Hey gang - had a question on my mind this weekend. Got a CNC router, and I’m exploring how to do 3D contours (topographical maps, animals, etc). Then I was thinking how great its to combine maker-space tools (like CO2 laser’ing wood etched by a CNC router), and had some follow-up questions
Given a contoured piece of wood (let’s say a mountain, and I wanted to laser etch lines for roads, or text labels for peaks) - how would the laser be able to use the Z height to follow the contour and ensure the laser remains properly focused as it transverses the different altitudes? Anyone have examples/videos of this? Or how this works on the software side?
Thanks!
Related question: I would like to etch/mark metal - would it make sense to look for a fiber laser attachment to mount on my CNC router (swapping out the spindle motor)? Does that exist? Dumb/impractical idea? Better to just get a stand-alone fiber laser? Galvo-style fiber laser vs CNC-moved laser…? Thanks for ideas/experiences/suggestions shared.
I believe I have an idea of what you want to do, but I know of nothing that can do this… The initial issue is most software that follows a contour like this doesn’t support a laser system.
One of the big issues is how are you going to lase roads and such in and follow the contour…
Just following a contour isn’t very easy as you can’t really measure where the laser is in the Z direction because any distance measuring gets in the way of the laser beam. You are going to be off a bit in some direction.
In the end you have two hurdles, maintaining registration and following the curvature. Some of xTool equipment will follow a curve, claiming lidar, but it only works with their software.
I don’t know if this is what you had in mind, this is actually a galvo on an gantry machine.
I’ve not done this but I would approach this as a 3D model problem. Just as you generate tool paths from a 3D model of a mountain, to get a toolpath of a road on the mountain you would need to generate a line on the 3D model which can be isolated and a toolpath generated. Then you offset the tool, turn on the laser and burn the road. Not as easy but once you get your tool to follow the road toolpath you now can figure out how to offset your laser to the correct focus length and turn on the “spindle” which should turn on your laser if the hardware is setup.
