This paper presents the development of a compact, desktop laser-cutting system capable of cutting materials such as wood, metal and plastic. A re-commissioned beheaded MakerBot^® Replicator 2X is turned into a 3-DOF laser cutter by way of integration with 800W (peak power) fiber laser. Special attention is paid to tear-down, modification and integration of the objective lens in place of the print head. Example cuts in wood and metal will be presented, as well as design of an exhaust system.

Date Published: 9 March 2015
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9356, High-Power Laser Materials Processing: Lasers, Beam Delivery, Diagnostics, and Applications IV, 93560N (9 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2080629

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9356:
High-Power Laser Materials Processing: Lasers, Beam Delivery, Diagnostics, and Applications IV
Friedhelm Dorsch, Editor(s)