laser cross hair for plasma table

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_Ogre
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by _Ogre »

the lasers ship from china, i'm sure china ship to the UK :mrgreen:
as for power supplies; i used an old pc power supply as there are lots of old pc's laying around
any cell phone charger is 5v dc and would work
bulltear 4x8 cnc plasma table, candcnc bladerunner w/dthc, hypertherm powermax 65, sheetcam, mach3
laser cross hair for hypertherm torch http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12508
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

Hi _Ogre

Thanks for the heads up, I will have a look ;)
Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
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10'x5' DIY table / PM 45XP + M/C Torch - Trying to add 4 axis Tube cutting :(
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WyoGreen
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by WyoGreen »

I recently finished a job cutting 1/2" plate. The next job I went to cut, my laser pointers were pretty fuzzy. Upon investigation, the lenses were coated with slag. I cleaned them off and sanded them flat again, and they work reasonably well now. The problem with the 2 laser setup is in order for them to cross under the tip of the torch, they have to be fairly close to the cut surface. I'm thinking there is merit in the idea of a cross hair laser set fairly high and parallel to the torch, using an offset button on Mach to line things up, as was suggested by an earlier poster.

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Greolt
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by Greolt »

A single cross hair laser will have its advantages.
More rigid, out of the way mounting.
Less vulnerable to knocking off alignment.

Here are some example scripts to use in Mach3. Use as a button script.

This one will ask if you want to make this new position the X and Y origin

Code "G91 G0 X -32.5 Y -56.5" ' put the relevant offset distances in this line
While IsMoving ()
Wend
Code "G90" 'set things back to absolute
Msg = "Make this the Origin?" 'question for message box
Style = 4 + 32 + 0
Title = "Laser Zero"
Response = MsgBox(Msg, Style, Title)
If Response = 6 Then 'if reponse is yes then zero X and Y DROs
SetOEMDRO (800,0)
SetOEMDRO (801,0)
Else
End If

And this if wanting to auto zero X and Y after moving to position.

Code "G91 G0 X -32.5 Y -56.5" ' put the relevant offset amounts here
While IsMoving ()
Wend
Code "G90" 'set things back to absolute
SetOEMDRO (800,0)
SetOEMDRO (801,0)
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

following _Ogre suggesting the Chinese lasers available
I have ordered one of these "http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111760936414? ... EBIDX%3AIT"

I have found a plugin adapter power supply (ex Sony camera), might be little more expensive than the rest
but it does come with a nifty little adjustable holder :idea:

might not do exactly what I want it to do out of the box but at least I will have some bits that I can tweak and will save me time and hassle in the long run ;)
just got to wait now for it to get here :roll:
Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
(Pete)
10'x5' DIY table / PM 45XP + M/C Torch - Trying to add 4 axis Tube cutting :(
Linux/CommandCandCNC MP3600 / PN200 / DCP-01 / PWM
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_Ogre
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by _Ogre »

that is a cross hair type laser, so you'll need to set it up straight down and do the offset like greolt suggests
post up your results when you get it installed
as for shipping from china... i've seen as little as 5 days and as much as 6 weeks
it's a crapshoot :mrgreen:
bulltear 4x8 cnc plasma table, candcnc bladerunner w/dthc, hypertherm powermax 65, sheetcam, mach3
laser cross hair for hypertherm torch http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12508
an ogre smiley :mrgreen: how cool!
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

Thanks _Ogre

so might be good to by the end of the year :cry:
I will do a write up on how I ended up mounting the laser on the machine, hopefully with a couple of pictures to go with it
assuming all goes well and it actually gets delivered :lol:
Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
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10'x5' DIY table / PM 45XP + M/C Torch - Trying to add 4 axis Tube cutting :(
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

just a quick update on progress

I have received from China today my cross hair laser unit - 7 days :o :shock: :?
I have connected it up to the power supply and all seems good :D just have to set it up on the machine.
I will post pics when I have it all done
Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
(Pete)
10'x5' DIY table / PM 45XP + M/C Torch - Trying to add 4 axis Tube cutting :(
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Ironman
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by Ironman »

I find that it is more important to know exactly where the torch beam will be, because of recent work transferring from patterns for pipe spool supports. Whole bunch of off center holes and one off stuff from patterns.
I went to Staples and bought a good laser pointer. It had a push button on the side. I then got a piece of 1.25"(IRRC) aluminum round stock. and center drilled it for the pen diameter. This will work for all machine torch holders
Now I can push the laser button on and slide it into the bore. Then I loosen the clamp and put the laser with bushing into the spot the machine torch has vacated and tighten. If you were to machine a bushing with a collar , the clamp would not need tightening.
Now I have a laser dot right where the torch will cut, and I can position the machine over the center point of the pattern hole and mark it at the X onscreen.
It is also a great tool for re-positioning something after indexing, to check for mistakes.
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

As promised
I have the laser all set up and working.
I used the aux relay on my Table I/O board to switch it on and off from the PN200, good job I ran some spare cores of cable when I built the machine :D
I have put in a couple of crimp bullet connectors where I can just push the wires from the unit into, and make it a simple swap out if I need to.
Paying a little extra for the mounting bracket definitely was worth it only had to drill one hole and it was done :D just have to write the macro for the PN200 to "set a reference point" and maybe "goto ref" point and I can set up cutting from the remote especially with the large screen option.
Thanks everyone for the ideas

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Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
(Pete)
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Bobcat320
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by Bobcat320 »

I like your set-up, that is cool!
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by Bobcat320 »

Did you make the bracket with the balls in it?
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Why pierce it when you can punch it!
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

Hi Bobcat
The bracket came with the laser, it only cost a little bit more, I couldn't even get the materials let alone my time to make it, so worth every penny ;) Thanks for your comment about my set up :D
Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
(Pete)
10'x5' DIY table / PM 45XP + M/C Torch - Trying to add 4 axis Tube cutting :(
Linux/CommandCandCNC MP3600 / PN200 / DCP-01 / PWM
Solid Edge, Inkscape, SheetCam, Scananything & Andonstar USB Microscope
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_Ogre
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by _Ogre »

exapprentice: remember: that laser with the crosshairs will only work at the torch height you set it for
also that mount will need to be reset if the torch ever gets knocked off or bumped

@ ironman: yes your setup works well, but also requires removal and reinstall of the torch every time you want to use the laser
my original laser bracket and a few more posted in this thread mount on the active torch and give a precision X with the flick of a switch

2 single line lasers mounted at 90* on the torch will give a precision X cross hair under the torch at any height
i use one of the 120v outputs on the bladerunner box to power a 5 volt power supply and can turn the laser X on/off with the Xbox controller
the bracket cut out of 10 ga steel is also stout enough to survive the torch being knocked off without needing to realign the lasers
bulltear 4x8 cnc plasma table, candcnc bladerunner w/dthc, hypertherm powermax 65, sheetcam, mach3
laser cross hair for hypertherm torch http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12508
an ogre smiley :mrgreen: how cool!
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exapprentice
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by exapprentice »

Hi Ogre

yes I would agree if my laser was mounted to the moving part of my Z but I have it attached to the fixed section of my Z, therefore it should always stay at the same distance from the table while the moving part can still go up and down :D
I fitted my laser to make life a little easier when setting a ref point on a sheet or from a position in the sheet to miss existing cut outs
far better than lowering the nozzle all the way down to get that same position ;)
hopefully it will need a very big knock or bump to effect that part of the Z at which point I will probably be into a re-build :lol:
I only intend to use the laser during setting up my ref points so the torch would usually be in the up position during moves around the table.
I fixed the laser up as high as I could to keep it out of the way of all the crap (or some of the crap anyway)
Hope that makes some sort of sense :!:
Best Regards to all
Exapprentice :D
(Pete)
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Linux/CommandCandCNC MP3600 / PN200 / DCP-01 / PWM
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by Jeff M »

Thanks for the file.

Jeff M
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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by motoguy »

This is the first drawing I've done, and the first part I'd like to cut with my table. I've taken Ogre's original laser clamp, and added as spot for the 005 SuperEyes. The SuperEyes tube diameter is 11mm. I've made the hole 12mm. Will that be sufficient to let it fit easily, yet clamp it solidly? I also moved the clearance channel for the gear rail on the Hypertherm torch. Mine is mounted to the rear (Ogre's is mounted to the front, apparently).

I picked up some 11ga and 14ga metal today, to practice on. Ogre's original design was 10 gauge, but I guess I'll see how the 11 will do!

ETA: attached the DXF, now that I've re-drawn it.
LaserCrosshairModifiedwcamera.DXF

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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by motoguy »

So, didn't take me long to realize having a mount for the Supereyes camera on this thing was worthless. I like the lasers mounted high, for maximum beam spread (ie, longest line under torch). The Supereyes needs to be mounted low. So, I axed the Supereyes mount.

Also, the PM85 torch mount on my Bulltear table is opposite of the torch mount on _Ogres...the gear track is to the rear on mine. So, I had to flip that slot.

In addition, I had no good way tobend the cut part _Ogre had originally posted, to keep the upper and lower halves aligned...but I do have a welder. :) So, here is the part split into upper and lower halves, with the torch slot moved to reflect a rear-mounted torch gear rail.
LaserCrosshairModified-split-nocamera.DXF
Laser Crosshair Capture.JPG
In addition, I liked the ability to switch the laser on/off as needed, but I didn't want to use up a power port on my CandCNC box, nor a button on the controller. So, I bought a pack of these from Amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

It has a built in on/off switch, to easily activate/deactivate the lasers. I use 4 AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries (1.2v each), or 3 AAA Alkaline batteries (1.5v each) with a conductor in the unused 4th slot...right now I think it's a conveniently sized nail. :)

I bought these so I could build/use the laser immediately:

http://smile.amazon.com/Focusable-650nm ... ge_o09_s00

And these to have as spares:

http://smile.amazon.com/Focusable-650nm ... ge_o08_s00

I must say, the laser is INCREDIBLY handy to have. It's a bit of a PITA to get everything rotated/twisted/aligned correctly, so that the beams actually intersect at the center of the plasma torch. I just set 0, blew a quick hole, and adjusted the bracket/lasers until they lined up (almost) correctly. I didn't weld the two halves of the bracket perfectly parallel, so I had to put some "twist" in the laser arms to get the beam perfectly in line with the Z axis. I ran the Z axis up and down until the laser line stayed perfectly still, regardless of height (on both axis).

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Re: laser cross hair for plasma table

Post by tothwelding »

Everyone that makes things like this to help out everyone else is great. I just built my table and the little things like this make it a lot easier. I just got my HF lasers and look forward to mounting them. Thanks everyone for all the ideas
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