I stared at this for a long time before I decided I do not

I stared at this for a long time before I decided I do not need another laser project. Pretty cheap pretty small.

https://www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-3d-printer-kits/pp_242557.html

Looks like they’re repurposing old DVD parts

The running joke is that someone found a warehouse of obsolete cd drives, and here we are.

Doesn’t a 500mw diode, supply, driver and controller cost more than $84?

Not if you cut 5 corners out of a possible 4.

I actually bought one of these before I bought my K40. Mine is a 500mw blue laser (445nm) and it looked like mine was actually repurposed FLOPPY drive mechanical parts along with an Arduino Nano. I think the laser itself is probably a from blu-ray writer. The engraving area is so small it can hold a business card, but probably not a playing card (e.g. 5 of clubs). EDIT: I’m probably wrong; it probably is from CD or DVD drives.

Aside: After I bought it I read up on the safety issues. Holy st! This little sucker can blind you in a few milliseconds (you might think you’re ok, but then 48 hours later you’d be permanently blind). Don’t fk around with lasers without proper eye protection!!

All that being said, I’ve been meaning to take it out of its box again and see if it will engrave on the tiny anodized aluminum dog tags I bought a while back.

@HalfNormal they are.

I got screwed by them when I bought my Eleks Maker A3 and I bought the higher priced version.

@SirGeekALot I had planned on putting on a cover and interlock. I wonder how many folks are blinded by these things…:frowning:

@donkjr I was so scared of it when I got it that I kept it in its box while using it and only viewed its progress with an old webcam!

Should have used a steel box :slight_smile:

Be careful dealing with GearBest, their warranty is worthless even for DOAs. I purchased a slightly more upscale engraver that arrived with a partially soldered microUSB connector, after considerable back and forth was offered a refund if I returned it. Shipping was more than I paid. No way to buy a replacement controller on my model. Best they would do was $20 store credit on a $100+ device. They said free shipping on returns, refused to honor it