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DavidR8's shop shenanigans

TorontoBuilder said:
The models are all 1:8 scale, which makes the trailer just 12" long, so flattened the longest part is just over 12" and only 3 inches wide at most I think
Click to expand...
Can you send me a file of the largest piece so I can see if it will fit on my honeycomb bed?
 
My K40 CO2 laser showed up this week.
Today the control board arrived and I ordered all the parts to expand the cutting area from 8" x12" to 12" x 24" (or thereabouts)
If anyone is looking for good prices on 2020 and 2040 extrusion check out Spool3D in Calgary. Good prices and astounding service.
Placed my order at 1 pm and Canada Post picked them up at 4 pm!
Time to fire up the 3D printer!
 
For those of you following along at home, this is the approach I'm taking with the K40 conversion:

K40 Laser Cutter Rebuild (12x24in) – Arroway Ltd.

Intro If you are reading this post, you most likely already know about the cheap 40 Watt CO2 Lasers available from China which are commonly referred to as K40s. There are several sub variants of the K40 but generally they are in a white and blue or red steel case and have a cutting area…
replicantfx.com replicantfx.com

Hardware needs are 2020 and 2040 extrusion, v-wheels, eccentric adjusters, pulleys, belts, a pair of NEMA 17 motors, 5mm cap screws and a whack of 3D printed parts.

My rationale for this conversion is that I can get a 12"x24" cutting area at a fraction of the cost of a built unit with the same cutting area.
A generic import 50W laser is $1600 CDN and they don't have controllers compatible with Lightburn which is the bee's knees for laser cutting and engraving. Add a compatible controller and it's now a $2000 CDN machine.

OMTech makes a well regarded 50W but it's $2600 CDN and has a 12"x20" cutting area.
www.ebay.ca

OMTech MF-1220-50 - 50W CO2 LASER ENGRAVER CUTTER WITH 12” x 20” WORKING AREA | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for OMTech MF-1220-50 - 50W CO2 LASER ENGRAVER CUTTER WITH 12” x 20” WORKING AREA at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.ca
 
First printed piece for the laser rebuild.
D1885474-4F4E-486A-B612-626361A44502.jpeg
 
I have almost all the parts now to begin the 12x24 conversion. Slowly getting the last few pieces printed.
Along the way I decided to add auto bed levelling to my Ender 3v2. That should be here today.

This is the full list of printed parts.
Screenshot_20230211_094239.png
 
Looking forward to seeing this too. I didn't know you could expand the cutting area of a k40. I almost bought one a few years ago but was turned off by the small cutting area, as it was just too small for some things I wanted to do with it, and the next size up was priced exponentially higher.

I really want to pickup a laser shortly, and might look at the k40 offerings again. I should be getting enough back from my interest free loan to the govt last year to cover one. The newer higher power diode ones are pretty appealing too. Choices....
 
Installing the CR Touch auto bed levelling takes a bit of fussing but it seems to work.
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Looking forward to seeing this too. I didn't know you could expand the cutting area of a k40. I almost bought one a few years ago but was turned off by the small cutting area, as it was just too small for some things I wanted to do with it, and the next size up was priced exponentially higher.

I really want to pickup a laser shortly, and might look at the k40 offerings again. I should be getting enough back from my interest free loan to the govt last year to cover one. The newer higher power diode ones are pretty appealing too. Choices....
Click to expand...
I thought about putting one of the new high power diodes on my Ortur but my concern is that a) that can't cut acrylic and b) they are mega expensive and if it craps out then it’s done. A new 40w CO2 tube is comparatively inexpensive. I may install a 50w because, more power!
I think all in I'll be in for around $725 when I'm done.
 
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@Dan Dubeau the cheapest 50w CO2 laser I found was around $1600 CDN. And it had a bed area of 12”x20”. I don’t think the control board was Lighburn compatible.
So an upgraded K40 seems to make a good deal of sense to me.
 
David_R8 said:
@Dan Dubeau the cheapest 50w CO2 laser I found was around $1600 CDN. And it had a bed area of 12”x20”. I don’t think the control board was Lighburn compatible.
So an upgraded K40 seems to make a good deal of sense to me.
Click to expand...
Thanks, yeah it does seem to make a lot of $ense. My only frame of reference is from about 4-5 years ago, when I was looking into getting one. Back then there seemed to be a lot of workarounds, and junk suppliers of duds, and I just didn't want to gamble with it. The diode lasers of recent supply have started popping up in a few videos too and got me thinking about a laser again. I mainly want something to be able to cut birch ply up to 1/2 (multiple passes is ok), acrylic, and who knows what else I'd find a use for once here. I just don't want to buy something, then immediately have to 2-3x the purchase price to get it to do what I want.

I'll wait and see what my tax refund will be this year, but it's earmarked for a shop tool, and a laser is top of the list again.
 
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