Mini Laser Cutter / Engraver

thingiverse

Here's a device crafted from salvaged CD-ROM drives, DVD-Rom burners and 3.5" floppy drives - a mini laser cutter/engraver that proves you can create something useful from discarded parts. This project was inspired by the Pocket Laser Engraver on Instructables, built by Groover. If you're interested in building one, check out his guide for all the details. This little machine runs on an Arduino Pro Mini and uses GRBL, an open-source g-code parser and CNC milling controller. The CD-ROM drive stepper motors are powered by Easy Driver Stepper Motor Drivers from Schmalzhaus. A 650nm 400mW red laser diode from a DVD-Burner in an Aixiz module drives the laser, which is controlled by a Constant Current Laser Driver. This device has enough power to cut craft foam and colored paper (sticky notes) and will engrave wood. You'll find the OpenSCAD source code for the frame, print bed and mounts included here since you'll likely need to modify them to fit your parts. The device was printed with a Printrbot Simple Metal 3D printer using a heated bed. The video below shows the previous version of this laser cutter, which had a wood frame that never seemed to be square - it finally gave me the excuse I needed to buy a 3D printer!