Image to Go Code imports most digital image files into G-Code format that can be ran with most computer numerical control routers and mills. The software package includes: A basic digital image editor to allow you to retouch the image before send it to the g-code converter. The converter reads the pixels information directly from imported image and creates the g-code file.
October 2009
Monthly Archive
October 16, 2009
October 13, 2009
His name is Karol (it’s Charles in English) has said “A ploter described here writes on dark plastic things with a DVD-RW laser diode. I did not made the mechanism with stepper motors which you can see on the photos below, I got it whole as it is and I don’t know where it comes from. With a complete and working moving table I had to build a driver for it. There was two solutions: make a simple transistor buffer to connect motors coils directly to LPT port and write a control program for my own, or make more complicated motor drivers with step/dir inputs and use one of commercial control programs, for example Mach2. I choosed the first solution, it was faster for me to write a simple program than to build complex motor drivers 
Electronic part of this project isn’t even worth drawing a schematic, becouse it’s only nine NPN transistors: eight to drive the motors and one for turning laser on and off.”
October 13, 2009
Tweakie.CNC – CNC Homebuilt router, mill, engraver, vinyl cutter.
CNC machine construction and operational details together with examples and samples of things that can be made and techniques used for small CNC machines. Low Power Laser as he said “
To drive the laser I am using an adjustable, constant current source which is capable of driving a 2 to 2.5 Volt diode at any current between 5 mA to >500 mA thus catering for most commonly available types. The laser diode used here is being driven at 170 mA which according to the manufacturers specification will produce 150 mW of laser output power (before the lens).
The drive PCB also incorporates a ‘TTL modulation input’ which will allow pulsed operation up to 15kHz and providing the pulse width is small enough and the PRF high enough (check with the diode manufacturers specification) the laser drive current, and subsequent output power, could be increased accordingly (an additional heatsink may also be required for this type of operation). I am, however, operating it in CW mode and as the specification for the modulation input is <0.5 Volt for off and >2 Volt for on, this has meant that I can switch the laser on and off using a signal derived from the Z axis direction pin of the LPT port. Therefore, by disabling any Z axis movement and manually focusing the laser onto the surface of the work I am able to use the same GCode file (vector graphics) albeit with a reduced feedrate that I would otherwise have used for conventional point engraving (+Z moves turn the laser off and –Z moves turn it on again).
October 13, 2009
3D Printer progress. HOME. Nothing fancy just a picture dump and a few notes: Basically the idea is to build a 3D printer styled on those wonderful machines
October 12, 2009
As he planekrazie’s said “The way I got everything square during the welding process of the frame was:
1: Find you a good FLAT surface.
2: Get a scrap sheet of steel. I used the surface of the steel workbench which is 4×8.
