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on January 17, 2011
Cary Chleborad
commented on a project updateOne crazy thought is to not reinvent the wheel and just use Epilog Laser's protocol. Someone has already reverse engineered their protocol and written a linux driver AND published the code and description here: http://aaisp.net.uk/kb-other-free.html One of the super cool benefits of being Epilog compatible is that the Lasersaur would seamlessly plug into a zillion already working laser environments. We could even use our already existing software and epilog laser drivers to talk to the lasersaur - that would be WAAAAAAY Cool!! (Hint Hint!!!)
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on July 6, 2010
Cary Chleborad launched a project
Dichroic Art Glass: Art spawned from pure technology. by Cary Chleborad
Dichroic Glass as a raw material is manufactured and controlled by TWO manufacturers. We're developing our own process to compete in this arena.
Funding Unsuccessful (08/22/2010) -
on June 9, 2010
Cary Chleborad
commented on a projectA few thoughts: I paid almost $18K for my epilog 45 watt laser that has a 12" x 18" cutting envelope. If I could DIY construct and equivalent system for $5K I would be WAY ahead of purchasing another laser (I need one). I would be willing to pay $500 for robust control software alone, acquiring the motion control electronics and constructing hardware is child's play. Developing a robust, RELIABLE workable control is where the real task lies and is worth much more than any pledge you can make. HAVE FAITH!!! I've been playing with my new air assist nozzle on my epilog laser and have found that I still get the same cutting capacity increase if I drop the air pressure down to 40 psi from 80 psi. It seems that the difference in cutting performance gain is largely due to switching from blowing air at the cut zone to blowing air through the cut itself. I also noticed that the at the location where the laser first pierces through the material it doesn't quite cut all the way through before the laser starts moving. The industrial lasers that I have used have an actual pierce cycle where they turn the laser on and wait for it to cut through the material before the cutting is performed. With a 100 watt system and a good air assist the laser will start to behave more like an industrial system and I think it would be prudent to include a pierce delay in the lasersaur control system for those who might need it! Another thought: lasersaur control be able to interpret G-code?
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on June 7, 2010
Cary Chleborad
commented on a projectI previously brought up the topic of including a high pressure coaxial air injection nozzle in the design and to explore that I recently machined an upgrade lens holder / nozzle for my 45 watt epilog laser. The air assist now flows parallel and coaxial with the laser beam and I increased the cutting air pressure from the recommended 30 psi to 80 psi. The result is an astounding 72% increase in cutting capacity over the standard epilog air assist which is essentially a gentle blow at a 45 degree angle. This clearly demonstrates the necessity of a good air assist system in laser cutters.
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on June 1, 2010
Cary Chleborad
commented on a projectBTW please keep this as a laser project only. If you try to do too many things in one machine you end up doing none of them well. I just want a really good and reasonably priced laser!
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on June 1, 2010
Cary Chleborad
commented on a projectPlease consider scalability in the cutting envelope. Most folks will just be tickled pink to be able to cut any size, however I will be scaling the machine envelope to handle 4' x 8' (1.2m x 2.4m). I wouldn't expect the project to handle the structural aspects of the large scale, jut the control system. Those who want to go big can deal with the consequences of doing so themselves. Again, let me offer the capacity of my machine shop, not only for prototyping but I will also gladly produce quantities of any custom parts to be sold at a reasonable cost for DIY builders.
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on May 31, 2010
Cary Chleborad
commented on a projectWow... this is very close to what I envisioned in 1988. It looks like there really is no interest by the masses. You should take this concept into a human powered vehicle competition to get more attention and then try this concept here.
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on May 31, 2010
Cary Chleborad
commented on a projectOh my, where to begin!! First I'm hoping that this project will develop a really solid control and hardware package. There are so many amateur CNC controllers out there that just don't work. I'm not sure how good of a mechanical system that can be build with totally off the shelf parts. I currently own a 45 watt epilog laser that I use the heck out of (but want more power and size!). In the past I owned a 3KW mitsibishi laser cutter for steel cutting. I would like to see a project like this use concepts from both systems to yield an easy to use, yet robust "mid range" cutter. One concept that the steel cutters use that it seems that the small lasers mis out on is the coaxial high pressure gas assist. It seems to me that this is essential to get the best cutting efficiency out of a laser. I've designed and will be prototyping and testing this week, an upgrade gas assist nozzle for my epilog laser to see how much this will increase the cutting power of the laser. With all that said, I would like to pledge the assistance of my company in the development of the system. I have CNC milling machines and live tool lathes which could easily make parts for the system. You can find our capabilities list at www.factengineering.com Send me an email and we'll discuss further. Thanks for taking this on!
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on May 31, 2010
Cary Chleborad
backed a project
Lasersaur: Open Source Laser Cutter by nortd
Design a laser cutter and make the building process repeatable for others. The result is an affordable and easy to maintain system for everybody.
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200% funded $20,019 pledged
- 260 backers
- Funded Jul 08, 2010
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Cary Chleborad
Folsom, CA
Mechanical Designer, Machinist, Optician, Inventor, Mad Scientist.
