Free 186 More Best Homemade Tools eBook:  
Get tool plans

User Tag List

Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform (Spring Loaded)

  1. #1
    Supporting Member scorch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Oakdale, MN
    Posts
    61
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked 135 Times in 30 Posts

    scorch's Tools

    Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform (Spring Loaded)

    I built a spring loaded platform for my K40 laser.

    First a little background. K40 lasers are cheap CO2 laser cutter/engravers that are available on e-bay, amazon and a few other sources for around $500. They are functional but lack many features. Below is a picture of my K40 to give a point of reference as to what this platform is installed inside of.

    Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform (Spring Loaded)-p2260008-small-.jpg

    The purpose of the platform is to allow for the use of different thicknesses of material while maintaining the correct distance to the surface of the material so the laser is always focused at the material surface. I achieve this by having springs push the platform up to a hard stop formed by a piece of angle aluminum. When an item is placed on the platform a small portion of the material is pushed under the hard stop surface. Then the springs push the material up until the top surface of the material is positioned at the laser focus height by the hard stop.

    Here is a picture of the adjustable bed used with expanded metal mesh
    Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform (Spring Loaded)-snapshot-35-.jpg

    Here is a picture of the adjustable bed used with two rods to minimize the support area.
    Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform (Spring Loaded)-snapshot-36-.jpg

    This is a picture of the parts from one side of the bed support.
    Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform (Spring Loaded)-snapshot-34-.jpg

    Below is a video showing how it works and all of the parts. A few more details are posted in a blog post here: Spring Loaded K40 Laser Platform


    186 More Best Homemade Tools eBook
    Last edited by scorch; Feb 26, 2017 at 11:28 AM. Reason: Updated with additional info about the laser cutter

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to scorch For This Useful Post:

    Paul Jones (Feb 26, 2017)

  3. #2
    Content Editor
    Supporting Member
    DIYer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    3,055
    Thanks
    791
    Thanked 1,880 Times in 1,677 Posts


    Thanks scorch! We've added your Adjustable Laser Cutter Platform to our Workholding category,
    as well as to your builder page: scorch's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:




    2,000+ Tool Plans

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •