looking to upgrade laser head

[Toby Hope]

Hi , I’m wanting to upgrade my laser head to one i can adjust, ie the c series head and the Russ special adjustable bracket.

I just need to map out the hole positions to see if it will actually fit my laser with the minimal of disruption.

I’m open to options, the main thing is i want adjustment in the head.

if anyone knows from my pic if the c series adjustable bracket will fit that would be a good heads up , thanks in advance

[Dave Vigness]

Russ' sliding mount sold on Cloudray wold be my first purchase. https://www.cloudraylaser.com/collectio ... 6879947916 If you upgrade to his MK2 lightweight head it will bolt right on, but that will give you Y and Z movement all in one part.

My only warning to you was I tried it and didn't have the clearance between the main belt and the return and had to cut a DIY slider from adapting his designs. I have the MK3 slider file on my Google Mod Page at the top. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing. It is designed to take his MK2 head directly and bolt to a 12mm bearing rail with no adapter plate. He does include the 12mm to 15mm adapter plate in his MK2 head shipment, but if you have the 12mm rail, ask to be sure before when you order.

[Toby Hope]

excellent thanks very much for your reply, i did see one of your posts saying about the clearance.

i’ll take a look at those links, i did note the adjustable head doesn’t give you the hole positions that i can find, do those linear bearings all have std hole positions?

thanks

[Toby Hope]

i can’t find the lightweight head on cloudray do i need to contact Russ direct?

[Gene Uselman]

I believe that is correct- C-ray does not make it [yet?].

[Toby Hope]

I believe that is correct- C-ray does not make it [yet?].

thanks i have contacted Russ and getttin some more info for him to make sure i’m going along the right path

[Dave Vigness]

It is amazing what Russ can tell from a few pictures. I couldn't quite tell from the one you posted, but there is a good chance his sliding mech that Cloudray sells will not work without changing the pulley diameter on your gantry.

[Toby Hope]

It is amazing what Russ can tell from a few pictures. I couldn't quite tell from the one you posted, but there is a good chance his sliding mech that Cloudray sells will not work without changing the pulley diameter on your gantry.

ah ok, it i think there’s a tensioner pulley fix to allow the belt clearance . i have vertical distance of just over 18mm from top of linear bearing to belt, ill have a look at the drawings. i definitely want an adjustable head so will be looking to make alterations to allow the fitting

[Dave Vigness]

If I remember right, Russ has the gear reduction system on his X axis. That has a large gear, somewhere in the 36 tooth range. Mine was direct drive with 15 tooth gears. I designed my sliding mount with three smaller brace angles and made all but the base plate from acrylic. Even then I don't think in 3D too well and the return belt has just enough sag it wanted to strum the top of the braces. Luckily I had a 24 tooth from something else and swapped out the idler end. It makes for an egg shaped belt path, but the bottom drive is flat to the bearing rail so it doesn't effect anything.

I also made a 'flip flop' of the guide in his slider system. I didn't have access to a milling machine, so instead of milling a slot in the base for the tab of the center brace to go into, I put the slot in the acrylic base, and used a pair of short set screws to make a 'tab' on the aluminum base for the slots to ride on. My slot tolerances were a bit off from the set screws, Russ calls them grub screws, but at that point I had went through several prototypes and was a bit low on that particular thickness of acrylic.

I have a few pics of it on my Google Mod Page as well as the files for making it. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

[Toby Hope]

If I remember right, Russ has the gear reduction system on his X axis. That has a large gear, somewhere in the 36 tooth range. Mine was direct drive with 15 tooth gears. I designed my sliding mount with three smaller brace angles and made all but the base plate from acrylic. Even then I don't think in 3D too well and the return belt has just enough sag it wanted to strum the top of the braces. Luckily I had a 24 tooth from something else and swapped out the idler end. It makes for an egg shaped belt path, but the bottom drive is flat to the bearing rail so it doesn't effect anything.

I also made a 'flip flop' of the guide in his slider system. I didn't have access to a milling machine, so instead of milling a slot in the base for the tab of the center brace to go into, I put the slot in the acrylic base, and used a pair of short set screws to make a 'tab' on the aluminum base for the slots to ride on. My slot tolerances were a bit off from the set screws, Russ calls them grub screws, but at that point I had went through several prototypes and was a bit low on that particular thickness of acrylic.

I have a few pics of it on my Google Mod Page as well as the files for making it. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

oh yes sorry you posted on my welcome thread, yes i’ve downloaded your design file thank you, looking at the space it looks like the brace will fit under my belt and use about a third of the y adjustment . I’m going to get the bracket and go from there , thanks very much for your post and files