ShopBot Laser?

[Martin Boekers]

Wainting for delivery of our new ShopBot and searching on the net I came across the
ShopBot desktop, really didn't know it existed. It did interest me with it's accessories,
an indexer, knife edge etc, but what intriqued me was as I was reading down the page
it said laser cutting head and 3D printing coming soon.

Anyone aware of this?

http://shopbottools.com/mProducts/desktop.htm

[Keith Outten]

Martin,

There was one of the ShopBot desktop machines at Jim McGrew's gathering in South Carolina last month but it wasn't running. I have watched this machine since it was announced at a ShopBot Jamboree a few years ago.

Seems to me that a CNC router might be an acceptable means of vector cutting but it would be way to slow for raster engraving.
.

[Ernie Balch]

It would be a good combination if they mounted a galvo head on it. The galvo could raster out images over a 10"x10" area then move the head over and cover another area. For cutting it could use the galvo or center up the mirrors and scan the head around. They would have to use an F/theta lens to keep the beam perpendicular to the substrate so it could be an expensive option.

ernie

[Larry Robinson]

While I can and like the idea of the 3D printing head, I would have to question the laser part! Hold down on a CNC is a lot differnet then a Laser. A wood spoil board would not be good either. What about fume extraction vs dust collection?

[Keith Outten]

The standard dust collection setup for a CNC should work fine for a laser head, it would take care of both dust and fumes but I wouldn't want to blow laser effluent into a DC bag. I use my dust collector for my Trotec laser but I blow everything outside into a chip box. There are a noticeable amount of sparks when I deep engrave Corian so i wouldn't want them to go into a DC bag that was inside my workshop.

The spoil board could be covered with a metal sheet when you were engraving.
.