Fun with LASERs

[JamesB]

I have a small level of artistic talent, but I'm never happy with what I produce.

I gave up using traditional media and materials for art about two decades ago when I discovered the undo button in computer graphics programs. Since then it's been a progression of programs from MS Paint > PhotoStyler 1.0 > PhotoShop 3.0 > PhotoShop ver "whatever" for bit mapped art, and DrawPerfect 1.0 > Corel Draw 3, 5, 9, X4, and now X5 for vector graphics stuff.

The big problem is that computers really didn't give me that thrill of creating a physical object. Sure I could do a printout of a digital image or an onscreen animation, but to be honest, it just wasn't the same.

As for creating physical objects, my hand skills suck. I know what I need to do and how to do it, it's just that I don't have fine enough motor skills to do precise and repeatable work.

Then along comes CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) and LASERs. Computers I can interact with just fine, and they'll take over the precision work needed to produce an object.

In my case it was a Universal Laser Systems VLS 4.60 that let me produce interesting physical objects.

Much of what I've been doing is small run commissions ... usually engraved glasses ... and not really anything all that creative.

Glasses for a friend's wedding reception in England.



Prototype designs for merchandise for the local major league ice hockey team (never even heard back from them).



... but sometimes I let my creativity run loose and do something for myself.

Here's an early prototype of a SteamPunk Decora pattern light switch/outlet cover. This prototype is made out of painted 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite), but if I make production models, they'll be in a plastic material.





The first design proved to be a bit fragile, and too hard to adapt to multi-gang fittings, and the older style toggle switch and outlet patterns, so since then, I've been making changes. Here's the latest design (as of yet, I haven't cut a plate using these designs).





Another project I've been playing with is a 6 inch high TARDIS model. Here's an early design. Each model is cut from a single 12" x 24" piece of 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite) and takes about 30 minutes to cut. The whole unit is so precisely cut that it assembles without any glue or fasteners.





Every now and then, I come back to the CorelDRAW source file and tweak it a bit more and make a new version to test the improved design.

This is 3 design generations later and shows a painted TARDIS (and it's the correct BBC approved colour) with home made self adhesive decals, next to an unpainted model, both sitting on a freshly cut set of parts ready to be removed from the LASER.



The painted TARDIS is a bit rough as the assembly is so tight that the latex paint caused sufficient swelling of the parts to make assembly a problem, and a bit of brute force was needed to get it together. As a colour test model, it's fine.

I'm currently working on the roof line to change it from a flat roof to a more correct sloping roof. Here's an example of a test version to see if I could produce non-vertical cuts on the LASER so the roof line pieces could be assembled with an absolutely perfect join.



Although making these pieces on a system designed to cut perfectly vertically, necessitated creating jigs to hold the Masonite at the right angle while the LASER made the cut.



And then another jig was created to hold the parts together for the assembly of the 4 triangular shaped roof pieces. Unfortunately, the 4 roof parts have had to be glued together, so my dream of a non-fastener/non-glue assembly process has had to be abandoned.



Even these little "throw away" assembly jigs show the level of precision that can be achieved with a LASER cutter.





There have been quite a few design changes since the above models were photographed, but the design is still a fair way away from being completed.

For the technically minded, the ULS VLS 4.60 is a 2½D CAD/CAM system and mine is fitted with a 50 Watt CO2 LASER assembly that can engrave or cut materials that either burn or melt and will fit onto its 24" x 18" work space.

It connects to a PC via USB, and the computer treats it like a big printer/plotter. They even physically look like a big printer/plotter.



The downside is that they aren't cheap (the price of a new car), and the LASER module needs factory reconditioning every 4-7 years.

Here's the very unimpressive looking LASER module (this alone costs about $10,000).





The LASER itself is located across the back of the cabinet and the beam passes via a number of lenses and mirrors before it enters at the side of a moving lens assembly and another mirror and a 2.0" focal length final focus lens to the work being engraved/cut.

The LASER system is set up to do flat surfaces, so the glasses are done using an optional rotary adapter that turns the glass while the LASER lens assembly (the black thing with the 2.0 on it) moves back and forth.



The optics are also very sensitive to contamination, and unfortunately, while renovating the house, dust got into the lens assembly, and I neglected to check the optics firing it up to do a simple cardboard cutting exercise.

The final focus lens (the size of a penny) paid the ultimate price.





A $600 replacement lens later and it was up and running again.