Messing around with Solid works.

I was messing around with solid works and thinking of how to turn my future Mendel into a 3D laser cutter as well as a rapidprototyper.

Now I don't really have much of an idea how powerful a laser I need but this laser claims it can cut through plastic (look at it tearing appart that very small peice of black polystyrene), well more research is needed about how powerful a laser is needed to cut through ABS in a reasonable amount of time.

I figured a way to get a semi circle of angular direction with just one motor controlling the pitch and yaw.

Problems that with the design and practicality.

• It is larger than the current bed can carry at the moment so it needs to be smaller and more compact and the bed larger to accommodate it.
• Shielding, a way to make sure the laser doesn't end up blinding somebody
• Damaging the Mendel, i have no idea what a laser would do to a Kapton covered Aluminium sheet heated bed. It may shrug it off or it may damage it beyond use.

Here is a video of it in action.

I have altered the 'Screw Mate' to be 10mm per rotation to demonstrate it working where as a normal i believe its closer to 1mm per rotation.

Now I have done some programming with Visual basic (o yea!) in the past but I believe coding something like this to be way out of my depth. so if anyone thinks this idea is viable and and knows what they are doing with please feel free to contact me.