DIY CNC Machine Upgrade to Laser Cutting

As I promised in my previous article, I have made some improvements on my own DIY CNC machine.

To be honest I already have a home made laser engraver machine, but it has pretty limited working area (150 mm x 150 mm), and I wanted bigger one to spread the world to engrave larger products.

The challenge was that, I do not want to lose the CNC functionality of the machine, however would like to add laser feature.

• A 440 x 440 mm honeycomb board.
• 110 mm diameter flexible air tube
• A bathroom fan

(you can buy the fume extractor in set for example here.)

Let's see how this process unfolded.

First of all, thanks to the GRBL-based solution, it's very easy to switch from CNC mode to Laser mode with just a single parameter setting. This can be done by setting the value of parameter 32 from zero to one. As you can see in the first picture. From this point on, the control program will turn off the laser light while changing positions.

In this simple way I have kept the possibility to just switch back to Cnc mode and use the machine for engraving with bits.

With this, we're actually done with the software modification part, and we can move on to the hardware conversion. I removed the head unit from the previously used laser machine and attached it to the Z-axis console of the CNC machine with two screws. The head unit requires 12 volts DC voltage for operation and a PWM signal to control the switching of the laser diode. It receives the 12 volts from a DC power supply, and the PWM signal is provided by the Arduino pin 11.

The head unit operates with an air blow assistant for cleaner cutting. This tube was also attached to the frame of the CNC machine. Another condition for cleaner cutting is a honeycomb lattice underlay tray, which helps to remove the smoke formed underneath, thus aiding in achieving a cleaner cut.

I also made a smoke extraction device, as inhaling the formed smoke is not healthy. For this, a 110 mm diameter flexible air duct was installed, with a bathroom fan placed at one end and the other end leading out of the room.

For operating the laser cutting machine, I used the Lightburn software, which I used before, with which the modification of parameter 32 mentioned earlier can be easily done and then written back to the Arduino program memory.

And finally, here are the masterpieces created with the new, large surface (with a maximum capacity of approximately 700 mm x 700 mm, currently with a 400 x 400 object table):

If you liked it, please give it a like, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you for your attention.