K40 laser -- affordable, but kinda scary

There has been so much activity on G+ regarding the K40 "eBay" laser that I had to get on board.  The seller was in the US and should get it to me in less than a week.  Well, you know what?  It came in today, and here is the official unboxing.  I don't have too much to say at the moment, so here are pictures.

CE = Chinese Export

FDA = Fools Da Authorities

Busted vent duct, which I was planning on replacing anyway, plus a duct fan.  At least the duct ends sort of protect the optics.

I think I will be using some OpenBuilds extrusions to build a frame for this.  Something with protective windows, ventilation, and a place to hold the water tank for cooling off the laser.  Needs casters so I can roll it outside to run the cuts.

I hope to have some free time at work eventually, so I can get this thing running!

A linear axis I made several months ago

Months and months ago, I backed a project called OpenRail on Kickstarter that I thought was going to be a complete gamechanger in the maker community.  Imagine, a rail system that you can bolt onto standard extrusions to create linear axes!  Totally awesome... but my excitement was short-lived.  It turned out that not only was OpenRail a little more work to use with the extrusions I had on-hand, but OpenBuilds soon after came out with a Makerslide-like product called V-Slot.

The videos on the V-Slot webpage do a great job of explaining how the system works -- you should definitely watch them.  V-Slot is an extremely affordable extrusion with a large number of accessories that make the creation of compound axes very simple.  I stocked up a little on the parts and always keep extrusions, connectors, and the wheel kits in stock in case I want to build something.

My first test platform (pictured below) incorporated the 20x40 extrusion with modified motor mounts that I 3D printed on my UP! printer, as well as a 3D printed mounting plate:

I uploaded my mounting plate and motor mounts to Thingiverse.

The NEMA17 stepper is a cheap Lin Engineering model that I picked up on eBay years ago.  I control the stage with the ST L6470 dev kit, and also added a linear encoder which is currently not used.  The plan is to make a PCB that pairs something like a dspic33f with the L6470 to create a low cost motion control platform that supports position feedback with stepper motors.  If you're using something like a Pololu or Allegro driver, give the L6470 a try -- it's pretty impressive once you figure out how to use it.  I can embellish in another post if anyone is interested.

Here are some other closeup shots of mycheap linear stage: