ROBOTS EVERYWHERE
This article will guide you through a simple yet effective way to modify a laser GRBL board to drive a spindle motor. By utilizing an IRLZ44 MOSFET and an NTE598 diode, you can control a spindle up to approximately 36 volts and 12 amps. This is an easy project to enhance your CNC.
We love posting cool L-Cheapo projects sent to us by our customers, and this one comes from Duarte Silva of Portugal. He's done a few engravings like this on his new L-Cheapo Mk7, and I do say they've turned out very well. Check out the video, too!
One of the things we decided we wanted to do before the launch of Antbot 2.0 is replace the store. The old web store was built on a dated engine that lacked a lot of convenience features for users, and was specialized for the use case of one user purchasing one product. This worked well for the early days of L-Cheapo, with no options, giving users a 'push button, receive laser' experience. As our range of products evolves, so too must our store.
While we continue to move forward on Antbot Mk2 development, we have another customer submission for everyone. This time by Keith Wagar, from Facebook (no references provided), he has sent us some nice photos of a wood burning project he has been doing using the L-Cheapo mk7 laser.
As we said in our previous post, we've got more information on saltwater etching from Bruce Bradley, who's put together a nice instructional video, which we've uploaded to our Youtube channel. Bruce has been using automotive primer as a masking paint for his etching; over here in our lab, we've been using Duplicolor as our go-to brand, but most others designed for sandability and weather resistance are fine. Enjoy the video, and let us know if you have done anything cool with our products yourself!
The L-Cheapo Mk7 is back in stock! We've also made some small changes to the way we build the L-Cheapo Mk7, and would like to share them with you. It's still the same laser; but the next run should get a wee bit better.
We have for you today another submission from Bruce Bradley, the gentleman responsible for the six-year L-Cheapo, demonstrating saltwater etching with his laser. Saltwater etching of conductive metals is a relatively simple electrochemical process. A good Instructable explains the details of the process. The purpose of the laser in etching is to cut the mask material or paint, instead of using a scalpel as in the above demonstration. This allows for complex shapes to be very precisely cut, and with the right mask material, a clean edge mated to the metal.
We had an interesting support ticket come in recently; an original L-Cheapo Mk1 needed a PWM adapter to be moved to a new machine. After running for six years, we thought this venerable laser deserved a salute. We don't play around when we guarantee our product for life. (We sent out a custom-designed PWM adapter, of course).
The L-Cheapo Laser Cutter Module has a new iteration! The Mark 7 is the newest iteration of the L-Cheapo laser cutter, with an even greater peak output than the 10W Mk6.
The L-Cheapo laser cutter is a great tool for artistic projects. Davide Antonello, a graphic designer and artist from Italy, sent us these photos of a monitor he rebuilt using laser cut plywood.
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