Is It a Turning Tool??

Pete Simmons

Member
Messages
546
Location
Melbourne, FL
My new very slow speed lathe with a no touch cutter.


OK - it is a homemade Rotary Tool for my laser.

The wood is really on a Pen Mandrel.

The way it works - The laser is aligned on center Y axis. The laser (chisel ) moves as required on the X axis as the work turns.

This is how I can make things like the Puzzle Pen shown here a little while ago.

Lotza fun building this. Lotza ideas on how to use it spinning in my mind.

I do have a wedding this spring so I will be using it to engrave wine bottles and glasses also. The wine bottle rests on the 2 rubber wheels with the pen mandrel part removed and a free wheeling support holds the other end of the bottle.
 

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That's slicker than iced butter, Pete. :thumb: Did you use some type of stepper motor? How does it talk to the engraver and your computer?
 
Shown with work in place

Here are some views with the work piece in place.

The device on the right is a sissors jack that height adjusts the free rolling wheels to hold up the right end of the work piece.

The laser moves left to right centered over the work as the work item rotates under the laser to --

As in the small wine glass candle, engrave a image onto the glass


or as in the wood test pen size piece the laser again moves left to right over the work piece and can engrave of cut very accurately.
 

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Vendor

My laser vendor makes a tool like this but without the pen mandrel. They use just the friction wheels which seem to work fine but then again the diameters of the items I will be doing I think are smaller than the wine bottles and wine glasses the pro model is aimed at. Do not read this wrong I know the pro model has done many many pens very well but I wanted "Direct Drive".


Yes it is a stepper motor and yes I got the same one the vendor uses. The laser is all set up with drivers and software for this motor plus I am not in the mood to experiment with other motors and wiring connecting to my $12,000 laser.

Many compromises were made building this. Most revolve around parts availability and space availability. Everything must fit in a very small space and keep a low profile such as it does not get hit when the laser head flys by.

I am limited in length available to use in the laser but does anybody know how to spell "Pool Ques"??? I think I have some more ideas already.
 
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