G'Day Gang, I am considering buying a machine like the one below, but modifying it by getting longer rails to make it's engraving area a lot larger. What do you think? Is it a good idea? Kind Regards Dennis 500mw Desktop Laser Engraving Engraver Cutting Machine DIY Logo Carver Printer 6453563254801 | eBay
Hi Dennis and Welcome. I think you are only going to get what you pay for, Chinese Style. Whilst Lasers don't really make great demands as far as weight goes, size does. The gantry supports are only plastic, which may be okay for the original very small format, I don't think it will hold up in a larger format, due to flex in the X axis. Possibly if you use CBeam for the X axis you might be okay, however, that means you will need to make new brackets and plates. Likewise, it would be a fairly cheap way to find out if it is the sort of thing you could use. And so it goes on.
Not sure if it will be money well spent as I get the feeling you'll be a bit underwhelmed by it. You'll upgrade and upgrade and upgrade some more until all the original parts are in a box gathering dust. It really all comes down to why you want it. If it's just a toy to experiment with a few times before it heads for the junk closet, go for it. If however you're wanting proper output, invest a bit more and build a proper machine.
The Part Store is an online store. The store has machine bundles with or without motors, electronics, and other things. Click on "Part Store" in the top black menu bar, choose "Machine Bundles", and choose a machine bundle such as Workbee 1010. After you choose a machine bundle, you can choose motors, electronics, and other things. Once in a while the Part Store offers free shipping. If you're going to build a 3D printer or a laser engraver, you can choose a machine bundle that use belt drive. If you're going to build a CNC router or CNC mill, you MUST choose a machine that use screw drive.
