The laser diode attachment to the CNC machine is able to engrave wood by gently burning the surface much like an old dot-matrix printer would do.

This involved writing a piece of Python code to scan an image and convert this into G-Code to move the CNC and switch the laser on/off.

I have tried producing shading etc but with limited results.

MDF just burns too much so that everything is a bit of a mess.

Pine is cheap and quick but you need to keep a steady stream of air blowing the smoke away otherwise the wood gets “stained”.

Fortunately I had some left over offcuts of oak block shelving and this works really nicely.

The image below is (I believe) from ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards. The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Version: 13th March 2017. delta-intkey.com/angio’.

A few notes for anyone considering using a laser. (Repeated from the main laser page because I think this is important)

  1. Eye protection – this is not optional! (Don’t forget to get some extra safety glasses in case anyone else wants to watch the laser in action)
  2. These are designed to burn through things so use with great care and use responsibly
  3. These are VERY random when bought on line!
  4. Laser diodes have a short life expectancy