tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post8186256667479626311..comments2024-03-22T06:22:18.127+01:00Comments on Willy Tarreau's stuff: Improving the Eleksmaker A3 Pro Laser EngraverWilly Tarreauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10872713941638092663noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post-50859174710889739322021-09-17T16:04:44.284+02:002021-09-17T16:04:44.284+02:00I don't know what constraints polymers can hav...I don't know what constraints polymers can have. One thing about the laser modules above is that the "dot" was mostly a rectangle and that the cut is less precise in one direction than in the other one. I recently upgraded to the very latest NEJE "40W" module which now includes a Fast Axis Correction lens ("FAC"). It changes everything, the dot is square and roughly 80x80 microns. They have a less expensive "30W" module (the one starting with letter "A", not the "N") which also provides the FAC and will have similar characteristics. If you want to do clean work, please do not waste your money buying other cheaper modules like I did, really. This one is so precise that I never adjusted the lens, it's well focused for engraving and for cutting even thick wood.<br /><br />If your polymers are relatively dark, you can try to cut in one slow pass or several multiple fast passes. One slow pass tends to melt more. Fast passes tend to help evaporate material and avoid fusing. Some plastics like ABS tend to fuse and remelt at the same place. Polymers by definition should not but they could change phase at the point of cutting. There's no other way than experimenting, anyway. One thing though, if your polymers are almost transparent, you won't be able to do anything due to the color and you'll need to turn to CO2.Willy Tarreauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10872713941638092663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post-84792013535149507962021-09-17T15:39:22.861+02:002021-09-17T15:39:22.861+02:00Hello. I have seen your work and its absolutely am...Hello. I have seen your work and its absolutely amazing. I am actually a student and I was given this setup to work on and if i can improve this to cut polymer waveguides. I would like to request you if you have any idea as to how to improve this to cut polymers. ThanksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04003021591006593829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post-37599133535653400292021-01-13T00:19:58.961+01:002021-01-13T00:19:58.961+01:00I have no idea what their software does since I ca...I have no idea what their software does since I cannot use it. I've described in the first article what I've used (basically inkscape for vector drawing, jtech's plugin to turn it to GCODE and sourcerabbit to send it to GRBL). Please have a look at the top of the page here for the link to the article.Willy Tarreauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10872713941638092663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post-227356340302830332021-01-12T23:57:59.701+01:002021-01-12T23:57:59.701+01:00Which program do you use for cutting? Cos the elek...Which program do you use for cutting? Cos the eleksmark software can't cut.<br />Do I have to change the Chip set??kitrinos leontashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15613607484071541954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post-33128074423657493142021-01-02T19:59:17.704+01:002021-01-02T19:59:17.704+01:00Great! You'll be alternatively enjoyed and dis...Great! You'll be alternatively enjoyed and disappointed depending on your tests, but don't give up! I strongly recommend that you invest time trying to find a perfect focus based on a wedge that you place below it, and once optimal, you don't touch the focus anymore and always use this setting. This is what I'm doing with the 2.5W module and a 4cm thick reference plastic block.<br /><br />The provided 2.5W laser module is really good. It's not as powerful as the 3.5-5.5W ones you can find on the net, but it can be focused to a tiny dot at a reasonable distance, allowing to cut a wide variety of materials. After my NEJE "20W" completely died, I repaired it with a NUBM08 diode (4.7W) and adjusted the resistors to lower the power to about 4.7W (initially I tried 4.2 and it went well but I preferred to run at the nominal power). But after some time running at this power level it finally died, so I'll try with another diode again and will keep 10% of margin.<br /><br />Focus adjustment is by far the most difficult task and you'll ruin some material (wood, acrylic) trying to cut them but only burning them if the focus is not perfect. Ideally for cutting the focus must be around half the thickness of the material to cut (between 1/3 and 2/3 in fact). This is where having various junk materials of various thickness helps adjusting the focus (e.g. to cut 3mm acrylic, adjust at 4cm on top of a 1.5mm plate). It's very important to make sure the bench is perfectly parallel to the laser's motion. Spend some time cutting cardboard at fast speed to see in which corners it cuts faster or slower, this will give you indications about incorrect adjustments that will ruin your work. Also sometimes cutting thick paper or cardboard doesn't work well in the middle because it cannot stay in place very flat. I thought about using a grid and some air succion underneath to help but that's complex to make. Duct taping the piece all around already provides acceptable results.<br /><br />If you're interested, I wrote a PNG to GCODE translater which supports various adjustments to compensate for wood burning and allow to engrave with some levels of gray. It can also automatically center and resize to the piece size. It's available here: https://github.com/wtarreau/png2gcode/Willy Tarreauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10872713941638092663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391199926955637123.post-36788322647888236512021-01-02T19:36:44.807+01:002021-01-02T19:36:44.807+01:00Thank you for sharing your journey. I am assemblin...Thank you for sharing your journey. I am assembling my Eleksmaker today and you have helped immensely in my understanding of its capabilities and potential.JustChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03293353353832197403noreply@blogger.com