K40 Laser Targeting Laser or LED Ring? (DIY & Fail)

[@WereReallyRelayCamping]

swap the 16 leds for red dot laser diode pointers, you can buy them in a pack of 10 cheap off ebay for like $5, you then have a brighter more defined dot with more contrast on your workpiece. you can maybe angle them so they produce just one dot at the focal point so also checks focus...

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

I've used the 3d-printed version for 4 years now, no probs. The red-dot units are easy to get in the right size for the holder. The LED ring does look great though, even if it's not a success :)

[@joshweber71]

Could you of attached it directly at the last mirror head to have more output at the lense ? Possibly enclose the design in a box so it doesn't pollute the workspace and all light goes in the lense

[@tiagocampos959]

Maybe if you use two line lasers placed 90° on the laser head to make a cross you could get a better and easy result.

[@Woyta]

I plan to use two line laser modules. So I got cross always at same spot. And I see two options how to mount them. 1) At head. 2) At back wall instead of LED ring.

[@younghan3573]

How about a couple conical reflectors to focus the light into a point?

[@dannystreet3727]

What if you add walls and smaller ring and put it around the laser head where your red LED is at now. This could point down and have a large ring of light and if they are pointing down the ring would be the same at any height.

[@MancaveEffects]

Well yes but it would be to wide to define precisely where the exact midpoint is or isn’t it?

[@dimitrioslianos511]

@@MancaveEffects some others put two lasers LED with lens that make a line , two lasers LED make it a cross , X marks the spot , but from the other site , if 3 or 4 laser LED will be in the place of the ring will be much easier to make it work ?? If I buy one of K40 I will try out ... why not!! hackit !!

[@MrAmity009]

I would suggest a laser pass trough mirror as used in show lasers That way the cutting laser wil pass trough the mirror while the dot laser is being deflected in a 90 degrees angle directly on the second mirror the pointer laser can be mounted directly on the chassis of the laser pointing at the pass trough mirror at 90 degrees i hope you know what i mean

[@DIY3DTECHcom]

Interesting build however the issue is the secondary mirror of the laser is designed to reflect long wave IR light (10,600 nm) and not visible (700 nm, a huge difference). Using red leds might have been a very little bit better however still not worth it especially as you point out at the start being unfocused. The best option (money to performance) is to use two line lasers as a single "dot" will find a way to move...

[@MancaveEffects]

This sounds very plausible! I could have meantioned using Linelasers. Thanks for the input

[@DIY3DTECHcom]

@@MancaveEffects typically the cheaper lasers use Gallium Arsenide as the reflecting surface and as a side note one should avoid touching them as there is a low level of toxicity present. Keep up the experimenting!

[@zebo-the-fat]

I use 2 line lasers fitted to an acrylic bracket that sits over the laser mounting plate, the lasers are fixed with epoxy and adjustment ring on each laser packed with plumbers PTFE tape to reduce accidental movement, it works very well

[@aleksandarmihic4579]

Van Halen tape 👍😍😍

[@Geeksmithing]

This is great man! Thanks!

[@alexbabuca]

Why not point the red laser at the mirror along the co2 laser?

[@MancaveEffects]

It needs to be located exactly in the same axis than the co2 laser tube

[@cbaymac]

That was great. Thanks so much for sharing. Great design.

[@1Torchit]

your leds are pointing towards the center causing like a cross over effect and making the output really inconsistent. try placing them flat on the acrylic without that rubber for a more consistent output

[@MancaveEffects]

Tried it, but the ring is probably to big, brightness is to weak as i have plenty of light installed. But thanks for the hint

[@1Torchit]

alternatively can you not turn the laser down to 0.01 duty cycle like we do on eleksmakers and use that as the target?

[@MancaveEffects]

Well this China Laser machine still burns trough your material as it is not adjustable in a usable way ;)

[@stormchasecom]

Hey, look at the bright side... you made a great ring light for an iPhone camera...

[@justindavis7400]

I have one that I cannot fire the laser through that works fine that I made from the PCB of a small led flashlight.

[@MancaveEffects]

I remember watching a video from Scorch Works who did the same. His aüparently works but also looks pretty dim.

[@patrickg875]

Im sure someone has mentioned this but your hole diameter should be much smaller to center the light and you should use 4 laser diodes. If someone answered this sorry for the repeat message. This does work though.

[@MancaveEffects]

Okay, thanks i had no dumensions when i tried it out. I may make another one as it still would be an esay fix!

[@grindel80]

@@MancaveEffects have you done another one?

[@1800Supreme]

I would still want to see this with a smaller ring since the beam is like 8mm why make the ring 35mm?

[@MancaveEffects]

It could be done with a smaller ring but when realigning the tube it might burn the ring to a crust. The laserbeam has a diameter of about 5mm sq at this point.

[@porkycylinder3501]

4:58 Ahhh No! LMAO

[@vspadrver]

hi, nice video maybe try two line lasers in 90° arrangement instead of the led ring. They should show up as a crosshair. Hi schönes Video! probier doch statt der LEDs zwei 90° angeordnete Linienlaser. Die müssten auch durch die Spiegel und die Linse als Kreuz sichtbar sein. Sebastian

[@MancaveEffects]

Thanks! But this will cause the same issue as using a whole array of laser diodes. For the cross to be centric, the diodes need to be in the exact middle. Therefore i would need a beam combiner. Danke! Deine Idee bringt das gleiche Problem mitsich als ein Ring aus Laserdioden. Damit ein Laserstrahl mittig aus der Linse kommt muss die Diode auch mittig platziert sein, da bei den Leds ja nur die Reflektion projeziert wird nicht das eigendliche Licht

[@vspadrver]

@@MancaveEffects I thought if the lines from the line lasers goes through the center of the IR beam it should be projected as a line through the center... but maybe i am wrong.... Ich dache das die Linienlaser so ausgerichtet werden das sie ihre Linien durch die Mitte des IR lasers projezieren so das auch bei der Abbildung durch die Mitte laufen. Aber gut Möglich das ich da irgendwie falsch liege...

[@MancaveEffects]

Ich weis was du meinst, klingt ansich auch ganz logisch aber ich glaube das wir da beide einen Denkfehler machen. Der Strichlaser wird ja in einem anderen Winkel gespiegelt als der co2 Laserstrahl. Ich denke das die Linie neben dem zweiten Spiegel ankommen würde weil trotz Linie der Abstrahlwinkel ein anderer ist... *Kopfzerbrechen... ;)

[@vspadrver]

@@MancaveEffects Also angenommen man befestigt einen senkrechten Linienlaser über dem CO2-Laserstrahl. Dann wird diese Linie durch den ersten Spiegel, da sie entlang der Kippachse des Spiegeln verläuft in die richtige Richtung gespiegelt und bleibt eine senkrechte Linie. Der zweite Spiegel müsste sie dann nur entlang der Linie versetztt abbilden so das auch da die Linie erhalten bleibt und noch passen müsste. Für eine Waagerechte Linie die horizontal neben dem CO2 Laserstahl sitzt müsste das gleiche gelten nur das der erste Spiegel sie entlang der Linie verschiebt und der zweite sie nicht verschiebt... Evtl kannst du es ausprobieren wenn du deinen Ring auf einen Schlitz abblendest um zu sehen was dann ankommt... Wird aber vermutlich sehr dunkel sein. Gibt es nicht irgendein IR Aktives nachleuchtendes Material welches man auf einer Aluplatte aufgetragen als 'Zielblech' auf das zu bearbeitende Stück auflegen kann um dann per Testschuss zu sehen wo man trifft?

[@whyiseverythingonfireagain1190]

@@vspadrver I was just going to comment with a version of your idea as well! If you don't have a line laser, you could also make a laser ring with 3 regular lasers pointed at slight angles. Now the resulting dot on the work piece would not be centered, and would move with height etc, but if symmetrical the working location should be the center of the three projected dots, so you can still see where it will end out, right?

[@geekoid183]

You cloud use an army of cheap small red laser diode instead of led 😉

[@MancaveEffects]

I was thinking about that idea while making the video. But this would not work as we only see a reflection of the single LED‘s, not the emitted light

[@jacobhn2]

Two LEDs on each side of the laser head and you should be able to see where it starts cutting as well