DIY 3D Printer Laser Engraver

Stephen Brockett, a New Zealand based engineer developed a micro laser 3D engraver as part of his weekend project which was later on found to be much more functional than expected. He started it for widening his knowledge about design experience and also succeeded to send it as an entry in the Light it Up Contest. A unique thing about this laser engraver is that it is made of recycled DVD drives and costs just $20.

In this DIY engraver, minimal materials have been used instead of big machining tools and hence it’s quite easy to build. Primarily the setup includes 2 DVD drives that are capable to write DVDs and 3Dprinting files to print the casing. Due to the large flat surface of the components, the printing is more hassle-free. Moreover, the drives are highly customizable because of the fact that it allowed him to fit customized mounts to the internals of the drive.

Unlike other micro laser engravers with rough edges, Brockett has made sure that this one gets coarse and fine laser adjust. At the same time, the safety aspect has also been taken care of with the use of some elements like an enclosure to block reflected laser light, roller door access, angled ventilation to avoid light leakage and a safety cut off switch on the door.

In order to prepare the 3D printer laser engraver, the following list of components is required:

• Safety glasses

• DVD drives

• 2 linear axes (with everything stripped off the sled)

• laser diode from the sled

• 4 magnets from lens assembly

• 2 springs

• 1 metal rectangle cut from drive case (100 X 80 mm)

• Prototype board (120 X 80 mm)

• Arduino Nano

• 2 easydrivers

• 1 laser housing for 5.6mm TO18 Diode

• 2 fans (410mm)

• Transistor

• Resistors

• DC jack

• Micro switch

• Power switch

• Female headers

• Male headers

• wires

It’s a plug and play task whereby the Arduino and stepper drivers are prepared separately and then the laser driver is built with the help of 3 resistors and a diode. For assembly, the 3D files are printed followed by the Software and Gcode generation. If you wish to make your own photon 3D Printed Micro Laser Engraver, you can access here the detailed instructions and files required in the project.

The end result gives you a photon printer flaunting a streamlined design with minimal parts carrying a fine laser adjust for focus, spring tension that eliminates vibration along with an optional mount devoid of adjustment. There is also a video posted by Brockett whereby you can watch the laser engraver in action.