Laser Engraver Picatinny Mount

thingiverse

I had an old Chinese laser engraver that was just taking up space, so I decided to repurpose it for my research project. It turned out to be cheaper to buy one of these machines than it would have been to purchase the materials or a dedicated XY gantry. To make it work with my waveguide, I needed some kind of mount to replace the laser that came with it. Modularity was a must-have feature for me. As an avid firearms enthusiast and competition shooter, I thought about what holds cylindrical objects in place under recoil. Scope rings are great, but one-piece mounts are even better - they're more precise and can handle recoil much better. That's when I had the idea to use Picatinny rails, which are my go-to choice for modular mounting systems. They're standard, reliable, and offer a high level of precision. Engineers love standards, after all! In this case, I designed a fully-parametric Picatinny rail and clamp that exceeded all my expectations. The first attempt was a bit rough - it bolted onto the 4 holes in the original acrylic piece where the laser mounted. But then I realized that the holes in the laser engraver weren't square. Great quality control, right? So, I designed a replacement for the entire piece, using the same screws as what came with the machine. I also included an intermediate version without the nut retainers, just in case they changed up the hardware. Mine were M5 nuts, but it's always good to be prepared. Now that I have my repurposed laser engraver set up, I'm excited to see what it can do with 2D capabilities. The possibilities are endless! You could use this setup for precision lighting of your samples - just attach an unused flashlight or a red dot scope for rapid defect acquisition. Or maybe even a telescopic sight on a Burris one-piece mount for superior views of distant samples. And who knows, you might even be able to detect defects in composites with microwaves using a waveguide mount. The future is bright!