Laser module for 44mm diameter CNC spindle motor holder
Description
I have a couple of 12mm diameter 1500mW laser modules and heatsinks, plus a cheap Chinese CNC router. However, fitting the lasers is difficult as the heatsinks don't fit properly into the spindle motor holder. Also, the laser modules are 5V, whereas my CNC only provides a 12V PWM laser output. So, I built this project to hold the laser module and a small power step-down circuit that would fit properly in place of the spindle motor. I've included the OpenSCAD file for customisation as modules, heatsinks and mounting holes may differ for your laser. Also, it can be modified to add a small fan if necessary, to cool the laser when used continuously for a long time. For anyone interested: the step-down circuit is just a 7805 voltage regulator with a 10uF electrolytic capacitor on the 5V side, because the laser module has its own driver circuitry. Surprisingly for a simple circuit, it seems to work very well so far with GRBL control. Finally, a couple of construction notes in case they help: 1. I tied a knot in the cable under the lid for strain relief. As the knot is bigger than the hole in the lid, if the cable is accidentally pulled the knot stops it breaking off the circuit board. 2. The disc with cutouts is a spacer that sits on the rim above the laser module. It allowed me to keep the circuit, which I glued onto it, away from the module. And if you're interested you can also read my blog-post about this project at the link below. https://cncmakerzone.co.uk/holder-for-12mm-diameter-laser-diode-module
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