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OpenBuilds ACRO Laser System

Discussion in 'Laser Cutters' started by Mark Carew, Sep 12, 2017.

  1. Ariel Yahni

    Ariel Yahni OpenBuilds Team
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    Are you referring to variable via a stepper motor? Because the Acro plates that carry the diaper can be manually adjusted for focus.

    If you are looking for a motorized solution, then depending on your Acro size a motorized bed can be an option.
     
  2. Rendermandan

    Rendermandan Well-Known
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    Yes and no. Variable due to material thickness. But it would be nice to adjust it for each pass depth.

    As for the plate adjustment, how easy is it to change? I don’t see any thumb screws or something like that in the design.
     
  3. WildBill

    WildBill Well-Known
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    I don't think the system is high enough to put an adjustable bed in. In fact I had to make longer leg's to be able to focus my laser after putting the small Z axis on. As a side note it works great now.

    You would need to build a platform to put the whole laser on, to hold it high enough above the bed to make it work.
     
  4. Ariel Yahni

    Ariel Yahni OpenBuilds Team
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    If that's the case the manual focus is out of the question.
    A mechanical bed or platform will be the best solution without increasing the weight of the gantry specially if you will be doing raster. If no raster then adding weight would be what I would do
     
  5. Rendermandan

    Rendermandan Well-Known
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    Yes, I do plan on doing raster images. It seeems it would be pretty easy to cnc some longer legs, or somehow build the lift into the legs so it moves the entire machine. Once I get back to work, I will try and model some ideas.
     
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  6. WildBill

    WildBill Well-Known
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    I took the existing leg design and extended them some and laser cut them.
    In the picture you can see the original leg next to the new longer one. I also
    made a small tray with corner holders which keep any wobble out of the legs.
    The little dowel on the rail is my focus gauge. I move the Z until it just fits between
    what is going to be etched and the bottom of the laser.

    The second picture shows a raster image of the target I use to calibrate my gray scale, it was a little hot at this point.


    IMG_0523-resizedS.jpg IMG_0526-resizedS.jpg
     
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  7. WildBill

    WildBill Well-Known
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    Since I am at it here is the SVG nd DXF files for my longer legs. They are 1 1/2" longer.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. RussB

    RussB New
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    What I have are 2 small "L" brackets at each corner. Then I place a shim the same thickness as the material that I am etching to raise the entire frame up the thickness of the material. I am thinking of making thumb wheel type os adjustments so that I can raise and lower the frame the required distances.This way I dont have to re-focus for different thickness material all the time. I figure I should be able to adjust for about 6" when I'm finished.
     
  9. WildBill

    WildBill Well-Known
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    The best way to describe it is a waste board with the L in the corner's so the laser frame won't move or twist. The 2020 frames are quite light and and there is not much surface area on the bottom of the legs so its real easy to knock and move it. This takes that risk away. I also etch alignment marks in the waste board to align things. There is no intent for it to change the height.


    IMG_0527-resizedS.jpg


    This is where all the height adjustment is done. With the Z axis all the way down it will focus on the surface of the waste board, and go up from there.

    IMG_0508-resizedM.jpg
     
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  10. Giarc

    Giarc OpenBuilds Team
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    Bill, great info. I have the same laser and just ordered a bunch of v-slot to build my own. I have plenty of wheels, spacers, and other things left over from my CNC build and planned to cut my own plates with that. Your plates will be a big help for me and I also plan to make my Z axis adjustable with a stepper. Are you still using T2 Laser? You mentioned it in the C-Beam 2XL build I believe. Originally, I planned to just add a laser mount to my CNC, but did not feel lead screws were optimal and also due to the weight of the gantry. Is this why you built a stand alone laser system?
     
  11. WildBill

    WildBill Well-Known
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    Yes - I am still using T2. Reasonable price and it does everything I ask of it, and new features are being added all the time. Also the support group is great and always has a lot of good answers for problems.

    I have been playing around with the diode laser for a few years and have built a few system and have found that while lead screws are great for a CNC Mill and have plenty of torque I have found that the laser head ends are light enough you don't really need much torque but you do want speed and like belts better. So for the diode laser's I still have one old one (24"x36") I have found that I really like the ACRO setup because its much smoother and quieter. What I hear when its running is the fan on the laser.

    The diode laser's are great for etching and cutting light wood. For heavy etching like clear glass and ceramic tiles, and cutting acrylic or thicker wood I use a K40. As soon as I get its new controller I will be using T2 on that as well.
     
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  12. Marc-Andre Leger

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    I loaned my 50x50 XCarve to my frienf François, who cut the alu parts for the Acro system and we assembled it today. Now just need to hookup the laser. see here Log In or Sign Up to View
     
  13. RussB

    RussB New
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    :( Says its not available .... will try again later.
     
  14. Able224

    Able224 New
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    That z-axis looks very promising! Where can I buy such a system? Thank you!
     
  15. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    modular parts bolted together from openbuildspartstore.com (;

    (Read above, his Z axis was removed from a complete machine, so probably not available for purchase as-is. Therefore, i'm sliding in a little cheeky marketing. It is a fact though, little piece of v-slot, mini-v carriage, nema17 plate, should be easy to rig up your own...
     
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  16. runninfarmer

    runninfarmer Well-Known
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    Can the ACRO system be used as a plasma cutter as opposed to laser cutter? I'm not sure how heavy the plasma cutter head vs a laser diode is but I wouldn't think it'd be too heavy for this rig. Has anyone built one on this platform? Thanks for any info, thinking about dabbling in plasma cutting.
     
  17. WildBill

    WildBill Well-Known
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  18. Marc-Andre Leger

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  19. RussB

    RussB New
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  20. Rick 2.0

    Rick 2.0 OpenBuilds Team
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    I get a facebook login page. Not much value to those of us who don't have a facebook account.
     
  21. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
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    Instead of sharing a link, just upload it here in your reply. We have image hosting built it.
     
  22. Able224

    Able224 New
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  23. Sam Price

    Sam Price New
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    Struggling so hard with sketchup, does anyone have a svg, or 2d dxf, or fusion 360 drawing of the adapter plate with the 3 long slots on the x axis? I wanted to model a pen holder plate and 3d print it. and im way more proficient in fusion 360.
     
  24. Kyo

    Kyo Veteran
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    Here is a flat 2d dxf file for the x-axis front plate on the Acro Laser platform. I have also included the Fusion 360 file. You can find both just below attached directly to this post. Hope this helps. :thumbsup:

    X_Axis_Front_Plate.png
     

    Attached Files:

    #144 Kyo, Dec 5, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2017
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  25. dragonfire81m

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    there is also a full set of plates on thingverse in both .stl and .dxf
     
  26. AlexBeattie

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    Has anyone tried running this system as pictured below. In my application there would be a small camera in place of the laser. My concern is that when power is removed from the machine the vertical axis gantry cart (camera) will fall to the bottom due to gravity.
    [​IMG]
     
  27. Jonathon Duerig

    Jonathon Duerig Journeyman
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    That is exactly what will happen. It will also feed power back through your power controller because the motor will become a generator. This can cause fried power supplies depending on the configuration (it has happened to me). You could (a) replace the vertical drive with a lead screw, (b) counterweight the vertical gantry assembly with a weight and pulley, (c) always park the vertical gantry at the bottom and use homing switches, or (d) mount the whole thing at an angle so the vertical gantry comes down at a slope instead of straight down and thus has less force.
     
  28. AlexBeattie

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    Thanks. I think I'll go with the lead screw configuration.
     
  29. dragonfire81m

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    could u not make that a home position for it to return to after running that way there is no problem of falling when the controller kills power to the steppers
     
  30. AlexBeattie

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    I could do that but the cameras we are using are very expensive research cameras and I do not want to damage them if power is removed or lost during a cycle.
     

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