Assembling a laser at home with your own hands into a device that allows you to cut various materials is quite simple. To do this, we need a MiniMag laser pointer, an AixiZ module and an emitter from a faulty DVD-ROM (the mechanical part may be faulty, but not the laser itself).
It must be borne in mind that the laser beam is quite dangerous and it is extremely undesirable to direct it at a person or animal. Do not play with him and give children fun. Be sane, be aware of the potential dangers of the device. It is quite difficult to make a laser for cutting metal with your own hands from improvised means, but there are other materials with which the assembled product can easily cope.
To work, you need a laser from a DVD-ROM manufactured by LG, while keep in mind that different drives have diodes that vary in power. Produced by other manufacturers may not be suitable (for example, drives manufactured by Samsung will not work, since the diode has a frameless design, the crystal itself does not have protection against mechanical damage). If there is no faulty DVD drive at home, you can buy the emitting diode itself in a store or on the market, as well as a broken drive from a junk dealer or repair shop.
Remove the screws holding the drive cover and remove it. Having removed the mounting screws of the movable carriage assembly, it is necessary to release the two guide elements and remove it. Disconnect existing wiring along the way. Start further work by loosening the screws, which are a large enough number. After disconnecting the cables, 2 diodes will be detected: infrared, used for reading, and a diode that burns the disc during recording. We need exactly the one whose distinguishing feature is a fixed electronic board. Using a soldering iron, carefully remove the three screws securing the circuit board. The health of the diode can be checked by connecting two finger batteries. If it is functional, carefully remove it from the housing, being careful.
Remove the sticker on the AixiZ case, disassemble it into its component parts. Inside the upper case element there is a low-power diode, which we will change our own. With light strokes using a knife, remove it and use a small screwdriver to knock out the emitter. Lubricate the edges of the diode with a small amount of hot glue and carefully insert it into the AixiZ housing. In order to avoid bulging using pliers, it is necessary to gradually press the diode along the edges until the moment you reach the desired result.
Next, you need to solder the existing two antennae to the corresponding supply terminals of the diode and install the assembled emitter directly in MiniMag. Disassemble it and enlarge it using a round file or drill reflector. After checking the polarity of the connections, carefully place your laser on top of the MiniMag instead of the old emitter. After assembling the upper part of the housing, you will need to fix the reflector without installing a plastic lens.
Make sure to correctly determine the polarity of the diode leads before installing it and connecting the power! In addition, when adjusting the beam focus, it may be necessary to reduce wires.
Install batteries and use. Having made the laser with your own hands, try different options for its possible application. He easily burns paper sheets, balloons burst when a ray hits them.
Assembled from improvised means, it is not powerful enough, but it is a gas laser. With your own hands, try its capabilities for cutting household plastic products. By correctly focusing the laser beam and moving it along the material, you will first get quite deep furrows, and if you continue, burned areas.
Carefully attach the laser with your own hands, without using any tools on the head of the plotter, and now you can engrave various images and inscriptions on plexiglass or plastic. Show your imagination, test your strengths and capabilities.
In conclusion, I would again like to recall the observance of precautionary measures. Do not use your device for hooligan reasons or to test the sensitivity of the skin to the beam. You made the laser with your own hands and you will be responsible for it yourself.