Laser Pointer Holder for 40W CO2 Laser

thingiverse

A recent purchase of an affordable 40W CO2 laser engraver/cutter, while offering great value for money, lacks user-friendliness. The machine comes with a red dot laser side mount next to the laser head but fails to align correctly with the actual CO2 laser light path. High-end machines use ZnSe or GaAs lenses as beam combiners, which are too expensive for this budget model. However, [39188] has a brilliant idea: creating a lever mechanism that drops the red dot laser onto the light path when the door is opened and moves it aside when closed, allowing the CO2 laser to pass through. This design also serves as a "Laser Beam Guard," protecting against misfires when the lid is open. Inspired by this, I designed my own lever holder and pivot holder for the Chinese machine. The pivot holder is a clip-on device that can be attached without modifying the laser machine and adjusted left/right. For instructions on how to implement this, refer to [39188] for more details. Drill two holes to install a spring that lowers the laser when the door lid is opened. The specific spring used is from Harbor Freight's "200 Spring Assorted" set (http://www.harborfreight.com/200-piece-assorted-spring-set-67562.html).