On Jun 20, 2012, at 1:01 AM, Viesturs Lācis wrote: > 2012/6/20 Jeshua Lacock <jes...@3dtopo.com>: >> >> It states that those power supplies can be controlled from a TTL PWM, so I >> assume that it will be easy to control from a standard parallel port with >> HAL and LinuxCNC. Is that correct? > > It _should_ be, based on the amount of information provided.
Hi Viesturs, Excellent, thank you. >> Has anyone set up a servo or stepper drive to adjust the laser's focal >> point? Seems easy enough, guess I am just wondering how to tie it into >> g-code. > > IMHO You do not necessarily need it to be controlled from g-code - > manual (probably through vcp) adjustment would work as well or do You > expect the thickness and type of material to vary during single run of > g-code file? My thought was to change the focal point as material is cut. I understand that these lasers have a very narrow depth of field when focused sharp enough to cut metal (or even wood). So, lets say my focal length is 0.05 inch, each pass I could move the focal length 0.05 down. Seems like it would allow me to cut essentially as thick material as practically needed, provided I did enough passes. > I think that hardware design is the hardest part - those lenses will > not like dust on them, so You would like to enclose them. And then > also get them moving by a motor... I guess You will need someone more > knowledgeable about lasers to share their experience, how exactly to > set this up. I think that stepper motor would do, the problem might be > "homing" the whole lense adjustment thing, but it really much depends > on actual design, how You integrate lenses in the overall > construction. True. Seems like Smoldering Dog (sorry I don't see any other name posted) is having some good success (website is linked from the wiki): http://nilno.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi But because his focal point is fixed, he cannot cut material any thicker than his lasers depth of field. Cheers, Jeshua Lacock Founder/Engineer 3DTOPO Incorporated <http://3DTOPO.com> Phone: 208.462.4171 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
