Lasersaur Laser Alignment Tool & Target

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Instructions This system can help you align your Lasersaur safely. It uses a dismantled Quartet brand laser pointer found at OfficeDepot. We used a 1.25 inch wood ball with a 0.325 inch diameter hole drilled through it. The diode was pulled out of its housing and placed in the middle of the ball so that the beginning of the beam is at the rotation center of the ball. The reason we made a ball and socket joint is that the diode of the 5mW laser is not centered to its housing. This alignment tool needs to be on the end of the CO2 laser, allowing you to rotate it so that it aligns with the center axis of the CO2 laser. You know the diode is aligned when rotating the entire fixture around the nozzle of the laser tube and the red 5mW beam stays in one place rather than tracing out a circle. Once this alignment is achieved, you can then move your Lasersaur mirrors to align the laser through the rest of the machine. You will need to glue the top and bottom parts of the tool together, eliminating support structures for a clean bottom that can sit on the metal nozzle of the laser. A screw eyelet was installed for handling during rotation of the ball. With the 5mW laser aligned, place a target over the second mirror and fire off the CO2 laser lightly (10%) to see where it hits. If it's off location compared to where you had with the 5mW laser, do not panic. Instead, just move the mirror mount of the first mirror, which should be perpendicular adjustments for aiming purposes only. Reset it in position, then fire again. Next, put the alignment tool back on and get the 5mW laser beam to hit where the CO2 laser did, re-checking/aligning your mirrors. The first alignment process gets your mirrors normal to each other and laser axis. The second process is to account for any differences in concentricity between the CO2 beam's axis and nozzle of your machine. A helpful step includes covering the lens tube and checking a piece of paper marked with an X.