Laser head swap?

[Joseph Leavell]

I see, are there conversion kits by chance? Or would something like this work?(https://lightobject.com/laser-head-moun ... s-lr-type/) Basically I just want to make the laser accept a 20mm lens lol. Is there an easier way to do that, and also would I need any other parts other than the head/lens?

[Gene Uselman]

I think that would work but there will still be a adaptor plate of some sort needed between the bolt pattern of the machine and the pattern of the head... would not be too hard to make.

[Joseph Leavell]

I'm not the best with material properties at all, but do you think acrylic would be able to support that since it's not exactly crazy heavy and pretty well supported?

[Gene Uselman]

I think acrylic would work OK- I forget who suggested Russ' lightweight head but that might be just the ticket- it is sheetmetal and maybe could be drilled to work. Have you really studied the different focal lengths, because have been working pretty much daily for five years with lasers and have never used a long focus lens- I think you should buy a couple 18mm lenses and try them personally. theory is fine and fun but can lead a person to some blind alleys.

Have you watched Russ' videos- many about lenses and he is now updating what he has explored in the past.

[Dave Vigness]

If you look at my Google Mod Page, you can see mine. Russ' head is aluminum and 1/4 the weight of the stock heads. I did my base from a piece of aluminum plate because it had to handle the belt tension, the rest from 3mm acrylic. It's even survived my crashing it a few times. Going to cut and glue up a spare one of these days as an insurance policy, but barring something catastrophic I don't see needing it.

Okay, it's not all 3mm. I did the vertical plate the head mounts to out of a scrap of 5mm to give the screws a little more to bite into. It was originally made for the MK1, and flexed a bit more than I cared for with only three screws in it. I pulled it out when I got Russ' new MK2, and the fourth screw makes all the difference. But since had fabricated the one with the 5mm, I used that one.

It also helps I put three braces instead of one.

[Joseph Leavell]

@Dave I looked at your drive page for the MK3 and it looks pretty sweet. I'm debating just making an attachment for mine to hold it as I can't find one easily that works for a 20mm lens... I'd of course be using the lens I have now which I believe is a 1.5in, think that'd cut 3mm acrylic well enough to make a head out of?

[Dave Vigness]

Russ' MK2 head should bolt right on. He added the bolt positions for your bracket when he made the change from the MK1 to the MK2. Drop him an email with that last pic to double check.

[Joseph Leavell]

Do you have a good email address for him? I looked around but can't seem to find one