And the price keeps falling!

And the price keeps falling!

Not sure if it is a price wars or not but ebay has the basic unit for $318 USD delivered!

Food for Thought

Food for Thought

We are told to use the least amount of milli-amperage as possible to do our work to save the tube. I was just doing some cutting experiments on 3mm birch ply. I cut a 1 inch/24.4 mm circle at different speeds and current settings. So the results are minimum setting on my setup is 4ma @ 3mm/sec = 8.1 seconds of cutting time
9ma @ 12mm/sec = 2.2 seconds of cutting time
So twice the amps at a 1/4 of the time. I wonder which one will lower the life of the tube more and quicker?

New Laser Wiki

New Laser Wiki

I have set up a laser Wiki to help the new and experienced users find information quickly. This is a neutral gathering spot to help find information that is being posted here and other places. It is not linked to one site nor does it encourage you not to continue to support this wonderful gathering of individuals. Being a Wiki, it is only as good as the users input. We can link back to all the conversations that answer newbies questions and then entertain them here. If you are not comfortable editing a Wiki, ask here to have your information added. I hope this encourages a lot more discussions on specific ideas and issues in the future. Thanks!
http://everythinglasers.com/laserwiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

A cool quick project idea.

A cool quick project idea.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Popsicle-Stick-Playing-Cards/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Popsicle-Stick-Playing-Cards/

Panel and Pot upgrade

Panel and Pot upgrade

Installed a 10 turn 1k ohm Bourns pot I had laying around. It has a nice digital readout. I did test at each 50 mark setting after 100 and posted it under the acrylic. Not sure if I will do anything else due to possibly updating the Nano board. Might add an illuminated switch for the laser on/off button. Was thinking of using a LED but the power logic is reversed and would have to build a circuit just to light it.

Metal Marking

Metal Marking

My name on my Leatherman Raptor Scissors using CRC molybdenum dry spray. 12 ma @ 3 mm/sec. I am finding that uniformity of the spray affects the quality of the etch. It looks better in person than the pic.

Original software downloads

Original software downloads

Here is the link to download laserDRW and WinsealXP from the board vendor; http://www.3wcad.com/download.asp. As other have pointed out when trying to access the website, your browser will tell you it is not safe. I have browsed their site many times and have not gotten any cooties so far. There is a manual on how to use the software but it is in Chinese. As far as I can tell, it is the same software on the CDs and is not an update.

Scrap leather to play with thanks to Yuusuf Sallahuddin!

Scrap leather to play with thanks to Yuusuf Sallahuddin!

To all the USA yanks here, I purchased a 5 lb box of leather scraps from http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/scrap/scraps.htm for $35.00 delivered.
They sent a great variety of pieces in various colors and weight. Will be able to make a few bracelets and key fobs. Here is a pic of what I received.