A simple device for laser engraving

Leon Golob (2013) A simple device for laser engraving. EngD thesis.

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Abstract

For the purpose of the thesis we developed a simple laser engraving device. Its construction is particularly interesting as it consists of used or old com- puter parts. We used two stepper motors from CD and DVD drives to achieve two-dimensional motion. A changed laser diode on the DVD write head was adapted for engraving. The system is controlled by an STM32F4 microcon- troller with an ARM Cortex-M4 core; it has FreeRTOS-an open source real time operating system-installed on the device. The most appropriate engraving images are emblems or logos. Their simple form is easy to change into a binary image. We wrote a program that changes a selected emblem into a black and white image, where individual pixels are written in a text _le as a string of zeros and ones. The text _le is then sent to the engraving device through the USART interface (Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter), which reads the values line by line. The device turns the laser on when the input is one and turns it o_ when the input is zero. The most appropriate engraving materials are black plastic or softer wood. Our device has a small engraving surface, which is also its major de_- ciency. For larger surfaces, the algorithm for automatic engraving should be improved.

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