Fun with LASERs

[JamesB]

I have a small level of artistic talent, but I'm never happy with what I produce.

I gave up using traditional media and materials for art about two decades ago when I discovered the undo button in computer graphics programs. Since then it's been a progression of programs from MS Paint > PhotoStyler 1.0 > PhotoShop 3.0 > PhotoShop ver "whatever" for bit mapped art, and DrawPerfect 1.0 > Corel Draw 3, 5, 9, X4, and now X5 for vector graphics stuff.

The big problem is that computers really didn't give me that thrill of creating a physical object. Sure I could do a printout of a digital image or an onscreen animation, but to be honest, it just wasn't the same.

As for creating physical objects, my hand skills suck. I know what I need to do and how to do it, it's just that I don't have fine enough motor skills to do precise and repeatable work.

Then along comes CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) and LASERs. Computers I can interact with just fine, and they'll take over the precision work needed to produce an object.

In my case it was a Universal Laser Systems VLS 4.60 that let me produce interesting physical objects.

Much of what I've been doing is small run commissions ... usually engraved glasses ... and not really anything all that creative.

Glasses for a friend's wedding reception in England.



Prototype designs for merchandise for the local major league ice hockey team (never even heard back from them).



... but sometimes I let my creativity run loose and do something for myself.

Here's an early prototype of a SteamPunk Decora pattern light switch/outlet cover. This prototype is made out of painted 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite), but if I make production models, they'll be in a plastic material.





The first design proved to be a bit fragile, and too hard to adapt to multi-gang fittings, and the older style toggle switch and outlet patterns, so since then, I've been making changes. Here's the latest design (as of yet, I haven't cut a plate using these designs).





Another project I've been playing with is a 6 inch high TARDIS model. Here's an early design. Each model is cut from a single 12" x 24" piece of 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite) and takes about 30 minutes to cut. The whole unit is so precisely cut that it assembles without any glue or fasteners.





Every now and then, I come back to the CorelDRAW source file and tweak it a bit more and make a new version to test the improved design.

This is 3 design generations later and shows a painted TARDIS (and it's the correct BBC approved colour) with home made self adhesive decals, next to an unpainted model, both sitting on a freshly cut set of parts ready to be removed from the LASER.



The painted TARDIS is a bit rough as the assembly is so tight that the latex paint caused sufficient swelling of the parts to make assembly a problem, and a bit of brute force was needed to get it together. As a colour test model, it's fine.

I'm currently working on the roof line to change it from a flat roof to a more correct sloping roof. Here's an example of a test version to see if I could produce non-vertical cuts on the LASER so the roof line pieces could be assembled with an absolutely perfect join.



Although making these pieces on a system designed to cut perfectly vertically, necessitated creating jigs to hold the Masonite at the right angle while the LASER made the cut.



And then another jig was created to hold the parts together for the assembly of the 4 triangular shaped roof pieces. Unfortunately, the 4 roof parts have had to be glued together, so my dream of a non-fastener/non-glue assembly process has had to be abandoned.



Even these little "throw away" assembly jigs show the level of precision that can be achieved with a LASER cutter.





There have been quite a few design changes since the above models were photographed, but the design is still a fair way away from being completed.

For the technically minded, the ULS VLS 4.60 is a 2½D CAD/CAM system and mine is fitted with a 50 Watt CO2 LASER assembly that can engrave or cut materials that either burn or melt and will fit onto its 24" x 18" work space.

It connects to a PC via USB, and the computer treats it like a big printer/plotter. They even physically look like a big printer/plotter.



The downside is that they aren't cheap (the price of a new car), and the LASER module needs factory reconditioning every 4-7 years.

Here's the very unimpressive looking LASER module (this alone costs about $10,000).





The LASER itself is located across the back of the cabinet and the beam passes via a number of lenses and mirrors before it enters at the side of a moving lens assembly and another mirror and a 2.0" focal length final focus lens to the work being engraved/cut.

The LASER system is set up to do flat surfaces, so the glasses are done using an optional rotary adapter that turns the glass while the LASER lens assembly (the black thing with the 2.0 on it) moves back and forth.



The optics are also very sensitive to contamination, and unfortunately, while renovating the house, dust got into the lens assembly, and I neglected to check the optics firing it up to do a simple cardboard cutting exercise.

The final focus lens (the size of a penny) paid the ultimate price.





A $600 replacement lens later and it was up and running again.

[Sundae]

Mad skilz.
I prefer the unpainted Tardis TBH.
It looks like it's grown organically.

[elSicomoro]

Very good stuff...love the TARDIS!

[glatt]

Great thread!

I wonder what the state of the art will be in ten years? Will we all be able to buy one at Staples for $300?

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by glatt

Great thread!

I wonder what the state of the art will be in ten years? Will we all be able to buy one at Staples for $300?

Probably. I tend to be on the bleeding edge of technology and pay through the nose for the pleasure.

I bought my first printer in 1981 and it cost me $1300 back then. Admittedly, unlike the modern printers, when I finally put it into the trash 27 years later, it was still working perfectly and had never had a problem.

[glatt]

I also used to be on the cutting edge, but then after spending almost a grand for a SCSI flatbed scanner, I stepped back. Now I'm a good 4-5 years behind everyone else. It's cheaper, but less fun.

[JamesB]

A new piece of LASER hardware will be arriving in a few months ... I've ordered a high resolution 3D printer.

Most of the hobyist 3D printers use plastic extrusion (FDM) technology and work by running plastic filaments through a heated deposition nozzle. The one I've ordered is a stereolithography (SL) type that uses a scanning LASER beam to activate and cure acrylate photopolymer resin. While the materials are more expensive, the resolution it can achieve is far higher.

I've got a big learning curve ahead of me relearning 3D modelling (I haven't played with 3D since LightWave 4, over a decade ago), as well as learning the 3D printing process with out wasting too much of the ~$150 (don't know the exact cost yet) per litre resin.

[JBKlyde]

when I was in high school I studied electronics and I got some experience with fios but it was very minimum... but that some really cool stuff you got there....

[JamesB]

It is a really great (if a bit expensive) toy.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I've been following the lasers with much drooling.
Do you use an exhaust fan and duct to vent the fumes?

It seems the 3D printers are getting into so much patent warfare it may take awhile to sort out.

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I've been following the lasers with much drooling.
Do you use an exhaust fan and duct to vent the fumes?

The minimum requirement for my LASER is an extraction system capable of 250 cu ft/min @ 6 inches of vacuum. I have an extraction system that is based on a workshop dust extraction system and has a capacity of 650 cu ft/min.

There's a 4 inch duct from the LASER to the fan inlet. The outlet of my exhaust fan has a 5 inch connection, which I've adapted to connect to a 6 inch duct to the outside.

It seems the 3D printers are getting into so much patent warfare it may take awhile to sort out.

There's a lot of patent battles covering both the 3D printer operation and the objects being made. The 3D printer I have on order, may violate a patent regarding support structures, but that patent is due to expire in early 2014.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Ah, thanks. The way things are going, I wonder if any patent will ever expire. A least the ones owned by people with lawyers.

[DanaC]

Oh wow! How lovely!

The tardis is teh awsum! And like Sundae, I think I like it unpainted best.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Ah, thanks. The way things are going, I wonder if any patent will ever expire. A least the ones owned by people with lawyers.

This is getting worrisome.

Nice work James!

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Oh wow! How lovely!

The tardis is teh awsum! And like Sundae, I think I like it unpainted best.

Thanks.

The TARDIS project started out as an amusing project for myself.

From initial inspiration to the first really good model was exactly 2 weeks. I have a partially developed web page showing the development timeline, but many of the needed photographs have yet to be taken so there are lots of "images not found". The page is here, but it's a long way from being finished, and you've already seen most of the interesting photographs in this topic.

Then a business associate suggested that it may be saleable, and as she was soon to travel to the UK for licensing discussions with the BBC, she could hand carry a few to the meeting for their comments.

Just three weeks later, three versions (painted, unpainted, and a kit of parts) were hand carried to the UK to show to the BBC (and getting the paint correct in that time frame was just one of the many difficulties).

Unfortunately the meeting with the BBC resulted in challenges I didn't have the time to resolve. The BBC liked the models, but they wanted changes that were going to be difficult to implement, and they also thought it would be too expensive (at least using the one at a time LASER cut production method).

I know of a few very similar inferior designs that have since appeared and are being sold on the internet (there's no way they could have received licenses for them), so it's a bit disheartening.

I haven't given up, and I tinker with the design when I have time, but these days it's mostly just for my own satisfaction and to use them as a sample of what I can do with the machine.