instructables

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver

by Surajit Majumdar

Hello Guys Whatsup, In this instructable, I am making PROJECT INSPIRATION

an Awesome mini laser engraver from old DVD
writers. It's an amazing machine. You can use this I got this Laser engraver's idea from Maggie Shah.
laser engraver machine to make any kind of design, Here's the version of his laser engraver https://www.i
logo, art on the surface like WOOD, MDF, nstructables.com/id/Mini-CNC-Laser-Wood-Engraver-
PLYWOOD, VNYL Paper. It's little difficult to make a and-Paper-Cutter/ . I remixed his project with my own
high-resolution laser engraver from DVD writer. But I touch.
tried my best to make a pretty close one. In this
instructable, I am going to show you the entire
procedure of how I made this DIY Laser Engraver. So
let's get started :)
Here's the full video tutorial Video
IF YOU LIKE THIS PROJECT THEN DON'T
FORGET TO VOTE FOR ME, I AM
https://www.youtube.com/embed/QZgZL9u1BBw
PARTICIPATING IN REMIX CONTEST

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 1

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 2
Step 1: Parts List

We need these following parts to make this project.

Arduino Nano
250mW 650nm Laser Module
A4988 Motor Driver
IRFZ44N Mosfet
LM7805 Voltage Regulator.
Laser Heatsink
IC Heatsink
1000uF Capacitor
10k & 47R Resistor
Male And Female Header Pin
Screw Terminal
JST 2.0 Connector
2.5mm Jumper Cap
Shrink Tube
DVD Writer
Custom PCB Board
5mm Acrylic Sheet

Tools List:

Soldering Iron
Drill Machine
Metal File
Sandpaper
Wire Cutter
Superglue

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 3

Step 2: Remove the Stepper Sliding Mechanism

We need two DVD writers mechanism for this project. One for X-Axis and another one for Y-Axis. You can find this
DVD writer from broken CPU or local hardware shop. I also got from the local hardware shop at very cheap prices.
Now its time to disassemble the DVD writers.

Use Philips head screwdriver to remove all the screws.

Unplugged all the connectors and cables.
Open the disk holder and unscrew the sliding mechanism.
Detached the Sliding mechanism.

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DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 5
Step 3: Assemble the Frames

Here I've used 5mm acrylic to make the frame. It is a very good choice for making the enclosure for every DIY
Project. Personally, I frequently use this sheet to make the enclosure for my DIY Projects. It is easy to cut, bend
and sand. I made the printable templates to make the laser engraver more stable.

First, print the templates then attach the templates to the acrylic sheet using the glue stick.
Carefully cut the acrylic sheet according to the template's design using a jigsaw or mini handsaw.
Remove the plastic cover from acrylic and sand all the pieces to get the smooth matte finish.
Use super glue to attach all the pieces together.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 6

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 7
 Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F9V/T2Y2/JQKTWOX1/F9VT2Y2JQKTWOX1.pdf
…

Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FS6/MPVV/JQKTWOX3/FS6MPVVJQKTWOX3.pdf
…

Step 4: Wiring of Stepper Motor

In this step, I'll solder wires to the stepper motors. Follow the steps below to properly solder wires.

First, determine the 2 coils A and B using multimeter's continuity mode.

Cut the flexible PCB of stepper motors.
Solder wires to stepper motors
Connect 1*4 Female header pin at the end of wires and secure them using shrink tube.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 8

Step 5: Making Holes for Sliding Mechanism

In this, I'll make the holes to mount the sliding mechanism.

First properly position the sliding mechanism on the engraver frame.

Mark the holes using a screwdriver.
Use 3mm drill bit to make the holes.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 9

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 10
Step 6: Attach Spacer

Here, I am attaching 6mm standoff spacer with the sliding mechanism before mounting it on the engraver frame. It
will help to reduce the vibration to get high precision engraving.

Step 7: Mount the Sliding Mechanism

Now I'll mount the sliding mechanism.

Attach 5mm hex nylon PCB spacer before mounting the slider.
Use 4xM3x12 screw to attach the sliding mechanism.
Attach bolt with the screw to tighten more securely.

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DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 12
Step 8: Mount the Engraving Platform

Now we need to attach the engraving platform. I started off by attaching 3cm square acrylic using superglue. after
that i attached the main engraving platform. which dimention is 9x9cm. It would be better you use a metel grill for
the engraving platform.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 13

Step 9: The PCB Making

In this project, i am using custom designed circuit production capacity is 200,000 sq.m. for various of 1-
board to give more profesional touch. So i chose layer, 2-layer or multi-layer PCBs. JLC is a
JLCPCB to design and order the custom designed professional PCB manufacturer featured of large
PCB for this project. scale, well equipment, strict management and
superior quality.
Circuit Schematic link
Related download files
Gerber File link You can get the Circuit (PDF) file from here. As you
can see in the pictures above the PCB is very well
About JLCPCB manufactured and I’ve got the same PCB design that
we’ve made for our main board and all the labels and
JLCPCB (Shenzhen JIALICHUANG Electronic logos are there to guide me during the soldering
Technology Development Co., Ltd.), is the largest steps. You can also download the Gerber file for this
PCB prototype enterprise in China and a high-tech circuit from here in the case you want to place an
manufacturer specializing in quick PCB prototype and order for the same circuit design. If you want to
small-batch PCB production. With over 10 years of design your own version of PCB you can design it on
experience in PCB manufacturing, JLCPCB has more JLCPCB family site which called EasEDA. It's so
than 200,000 customers at home and abroad, with simple and easy to design pcb for DIY projects.
over 8,000 online orders of PCB prototyping and
small quantity PCB production per day. The annual

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 14

Step 10: Soldering All the Components

Now its soldering time. use clean fine soldering tip. first I started off by soldering all the small components like
header pins then solder other components according to the circuit diagram.

You can make this circuit on a perf board. It's very simple and easy. just follow the circuit schematic which I
mentioned above. But first, make it on a beard board to check everything works perfectly then you can go for the
pref board

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DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 16
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Step 11: Mount the Arduino and Motor Drivers

Now mount the Arduino and A4988 motor drivers. High Low Low Half step.

In GRBL the digital and analog Pins of Arduino are Low High Low Quarter step.
reserved. The 'Step' pin for the X and Y axes is
attached to digital pins 2,and 3 respectively. The 'Dir' High High Low Eighth step.
pin for the X and Y axes is attached to digital pins 5
and 6 respectively. D11 is for laser Enable. The High High High Sixteenth step.
Arduino gets power through the USB Cable. The
A4988 Drivers through external power source. All The 3 pins (MS1, MS2 and MS3) are for selecting
ground share common connections. VDD of A4988 one of the five step resolutions according to the
are connected to 5V of Arduino. The laser I've used above truth table. These pins have internal pull-down
runs on 5V and has built in constant current circuit. resistors so if we leave them disconnected, the board
For the constant 5V source from the external power will operate in full step mode. I've used the 16th step
supply LM7805 voltage regulator is used. Heatsink is configuration for smooth and noise free. Most (but
compulsory. The IRFZ44N N-CHANNEL MOSFET certainly not all) stepper motors do 200 full steps per
works as an elelctronic switch when receives digital revolution. By appropriately managing the current in
high signal from pin D11 of Arduino. NOTE: 5V from the coils it is possible to make the motor move in
Arduino nano can't be used beause the laser draws smaller steps. The Pololu A4988 can make the motor
more than 250mA and the Arduino Nano is not move in 1/16th steps - or 3,200 steps per
capable of delivering that much of current. revolution.The main advantage of microstepping is to
reduce the roughness of the motion. The only fully
accurate positions are the full-step positions. The
motor will not be able to hold a stationary position at
one of the intermediate positions with the same
Configuring Micro Stepping for Each Axis. position accuracy or with the same holding torque as
at the full step positions.Generally speaking when
MS0 MS1 MS2 Microstep Resolution. high speeds are required full steps should be used.

Low Low Low Full step.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 18

Step 12: Attach the Laser Module

Now it's time to attach the laser module. I am using here 250mW 650nm focusable laser module. You have to
attach the required heatsink for longtime performance. You can buy the heatsink from the online store or you can
use the old motherboard's heatsink which I did here. Just broke some pins of the heatsink then mount the laser
module. Use superglue to attach the heatsink with the X-Axis slider.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 19

Step 13: Mount the Circuit Board

Now mount the circuit with engraver frame using 4xM3 hex nylon screw. After mounting the circuit board plugged
in the stepper motor and laser module connectors.

Step 14: GRBL Firmware

What is GRBL firmware?

GRBL is a firmware for Arduino boards(uno,nano,Duemillanove) that controls stepper motors and spindles/lasers.
GRBL uses gcode as input and outputs signals via the Arduino pins.

1. First, Download the GRBL firmware.

2. Open the Arduino IDE.
3. Then Choose Sketch>>Include Library>>Add.Zip Library>>Select the grbl-master.zip file
4. The library is installed now we have to upload the grbl sketch.
5. Select the sketch from the File>>Examples>>grbl>> select the grblUpload
6. Select the Correct board and port, then click on the upload button to upload the sketch in Arduino.

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Step 15: The LaserGRBL Software

LaserGRBL is one of the best Windows GCode streamer for DIY Laser Engraver. LaserGRBL is able to load and
stream GCode path to arduino, as well engrave images, pictures and logo with internal conversion tool.

1. Download the LaserGRBL and install it on your PC.

2. Open the LaserGRBL.Then select the correct COM port and proper baud rate for the connection.
(default 115200)
3. Click on the file icon to load the image which you want to engrave. LaserGRBL supports any kind of
image format.
4. Select proper dimension(40x40mm) and engraving speed
5. Click on the green play button to start the engraving.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 22

Step 16: It's Engraving Time

First, adjust the laser dot the smallest as possible. Then choose the picture which you to engrave. Remember
engraving setting is different for different kind of surface.

DIY Arduino Mini Laser Engraver: Page 23

Step 17: We're Done Now

I hope this tutorial helps you to build your own Thanks for watching project, I hope you liked this
Arduino Laser Engraver machine. If you make your project, if you did then please follow me I'll keep
own Laser Engraver then please send a photo in the posting awesome new projects. Also, don't forget to S
comment section. I am very excited to see your own UBSCRIBE my YouTube channel.
creation.

I'll keep updating this instructable.

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