Home - myk3y/PlusLaser GitHub Wiki

Welcome to the PlusLaser wiki!

This should suffice to cover all aspects of the build, including design modifications, mechanical, electronic, software and toolchain, including laser assembly and construction for those wishing to brave the world of build-it-from scratch.

The design ethic behind the PlusLaser was to design a minimalist laser for general engraving or light cutting, which you could build with basic hand tools, with few components.

I could have used any number of transport systems in the mechanical design but decided on OpenBuilds v-slot, as it is cheap, readily available and if you live somewhere without access to engineering resources (as I do - not much available on Borneo, despite it being smack-bang in the middle of SE Asia), you can fashion a simple cantilevered motion system out of things like drawer slides, roller-door fittings, basic aluminium extrusion and skate bearings.

In a similar vein, I have used Gates GT3-2.5 toothed belt, but you can use threaded rod, fishing line and capstan, anything that you can move a light gantry along a bearing surface. Small, light toothed belt is increasingly available by mail-order for only a few dollars a metre, but if even that it out of your reach, use dyneema fishing line - it has a remarkable coefficient of friction and will, with only a small amount of pressure from a tension system, not slip - they've been using it for decades on printers and scanners. Which are great sources of parts! A decent inkjet should provide all the motive parts you need.

1. Mechanical
2. Electronic
3. Software and
4. Toolchain
5. Laser
6. Assembly and construction