The goal of this project was to design a laser engraver that utilized the CoreXY kinematic system. I received a grant of $300 dollars from my school, so that was the budget for this project.
This is a render of the first design of the laser engraver. The design uses 2020 aluminum extrusions and V-wheels for affordability and easy assembly.
This is the first design after it had been mostly assembled. I quickly realized that the frame would not be rigid enough with only plastic brackets and decided a redesign was necessary.
This is a render of the second iteration of the laser engraver. The design has multiple small improvements, but the biggest change is the addition of tapped holes on the end of the aluminum extrusions to allow for stronger connections.
This is a video of the machine slowly cutting a piece of cardboard. The maximum speed of the machine was pretty quick (350mm/s), but the laser is not powerful enough to cut that quickly. As a side note, I do wear adequate laser protection for my eyes when using this machine.
This is the fully assembled laser engraver. The design revisions worked out well, although there are a few things I would change. I had trouble adjusting the V-wheels to minimize backlash, which makes me think should have used some other linear motion system. I also treated the mounting system for the laser as a bit of an afterthought. It works, but it is not as easy to adjust as I would like.
