Laser cutting steel as a home gamer?

Kram · 2026-05-16T11:02:48+0100

Arcdriod already mentioned, just to add the @doubleboost had a video showing it? I had this link still in my history..

ArcDroid CNC Plasma Robot & R-Tech P51D Plasma Cutter Combo

ArcDroid CNC Robot & R-Tech P51D Plasma Cutting combo - portable, powerful & easy to use for users of all levels.

xtremeplasma.com

Munkul said:
Most of those engravers are CO2 lasers which won't cut metal, most of them won't even engrave it.
To cut even 3mm you need a decent compressed air source and upwards of 1kw fibre laser.

CO2 can cut metal but they are big industrial sized things. Fibre lasers are relatively new tech.
The laser cutter/welder at SGA was about the same size as a single car garage just for the power/laser unit.

BrokenBiker · 2026-05-16T11:26:23+0100

sako243 said:
To a certain extent. They've admitted that for 3d printed brackets that's about as big as it can go but I think shortly after I started this one they released some plans for an all metal one.

Id be content with a 500x500 work area I don't really make big stuff

Agroshield · 2026-05-16T11:43:30+0100

sako243 said:
They've admitted that for 3d printed brackets that's about as big as it can go...

What level of 3D printing does that admission cover?

Home gamer?

Professional 3D printing house with top quality plastic?

Chinese 3D printing house in metal?

Could you upload one of the pieces to JLCPCB or PCBWay and see how much th emetal item would cost?

sako243 · 2026-05-16T13:39:30+0100

Agroshield said:
What level of 3D printing does that admission cover?

Home gamer?

Professional 3D printing house with top quality plastic?

Chinese 3D printing house in metal?

Could you upload one of the pieces to JLCPCB or PCBWay and see how much th emetal item would cost?

It's the whole combination of 3d printed brackets and Ali extrusion. The aim of that design was something people could build at home with no significant metalworking skills and keep it under something like 500USD with the plasma incorporated.

Dev · 2026-05-16T13:45:50+0100

There’s other builds where you don’t have to buy the plans. I planned to use the parts from my first home built CNC into a plasma cutter but I never got round to it and haven’t missed having it.