Acro system adding Z for a laser

I am going to be purchasing the Acro system 20x20 along with the black box to replace my Macgyvered and unreliable cartesian conversion laser I have (was a 3D printer) I have enough knowledge to get me in trouble but feel confident I can get it all working. My only issue is properly getting a Z added to it.

I was looking at getting the "V-Slot® NEMA 17 Linear Actuator Bundle" at 250mm for the Z and I think that would work, but I have no idea how that assembly might attach to the plate provided with the Acro (if it even will?). I only really need a max of 10 mm of Z travel itself but who knows, maybe I'll add a pen attachment or something...

Can anyone with some experience help me pick the right extra parts I might need for this config to attach etc? Or tell me what I am thinking wrong or if it will not work the way I envision (I envision it being super easy lol) ?

I'd like to have everything I need rather than order again for a missing part or something I forgot.

 

Thank you, I did that. The solutions are not something I want to have to work on, I would rather have a bolt on option. I saw cutting rails, printing 3d parts and other options, not the route I want to take. I just want to know if I can use the listed parts above together and how they attach if so.

 

Thank you. Understood. I need only about 10-20mm or so play with Z but it needs to be controlled. I do not know how heavy the "V-Slot® NEMA 17 Linear Actuator Bundle" is or it's relation if the acro acrylic plates could handle it. But I could always swap it out with a metal one no? Like the
V-Slot® Gantry Plate - Universal


Yes? I am probably missing something.

If the Acro could handle the weight of the Linear actuator bundle when used with a Universal plate (from here) then that would be perfect? I need a solution that is cheaper than a glowforge and better than a cheap China laser "master" and this seemed to be it and it's the right size for me. I looked at the C-beam and it's over kill for me and smaller. If there is another build that would be 20x20 and do what I want out of the box, I'll buy that.

If there is a solution here for what I desire, 20x20, has up to 20mm Z travel and can be used with your black box, in a bundle or a build, all components in one order, I'll buy it. I just do not want to have to 3D print things, jury rig it, or come back because I need something else.
I apologize if this is not the place to ask.

 

Fantastic, thanks so much. I understand this is at my own risk (lol)

 

I will. If it all works out I'll post everything I did for anyone lazy like me (or just fed up with tinkering)

 

I never mentioned cutting, but I'll explain as it might help someone else who's not exactly sure why they might need a Z

I am "lazy", not in the traditional sense, but when it comes to creativity and art, I am a "I need to get it done right now" kind of person or the ideas flounder. As such, fiddling around with re-focusing, raising a machine for clearance, or stacking bottom plates under material is a motivation killer for me, not to mention completely kills repeatability. I want to spend my time making things, the destination is what I seek, not the journey, unlike most. I had an Ortur, the clearance on the machine wasn't much and I found myself constantly adjusting the laser height and or stacking materials under the legs for what I wanted to do. It was frustrating. I ripped the parts off of a cartesian printer and mounted the laser head. This was much better, it allowed me to put whatever I wanted on the bed, move the Z and get started. However, because it was controlled by terrible hardware all around, the results, while good, were not always repeatable or reliable and it was just not a great solid or reliable solution.

I sought out a more robust solution and here we are. Note to staff, some of us are idiots and do not think to check power supplies or read everything proper, it might be good to flip the red switch to 110 when sending to a US customer.

I am almost there, had a few things come up so it's on hold but it's almost there. I got creative and was able to mount without drilling any holes and using what was sent (no zip ties). It moves, seems to be ok, but more testing is needed and I need to cut the rod by another 10mm or so. It might break, but if it does, I'll get some aluminum plate and try to jury rig it. (if anyone reading this can make some, I'll buy them lol)

That said, as far as laser cutting, I have a 30 watt NEJE head unit now, which is capable of cutting 5mm acrylic (dark) and up to 5mm (if I do it right) plywood, and being able to dial this in much better than a janky system should yield even better results (and more perfect circles and measurements) I also plan on upgrading that to their new 40 watt. (I know the output power isn't that number btw) So for my needs, it "cuts" just fine, no need for CO2. I have already made a half dozen really cool clocks, thick boxes and other things on my janky setup. I'd love to have the capability to cut clear acrylic (glowforge) but I don't really want to spend 5k for that, it would just be wasted and it's also limited in size anyway and so far I haven't desired any other thickness.

If one is creative, a diode is just fine and I can replace it a dozen times before it even comes close to the same cost.

I just want to point out that in my experience with the various laser groups, facebook and otherwise, there are HUNDREDS of people looking for solutions for Z, in fact it seems like everyone who buys one of these cheap china laser systems is almost instantly looking to add it, either manually controlled or otherwise. I don't see why it would be any different for someone looking at the Acro. If there were an option to add a Z, developed by someone here, on this much more robust system, it would probably sell well as an add on to the Acro. My solution is a bit heavy, I was throwing darts at a board, looking for "easy", but I am sure someone could come up with something lighter. These people spend lots of extra cash on the extra bits making these machines more stable and robust and adding Z. There's an almost $200 solution floating around made of 3D printed parts someone is selling and it's... manual. Crazy. Jtech even has one with a motor (which I would have probably bought if I had known it existed lol) Just a small amount of Z makes a world of difference, even with just a diode.

 

Note to anyone who finds this in search, don't follow my lead here, I am not good at this stuff, this is janky at best.


But it lives... sort of.

I have attached it all the best way I can, at least with my knowledge, non skinny fingers and bad eyesight. it moves all three axis and has a jury rigged end stop that works. I just need to fine tune it, cut off the extra protruding rod on the bottom and attach the laser but it moves and it doesn't sound like it's straining. I've got about 9mm of travel, should be good enough. It definitely seems more stable and accurate than what I had before.

I know I can attach the Linear to the acrylic backplate without the laser acrylic plate but I forgot I had advice above on how to do it and just went this way (for now) because I didn't want to take it all apart again. I will adjust it, probably going to cut some aluminum plate and drill some holes to make it more stable and so I can crank things down better, but it works. I've definitely lost a bit of front space, not only due to this addition but also the end stop is in the way of the laser so I'll have to use spacers to attach that. In the end it should end up being 12x9.5 or so effective laser area, so it's no longer the same size, so will also probably (eventually) buy some longer side rail to make up for it.

My idea "worked", not great, probably have to run it a lot slower but it works, I'm not selling anything and I'm retired with nothing else to do so, all good.

I will post any updated and changes for anyone else looking to do this. (probably not a good idea to follow me)

For reference, I had to drill a bunch of holes in the laser plate to get it to attach without wobble and I used the larger washers (under the laser attachment plate first pic) to make space for the nuts on the linear. Acrylic is easy to drill if you go slow. Really slow. I also had to use some M5-12 to keep the end stop in position and the rubber washer makes it sit perfectly. The hardest part was getting this assembly attached to the backplate because there's barely enough room to insert and turn the hex key.

I welcome being called a dolt and having easier solutions pointed out to me. I just kind of threw it all on the table and did whatever I needed to do, very little thought processing. (lol)

Note: the first pic looks janky, I didn't tighten everything down before taking that pic.