cheap components, but can archive quite impressive precision. We measured around 0,05mm of backlash in both directions. But with the backlash compensation feature of the GRBL-Advanced firmware we are using, some impressive results are possible. Here is an example engraving done with our Laser4DIY machine:
Please note that letters are not a single line, the outlines are engraved.
Here is a microscope shot of an engraving with a font ~0.5mm high:
