chiller

2 Articles

Two chillers side-by-side - the fake chiller on the left and the water fountain chiller (lid-less) on the right

Gutting And Upgrading Laser “Chiller” With No Chill

October 29, 2022 by 10 Comments

Getting a cheap CO2 laser cutter is great for your workshop needs, and while you might get a weaker-than-declared laser tube, it’s still going to cut whatever you need to be cut. That might not be the case for the cooling equipment you’re getting alongside it, however, as [RealTimeKodi] shows in a post-project blogpost. They bought a CX3000 “chiller” and found out it had no chiller components (Nitter), only equipped with a radiator, a fan, and a pump.

Having your laser tube water be somewhat close to ambient temperature is something you can already achieve with an aquarium pump and a bucket of water — and it isn’t worth paying $100 for. Left with the sunk cost and an unfulfilled need for a proper chiller, [RealTimeKodi] started looking for paths to take – first one was using TEC elements. The upgrade process was fun, but the result was subpar, as the elements gobbled power with hardly any useful output to show for it.

[RealTimeKodi] didn’t give up, and eventually found an old water fountain chiller with chiller-like components inside, sold for $200. They could’ve used the water fountain as-is, but a few design issues and thirst for adventure got in the way, indisputably forcing them to stuff the fountain’s guts into the CX3000’s case.

Buying a laser cutter can sometimes feel like buying a 3D printer a decade ago — you get a K40, learn to use it, add the missing safety features, mod in autofocus, upgrade the control board, expand the work surface… That said, our experience shows that you don’t need any of those if A4-sized 3 mm wood cutting suit you, but a proper chiller is still worth its weight in gold-plated acrylic.

Continue reading “Gutting And Upgrading Laser “Chiller” With No Chill” →

Bachelor Builds Enormous Laser Cutter, Nobody Complains

August 20, 2016 by 61 Comments

Nothing says swinging 21st-century bachelor pad better than a laser cutter. To really make a statement, you want a custom-built, 100 Watt, 1200mm x 900mm laser cutter.

The bachelor in question, [drandolph], rightly points out that a $6,000 build that takes up a significant fraction of the floor space in one’s apartment is better attempted without the benefit of spousal oversight. Still, what spouse couldn’t love the finished product? With a custom aluminum extrusion frame (which barely made the trip from China intact) it’s a sturdy affair, and who could deny the appeal of the soft glow of an LED-illuminated work chamber? A custom exhaust system with sound-deadening, a water chiller for laser cooling, an Arduino-controlled status beacon – there’s even a 3-D printed beer holder on the control panel! And think of all the goodies that will come off the enormous bed of this thing. Note to self: make sure wife sees this post.

There are cheaper and smaller laser cutters, but what’s the point if you have the freedom to go big?

[via r/DIY]