DIY CNC Laser Cutter - It's Done!

We did it man! Let me know if you guys want a material list for the full build!
Swolebro linuxcnc guides:
/ swolebro
• LinuxCNC Guides
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Further Fabrications video on mirror alignment:
• Ep6: Laser Beam Mirror...
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music by a friend of mine, check him out!
/ badamericansofficial

[@blah4264]

Epic mate. NO apologies. Apologies are for chumps without home made lasers. Most underrated maker channel on KZbin.

[@cranktowncity]

hahaha thanks man!

[@Tetrafluoroethane]

Seriously. This is epic shit. It is rare to find anyone building shit like this, let alone trying for the tube. Cop out my hole. Keep that shit up.

[@Vikingwerk]

Man, you know this machine inside and out. Most people would get a commercial made one and call tech support for every little error. You gained the knowledge to be your own tech support. You understand how the tube works, even if it is a bought tube.

[@Самоделионполезион]

Теперь никто не скажет что нельзя изготовить самостоятельно, в домашней мастерской, в гараже мощный рабочий лазер, который не игрушка, не просто макет, а лазер работающий в составе лазерного станка! Теперь кто напишет или скажет что нельзя сделать, невозможно я отправлю ему ссылку на это видео. Думаю сказать больше ему будет нечего . Восхищён работами проделанными автором канала!

[@makebreakrepeat]

The real treasure was the tubes we made along the way.

[@craterinahole]

Bro, I think we all knew you were going to end up with a sealed tube. I'm just thrilled you built a tube in the first place and shared it with us, I haven't seen that done before and it was freaking awesome. As for a "better" software than Lightburn... I dunno, you probably need a better controller because Lightburn is amazing. A Ruida is like $300 but totally worth it.

[@cranktowncity]

I've been playing with lightburn a lot more since making this video, and I actually love it! awesome program, I just still hadn't quite buttoned down the settings. Although I do still have to manually switch the M106's it spits out to M03's, but that's a small price to pay for the capabilities of the software

[@The_Hudson_Workshop]

You don't need a Rudia, just a heads up!! I used to use GRBL-LPC, with a 30 dollar smoothie clone from the zon. I have recently moved up to GRBL Hal with a teensy. It's awesome. Buy lightburn, and buy the GRBL-LPC to get working, cheap and effective.

[@nickbaddorf2673]

@@cranktowncity you could write a python program to automatically replace gcode with other commands. I did that on a cnc ender 3 project. Worked great

[@jeradw7420]

@@nickbaddorf2673 I know this is old but you don't need to write any code. Notepad and pretty much any text editor can take the text file (which is what a gcode file is) and replace M106 with M03.

[@alexscarbro796]

Worry not. You didn’t cheat. It’s not a cop out. You learnt lots and taught us on along the way! Thank you!

[@WobblycogsUk]

Fair play for getting a tube that worked at all. As they say, the first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time and the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time. When you started building the tube I sort of thought it might be a fun project to try but as the series went on it became clear you'd need some serious dedication.

[@capndazz]

Man earned his tailor made laser tube. The perseverance is astounding.

[@ElevenElevenAus]

This has been my #1 favourite build to watch on KZbin since you started. Good call on buying the sealed tube in the end. Really enjoy your content, thanks heaps man.

[@leightonwestbury92]

man it aint a cop out buying a purpose built laser tube, everything else you've designed and made is awesome id love to have your knowledge and abilities .........awesome job man ........new sub by the way

[@visvivacnckenya1620]

Bro I got mad respect for you.... Your the first diy av seen build a tube.. I mean av built a cnc router, plasma now on laser but nobody goes to build the router motor or plasma psu.. That's some G shit.. Thank you

[@jerrydaugherty4657]

Dude!!! Cop-out?!?!? Are you F’ing kidding any of us?!?! YOU ROCK! This has been an amazing project! You.Built.A.Laser.! And then built an entire machine to run it! Very VERY well done!

[@dumdidumdumification]

Wow man, impressive! don't be bummed, knowing when to quit faffing around and put your pride aside is one of the most difficult things in my book.

[@txkflier]

That was an epic journey. Nobody can blame you for buying a good laser tube for it. It was still a very impressive project..

[@Tetsuo315]

Well met sir!! You EARNED that tube. No cop out IMO. I learned a lot and I enjoyed seeing your excitement and passion through each stage of this build.

[@B.Cote39]

That's amazing you got it that far man. Great job for us crazy amateur engineers! Thanks for sharing 🤠

[@othyvitswamba1111]

Very informative. Good dose of humour too. " I won't tell if you don't tell. "😀. You have just inspired me. I will try to build one too. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations man! I think you went way far with your homemade laser tube! Not to mention your software and hardware associated. So well done and keep going!

[@a-mek]

You need more air! More air assist to cut better and likely more fume exhaust to minimize smoke power losses. Awesome build!

[@markpitts5194]

Agreed. I made a nozzle for my K40 and use an airbrush compressor. My fish tank bubbler wasn't strong enough (and the fish wanted it back......)

[@keithyinger3326]

The new laser tube is just an upgrade. You did still build a laser tube, and it worked.. so that's a win. Nothing wrong with upgrading to a bit more powerful tube. We know you Can make one if you really wanted to, and we learned how do do it along the way. Awesome series! Look forward to seeing the next project.

[@NathanBaerreis]

Everything you've done is freaking amazing. I upgraded a cheap laser to a 60w co2 and I've lately been thinking about bumping up the bed size by gutting it and building a new enclosure. Maybe I'll put a bigger power supply in and go for the 100-150w range... I've been using lightburn to generate the code to run on my machine - I really dig it. Thanks for all the great videos!

[@NathanBaerreis]

and yes please - a material list would be killer!

[@GUCR44]

You the man...!.. Our laser tube was 48 foot long.. 1000w plus I loved that machine.. Super 48 lumonics

[@edgeeffect]

with my own projects.... "kinda works" is a big time win.

[@zabummer]

I agree - no need to think yourself a cop-out. You are actually an inspiration to many real cop-out-ers (who never actually got into a CO2 laser build project, like me!!)

[@mundmc8172]

You nail the perfect balance of This Old Tony and The Big Lebowski, your channel rules, keep it up.

[@klausnielsen1537]

No apologies needed. You've done so well, entertained thousands and shared knowledge with equally many! You rock!!

[@rajnishsinghaluhwalia2913]

This channel is going to boom in near future

[@rickmccaskill7888]

Very impressed with your design and fabrication. I am building my own design 100watt CO2 and I purchased the CO2 laser as well.

[@TheRainHarvester]

Even though you copped out, you have pushed the boundary of diy for others to stand on your giant back. Great job. Put all your info, trials, fixes online so others can continue the effort. .!

[@alirezabagheri3979]

hi i am alireza from iran I was very pleased with your hard work to build because I myself was involved in the construction and I know how hard you worked to build this car. Really thank you

[@azafreak]

AW HELL YEAH! grats mate

[@drbachler]

Very very cool project. I really enjoy your content. Keep up the good work!

[@morfengineering]

Dude my hats off. Take something challenging and delivering.

[@paulb8264]

Dude making a laser tube from scratch that worked is damn impressive. I would not call buying a tube a cop out at all. At the end of the day, I assume you built the laser to be used as a tool. At some point you have to admit your tools shouldn't get in the way of a different project.

[@jeradw7420]

Exactly. You can make a hammer but why when you can buy one that has been specifically manufactured by someone else who has the time to make the tool. Just because you have the skill to scratch build everything doesn't mean you have to for every project.

[@mbs1234567]

Love your content. You have become my favorite youtuber fast. I binged all your videos. Keep up the great job and keep those videos coming. Cheers, Mike

[@markyedlicka]

The fact this channel only has 8K subs reflects the sad state of the nation as the masses have been fattened up dumbed down and drugged up and now too stupid to appreciate true intelligence and strong work ethic with a little bit of humor mixed in, It's a sad state of affairs as stupidity and laziness supersedes intellect and ability but hopefully that will change in time, keep the awesome content coming there's many of us out here that appreciate it

[@kevinaponte7078]

You make some awesome machines man I wish I had the space and resources to do half of what you accomplished great work man keep it up

[@kimberlyjacobsen4148]

Sorry smorey! You went way beyond what others have and you know the most important component of the machine. Your Epic.!!!

[@doulos5322]

Not a cop out man great work!

[@gregmulligan2878]

Pretty rad, dude. Pretty rad.

[@Tims_Projects]

Great project, it was not a cop out, you make what you can with what you have.

[@nickdarrow4873]

Most definitely NOT a copout. You made a working DIY laser tube, in a DIY CNC machine. You got to the point of optimizations and splitting hairs for high-end functionality. You have a garage, and you. Manufacturers have teams of engineers and production equipment. Super impressive accomplishment, great work. I bet you could grab more subs if you mashed up some build clips into a short video and put it on TikTok. Like a teaser. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[@zakovich]

Very nice!, for the burnout I’d advice for better air pressure at the nozzle to clear out the fumes

[@TheAussieRepairGuy]

Not a copout to go with a commercial tube, you did amazingly well making your own tube.

[@Ευγένιος-υ6θ]

Cool job, man

[@henningklaveness7082]

Cop out for buying a sealed tube? Man, I thought about building a laser cutter around a tube off Aliexpress, and ended up just buying a K40. Respect.

[@markatherton7848]

Well done, this is all pretty impressive.

[@oldmangilbert723]

Good job dude

[@chopper3lw]

Your videos are great and funny!

[@denismilic1878]

I take a different route, I bought a cheap, $1000 50W Chinese laser. Upgrade it with 70W tube, keep PS, and Ruida controller. Add to it a $50 android phone with a 20MP camera for positioning. Now I started to build bigger mechanics and enclosures 1000x700mm instead of 500x300mm.

[@TOMA238]

Great work, i recently rebuild a scraped cnc laser. For the control board i used an esp32 whit grbl and Lightburn, works great. U can even run gcode ower wifi or Bluetooth. Just dont use arduino or any 8bit mcu.

[@revilolavinruf]

I'd buy the tube if I were you too. Why waste so much time with that when your efforts can be put into progressing somewhere else more efficiently. Great vids bud!

[@obe22099]

Whenever i watch videos of laser cnc machines i end up binging everything until i reach the cnc plasma cutter content. I usually watch star wars after that because there is no way i won't accidentally kill myself with lasers or super heated plasma.

[@ravanabrahmarakshas4263]

great work.

[@fmphotooffice5513]

Why the apology? There was a definite point where the value of the non-tube work surpassed the novelty of the home made tube. All the best. Excellent work--- or the results at least.

[@ChadsCustomCreations]

Absolutely stunning!

[@ronniebroyles422]

What was your final cost before and after the new laser tube. ??? Great build ...

[@android-rl6hj]

уважуха за коллосальный труд! труд своими руками! прикольный американский типон ! такую вундервафлю соброл у себя в сарае МОЛОДЕЦ!!!

[@maxhouseman3129]

You could add a nozzle with air or nitrogen near the laser target area. It blows away (air) small flames or damp them down (n2)

[@cranktowncity]

I've since upgraded the air assist to a better pump so there's less flames now. thinking about adding a t to a valve where i can run other gases to experiment with.

[@maxhouseman3129]

@@cranktowncity Try it with Nitrogen. It is quite cheap and I made good results with it.

[@theunfrailhale]

you dont know me, and I dont know you, but this is cool asf. Nice work. May try to copy it when I'm not a slave.

[@juaninci]

pretty gooooooooodddddd i use this machines for made models on cardboard or thin things... you are doin it on 5 mm wood XD it is pretty hard for thick materials to laser cut to cut XD love it love it love it

[@UNVIRUSLETALE]

You tried at least and the process was the fun part. I really want to build a CNC CO2 laser but I don't have a place for it :/

[@SharkyMoto]

i think all makers go through phases... i once had the urge too to make my tools and all of it myself BUT you have 2 options, become a full time "tool maker tinkerer" or a guy that actually uses said tools to create something with it. in the end, diy versions are often hardly any better than the store bought stuff (lets take a 3d printer for example, you cant build anything better than an ender3 at the same pricepoint) - same with this one. you could build a laser tube that is as good as the industrial one, but it would cost you significantly more money and time to pull off wich then would be much more expensive.

[@funnylife7454]

i love your channel I hope the best for you ❤️😇

[@sammy5576]

that is a this old tony reference , nice

[@AaronSchwarz42]

Its hard to make a home made CO2 laser with the same reliability as a company that does so as their main revenue model, their bread & butter if you will // besides you have proven that you are a boss with DIY fab tech ^^ well done

[@mgpmbass3616]

Very cool! Chris Knight, Mitch Taylor, Lazlo Hollyfeld and Jordan Cochran would be very impressed. Susan Decker would be impressed if you could drive a..... Never mind. Just be sure to keep Prof. Hathaway and Kent away from it. And don't let the laser hit a giant popcorn filled aluminum ball! 😄

[@bigwendigo2253]

My guy has a darn Wii nunchuck attached to his gas powered laser 😮

[@thunderbolt997]

your DIY CNC is still considered DIY since you made it yourself and fabricated it. buying a co2 lase doesnt nullify your project. keep up the good work

[@mikekendall841]

how much was you 100 watt sealed laser? one tip you will get better results blowing air at your cutting material. I run a 200 watt laser for my full time jobs. I have an 1/2 hp air pump pushing air into the focus lens nozzle . That cools the focus lens and puts the flames out on the material your cutting. When I want cleaner cuts I switch to tanks of nitrogen.

[@danbrit9848]

I have a laser cutter but want to make a box around it....it's a 1600mw 445nm ...can I use colored plastic as a window that also acts as the light shield for my and my cat's eyes ...if so what color

[@julias-shed]

Don’t blame you for buying a tube you had a go and that was really interesting but sometimes you want a tool not another hobby 😀 I was super lazy and bought a K40 does the job for me. I’d look at improving your extraction or you’ll end up with dirty mirrors. Maybe a bit of coarse mesh for the bed so you can use smaller material?

[@cranktowncity]

Yeah that honeycomb bed that comes on factory built machines looks pretty nice, not sure where to source it though.

[@pete3897]

@@cranktowncity fwiw, it's just a bunch of long thin alloy strips withholes drilled in them then scrunched up like a wafer and pushed onto stainless rods and some channel around the outside as a frame. A man of your metakworking calibre would knock one up in a couple of hours with something to copy and the right stock on hand. Sing out if you me to email you some close-up photos of what you'd need

[@rickrat]

So: With the store bought tube, do you still need the C02, water and suction? Also, Does it run on 220 or 110v?

[@NoopityNoop]

The factory tubes are usually sealed, just power and cooling water needed.

[@eric.hofman]

Perfekt, I will reveal us what power to get in yours, gas mix compared to the original 100W tube. have make use yours idea, and bulid tube 200W. needed know, have big make tube if use gas mix please give help

[@LanceThumping]

How much did the project cost in the end? I've seen some pretty cheap cnc lasers on Aliexpress before.

[@stevesrt8]

Memes hahaha. Awesome build! Impressive effort. im pretty sure your ratio will confirm it wasnt a cop out. Thumbs up.

[@timfoster5043]

I'm telling!! (Conformal coating cracked me up)

[@pete3897]

Fckin rippa man, loved it. S'far as I'm concerned you succeeded with the homie tube; you cut wood with it after all! The 100W addition is just an upgrade from V1 :) Thanks for the LinuxCNC refs; I'm off to watch them cause I've been using GRBL for my machine controllers. Check out jscut and easel for CAM too.

[@killerbite_]

lmao i dont blame u for just buying the tube in the end

[@ca5cad3xml7sx4]

amazing

[@maxhouseman3129]

Cabling chaos 🤣💪 Still good build!

[@1992jamo]

what changes need to take place when you export the gcode? Might be able to script the changes for you

[@fouzaialaa7962]

can you link to the tube you bought ???

[@JackInTheShop]

I use RDWorks fro my CO2 laser

[@ZaredFox]

nice job but after watching you build it im glad i just bought a china spec one lol

[@Shreyam_io]

no.... i was about to comment to buy a optimised tube.... you did excellent..

[@ВіталійМороз-л4м]

Hi, you calculeted howmuch your co2 w?

[@cranktowncity]

judging purely on the look of the focused beam, I think the best one I made was 40-50W

[@ВіталійМороз-л4м]

@@cranktowncityNice man)

[@islanzadi1]

Damn boi thats crazy. I really wanna know the cost of that thing

[@oonieyamoto7354]

the wii mand is the best

[@BentoGambin]

Damn, if I didn't search for the channel I'd have missed it. Not thanks, youtube

[@alex4alexn]

if making cool stuff = buy the tube....then it is a necessity

[@TheCalvinSkinner]

You're smart

[@steveeparsonsjr7929]

Was that Neil Tyson. lmao

[@ellie_deli]

Yeah you're cool

[@TSiguy1991]

I used a cohesion3D board with lightburn.......

[@NoopityNoop]

Nah man. Your first priority as you said was a reliable tool. No copout.

[@DustanWebb]

I dont thinks it's a cop-out. You made one, it worked then you upgraded... besides, its your machine it needs to work for you not us. It looks awesome, very well done bud.

[@Pest789]

Ask not what your dinger can do for you. Ask what you can do for your dinger.

[@bruceboggemes9724]

Girlfriend cameo?? Otherwise awesome

[@Krog32]

Freecam..?