Hand engraver with your own hands. Electric engraver for a beginner and a master: which one to choose for further work Homemade electric engraver for granite

Engraving equipment, with which you can successfully perform various technological operations, is actively used today by both specialists and home craftsmen. Although acquiring such a device on the modern market does not present any problems, many of those who would like to have it in their workshop do otherwise and make an engraver with their own hands.

Despite the simplicity of design, a home-made engraving machine allows you to successfully perform the same technological operations as the serial model engraver. These operations include, in particular:

milling of flat and shaped surfaces, as well as holes and grooves of various configurations;
drilling and boring holes of small diameter;
cutting of thin sheet material;
cleaning the product from traces of corrosion and other persistent contaminants;
drawing on the processed surface of inscriptions and patterns;
grinding and polishing.

The materials that a homemade electric engraver can handle are metal, wood, plastic, ceramics, glass, bone, artificial and natural stone.

What will be required

The functionality, reliability and technical characteristics that a homemade engraving machine will have depend entirely on what materials and mechanisms you will use to make it.

To make a simple, but easy to use and functional engraver, you will need the following components.

A flexible shaft and a working nozzle to it, in the clamping mechanism of which the tool will be fixed. As a flexible shaft for the engraver, you can use the drive shaft from the drill or a cable that drives the speedometer of a car or motorcycle. The working nozzle can also be removed from the drill or made independently from a textolite bar, turning it to the required diameter and drilling a stepped hole in its inner part. The diameter of the hole in the working nozzle of the engraver must be selected in such a way that its walls securely hold the fixed part of the drive cable, but at the same time do not interfere with the rotation of its movable core. A tube is inserted into the hole in the front of such a home-made working nozzle, inside which a clamping chuck of two halves rotates freely, fastened together with a screw. In a chuck that must be balanced, you can install a tool with a shank diameter in the range of 2–5 mm.
A set of tools with which processing will be performed. If you use a drill handle as a working attachment for a homemade engraver, then the tools must be from dental equipment that fit it in terms of the diameter of the shanks. For a homemade working nozzle, as mentioned above, any tool with a shank diameter of 2 to 5 mm is suitable.
Drive motor, which can be any motor powered by 220 volt electric current. It can be a motor from a DVD player or from an old reel to reel tape recorder, a washing machine, or from any other household appliance that you do not use. An electric motor from a sewing machine is optimal for a homemade engraver, because it already has a rheostat in its equipment, which allows you to adjust the speed of rotation of the shaft within a fairly wide range. Such engines, as a rule, are capable of developing a shaft rotation speed of up to 6 thousand rpm, which is quite enough for a household engraver.

Engraver details drawings

Bed Cover Bracket and collar
Bushing and angle Holder Motor wiring diagram

To make an engraver, you will also need an electric drill, a grinder and a standard set of locksmith tools.

The principle of operation of a homemade engraving installation

The self-made engraver of the proposed design works according to the following principle. The rotation from the electric motor is transmitted by means of pulleys and a rubber belt to a flexible shaft, which, in turn, communicates it to the working nozzle and the tool fixed in it.

A do-it-yourself engraving machine can also be made in another design, which assumes that the flexible shaft is connected to the electric motor through an adapter. At one end, such a coupling is mounted on the motor shaft and securely fixed on it with a pin, and a movable core of the flexible shaft is inserted into the square hole made at its second end.

After all the structural elements of the future home-made engraver are prepared, they begin to manufacture it.

For reliable and stable fastening of all structural elements of the engraver, it is necessary to make a simple base frame, for which you can use a sheet of textolite or thick plywood, cutting out a piece of the required size from it. At pre-marked places on the surface of such a base, an electric motor and a bracket with a clamp are attached, in which the rear tip of the flexible shaft will be fixed. After tightening the fixing nut on the bracket clamp, the end of the flexible shaft should be securely fixed in it.
Pre-prepared pulleys, which can also be removed from old household appliances, are fixed on the motor shaft and on the movable core of the flexible shaft. To perform such a fixation, it is necessary to drill holes in the flange part of the pulleys and on the shafts, into which the pins will then be inserted. Regular epoxy resin will help ensure the reliability of the connection. The transmission of rotation from the electric motor to the flexible shaft, carried out with the help of pulleys and belts, is convenient because, by changing the diameters of the pulleys used, it is possible to adjust the frequency of rotation reported to the grower.
The final stages in the manufacture of the engraver of the proposed design are the installation of a rubber belt on the pulleys of the flexible shaft and the electric motor, connecting the motor to electrical power, fixing the working nozzle with the tool at the front end of the flexible shaft and testing the finished device.

To make your engraver safer to use, make a compact casing for its electric motor and belt drive (you can use ordinary plywood). Since the hands are busy holding the workpiece and working attachment when working with the device, it is possible to equip the engraver with a foot pedal to turn it on and off. The main element of such a pedal, the body of which is also often made of plywood, is the usual push button.

As a drive for the engraver, you can use a grinder with a “flying” gearbox.

When deciding which flexible shaft to use to equip your homemade engraver, it is better to choose drive elements from dental drills. It is recommended to do this for the reason that such shafts, even removed from old drills, are already equipped with working nozzles with collet-type clamping mechanisms, in which the tool used is very conveniently and securely fixed.

Meanwhile, the use of a flexible shaft from a dental drill as a drive element of the engraver nozzle has certain inconveniences. They consist in the fact that for dental nozzles it is not always possible to select the tools required when working on an engraving unit. This problem is solved quite simply: many tools for the engraver can be made independently, using improvised materials for this.

So, sufficiently high-quality cutters for engraving installations can be made from broken drills if, using a conventional grinding machine, their working part is given the required configuration. Abrasive heads of various shapes, which are actively used in processing with an engraver, can be made from fragments of a grinding wheel of medium hardness.

First, such fragments must be equipped with a shank, which is made of steel wire with a diameter of 2.6 mm. Then such a shank is inserted into a pre-made hole in the abrasive fragment and embedded in it with epoxy resin. The last thing left to do to turn such a workpiece into a full-fledged engraver's tool is to give its abrasive part the required configuration using a grinding machine equipped with a high hardness wheel.

Sometimes it is necessary to beautifully sign a gift, but it is not clear how to do it. The paint spreads and quickly wears off, the marker is not an option. Engraving works best for this. You don’t even have to spend money on it, since anyone who knows how to solder can make a laser engraver with their own hands from a printer.

Device and principle of operation

The main element of the engraver is a semiconductor laser. It emits a focused and very bright beam of light that burns through the material being processed. By adjusting the radiation power, you can change the depth and speed of burning.

The basis of the laser diode is a semiconductor crystal, above and below which are P and N regions. Electrodes are connected to them, through which current is supplied. Between these areas is a P - N junction.

Compared to an ordinary laser diode, it looks like a giant: its crystal can be examined in detail with the naked eye.

The values can be deciphered as follows:

P (positive) area.
P - N transition.
N (negative) area.

The ends of the crystal are polished to perfection, so it works like an optical resonator. Electrons flowing from the positively charged region to the negative region excite photons in the P-N transition. Reflecting from the walls of the crystal, each photon generates two similar ones, which, in turn, also divide, and so on ad infinitum. The chain reaction that occurs in a semiconductor laser crystal is called the pumping process. The more energy is fed into the crystal, the more of it is pumped into the laser beam. In theory, you can saturate it indefinitely, but in practice everything is different.

During operation, the diode heats up, and it has to be cooled. If you constantly increase the power supplied to the crystal, sooner or later the moment will come when the cooling system can no longer cope with heat removal and the diode will burn out.

The power of laser diodes usually does not exceed 50 watts. Above this value, it becomes difficult to make an efficient cooling system, so high-power diodes are extremely expensive to manufacture.

There are semiconductor lasers with 10 or more kilowatts, but they are all composite. Their optical resonator is pumped with low-power diodes, the number of which can reach several hundred.

Composite lasers are not used in engravers, as their power is too high.

Creating a laser engraver

For simple work, like burning patterns on wood, complex and expensive devices are not needed. A homemade laser engraver powered by a battery will suffice.

Before making an engraver, you need to prepare the following parts for its assembly:

Remove the write head from the DVD drive.

Carefully remove the focusing lens and disassemble the head housing until you see 2 lasers hidden in heat-distributing shrouds.

One of them is infrared, for reading information from a disk. The second, red, is the writer. In order to distinguish them, apply a voltage of 3 volts to their terminals.

Pinout:

Before checking, be sure to put on dark glasses. Never check the laser by looking at the diode window. You need to look only at the reflection of the beam.

It is necessary to select the laser that lit up. The rest can be thrown away if you do not know where to apply it. To protect against static, solder all the leads of the diode together and set it aside. Saw off a 15 cm piece from the profile. Drill a hole in it for the tact button. Make cutouts in the box for the profile, charging socket and switch.

The schematic diagram of a do-it-yourself DVD laser engraver is as follows:

Tin the contact pads on the charge control board and holder:

Using wires to the B+ and B- pins of the charge controller, solder the battery compartment. Contacts + and - go to the socket, the remaining 2 - to the laser diode. First, solder the laser power supply circuit by surface mounting and insulate it well with adhesive tape.

Make sure that the conclusions of the radio components are not shorted to each other. Solder a laser diode and a button to the power circuit. Place the assembled device in the profile and glue the laser with thermally conductive glue. Attach the rest of the pieces with double sided tape. Install the pushbutton in its place.

Insert the profile into the box, bring out the wires and secure it with hot glue. Solder the switch and install it. Follow the same procedure for the charging socket. Use a heat gun to glue the battery compartment and charge controller into place. Insert the battery into the holder and close the box with a lid.

Before use, you need to set up the laser. To do this, place a piece of paper 10 centimeters away from it, which will be the target for the laser beam. Place the focusing lens in front of the diode. Moving it away and bringing it closer, achieve a target burn. Glue the lens to the profile in the place where the greatest effect has been achieved.

The assembled engraver is perfect for small jobs and recreational purposes like lighting matches and burning balloons.

Remember that the engraver is not a toy and should not be given to children. The laser beam, if it enters the eyes, causes irreversible effects, so keep the device out of the reach of children.

CNC tool manufacturing

With large volumes of work, a conventional engraver will not cope with the load. If you are going to use it often and a lot, you will need a CNC device.

Assembling the interior

Even at home, you can make a laser engraver. To do this, stepper motors and guides must be removed from the printer. They will drive the laser.

The complete list of required parts is as follows:

Wiring diagram for all components:

View from above:

Explanation of designations:

Semiconductor laser with heatsink.
Carriage.
X axis guides.
Pressure rollers.
Stepper motor.
Leading gear.
Toothed belt.
Guide fasteners.
Gears.
Stepper motors.
Base made of sheet metal.
Y axis guides.
X axis carriages.
toothed belts.
Mounting supports.
Limit switches.

Measure the length of the guides and divide them into two groups. The first one will have 4 short ones, the second one will have 2 long ones. Guides from the same group must be the same length.

Add 10 centimeters to the length of each group of guides and cut the base according to the dimensions obtained. From scraps, bend the U-shaped supports for fasteners and weld them to the base. Mark and drill holes for the bolts.

Drill a hole in the heatsink and glue the laser into it using thermally conductive glue. Solder wires and a transistor to it. Bolt the radiator to the carriage.

Install the rail mounts on the two supports and fix them with bolts. Insert the Y-axis guides into the mounts, put the X-axis carriages on their free ends. Insert the remaining guides with the laser head mounted on them into them. Put the fasteners on the Y-axis guides and screw them to the supports.

Drill holes in the mounting points of the electric motors and gear axles. Install the stepper motors in their places and put the drive gears on their shafts. Insert the axles pre-cut from the metal rod into the holes and fix them with epoxy glue. After it hardens, put on the gear axles and pressure rollers with bearings inserted into them.

Install the timing belts as shown in the diagram. Pull them tight before attaching. Check the mobility of the X-axis and the laser head. They should move with little effort, rotating all the rollers and gears through the belts.

Connect the wires to the laser, motors and limit switches and tighten them with cable ties. Lay the resulting bundles in movable cable channels and fix them on the carriages.

Bring the ends of the wires out.

Case manufacturing

Drill holes in the base for the corners. Step back from its edges 2 centimeters and draw a rectangle.

Its width and length repeats the dimensions of the future case. The height of the case must be such that all internal mechanisms fit into it.

Explanation of designations:

Loops.
Tact button (start/stop).
Arduino power switch.
Laser switch.
2.1 x 5.5 mm jack for 5V power supply.
Protective box for DC-DC inverter.
Wires.
Arduino protective box.
Body fasteners.
corners.
Base.
Feet made of non-slip material.
Lid.

Cut out all the body parts from plywood and fasten them with corners. Use the hinges to attach the cover to the case and screw it to the base. Cut a hole in the front wall and push the wires through it.

Assemble protective covers from plywood and cut holes in them for the button, switches and sockets. Place the Arduino in the case so that the USB connector lines up with the hole provided for it. Set the DC-DC converter to 3V at 2A. Attach it to the housing.

Reinstall the button, power socket, switches and solder the electrical circuit of the engraver together. After soldering all the wires, install the casings on the body and screw them with self-tapping screws. For the engraver to work, you need to upload the firmware to the Arduino.

After the firmware, turn on the engraver and press the "Start" button. Leave the laser off. Pressing the button will start the calibration process, during which the microcontroller will measure and store the length of all axes and determine the position of the laser head. After its completion, the engraver will be completely ready for work.

Before you start working with the engraver, you need to convert the images into a format that the Arduino understands. This can be done using the Inkscape Laserengraver program. Move the selected image into it and click on Convert. Send the resulting file via cable to the Arduino and start the printing process by turning on the laser before that.

Such an engraver can only process objects consisting of organic substances: wood, plastic, fabrics, paintwork, and others. Metals, glass and ceramics cannot be engraved on it.

Never turn on the engraver with the lid open. The laser beam, getting into the eyes, concentrates on the retina, damaging it. Reflex closure of the eyelids will not save you - the laser will have time to burn out a section of the retina even before they slam shut. In this case, you may not feel anything, but over time, the retina will begin to peel off, which can lead to complete or partial loss of vision.

If you catch a laser "bunny", contact an ophthalmologist as soon as possible - this will help to avoid serious problems in the future.

However, as a flexible shaft for an engraver, it is possible to use a drive shaft from a drill or a shaft for a car or motorcycle speedometer. We use this option for our homemade.

Due to the flexible shaft, the device has an advantage. During operation of the device, there is no excessive load on the hands. This is due to the fact that the shaft head is several times lighter than a power tool with an integrated drive.

Making a working nozzle

The body of the working nozzle, in the clamping mechanism of which the cutting tool will be fixed, can also be used from a drill or made independently. In our case, it is made of steel (I used the services of a turner - a neighbor in the garage). This option has its advantages - strength and accuracy, but also disadvantages - more weight. Due to small loads, it is possible to make a case from non-ferrous metal (for example, lighter aluminum alloys) or from a textolite bar by drilling a stepped hole for bearings in its inner part and processing the outer contour of the case for your hand for comfortable holding.

The threaded part of the body is intended for its connection with the used flexible shaft of the speedometer and corresponds to it in the thread. In our case, this is M18x1.5 10 mm long. The 70 mm long housing is bored for two ball bearings with a diameter of 22 x 8 mm.
As a drive shaft with a collet clamp, which will be installed in the housing, we use a double-sided hand tool with interchangeable collets, sometimes used for drilling holes in the boards. It's time to mechanize this tool.

The outer diameter of the tube (handle) of the tool body is 8 mm, slightly increased during the knurling operation. The thread of the collets screwed into the tool is M6. We disassemble the tool and complete the assembly with two ball bearings.

To the width of the bearing, for its tight fit, we clean the corrugations from the edges of the tube. We press the bearing on one side. To fix the shaft when clamping the cutting tool in the collet, we select a sleeve of suitable size, install it in the middle of the tube and fix it with a pin. We drill through the installed bushing, in diameter, a through hole of 3.5 mm to install the stopper when clamping.

On the one hand (instead of a collet), we screw a piece of copper tube with a diameter of 6 mm into the threaded hole of the tool tube. To do this, at one end of it, we pre-cut the M6 thread, and gently squeeze the other end until the square fits snugly at the output end of the flexible shaft of the speedometer. As a result, the total length of the drive shaft must match the length of the housing.

We press the second bearing on the other side.

We measure the distance from the front end of the tube to the hole for the stopper. We install the assembled shaft into the housing, until it stops against the rear wall. We mark the location of the locking hole on the body. We remove the drive shaft and drill a locking hole in the housing. After lubricating the bearings, we assemble the working nozzle. We check the alignment of the holes for the stopper. If the bearings turned out to be unprotected, we cut out and install, from the side of the collet, a protective washer made of plastic or felt.

After complete assembly of the body of the working nozzle, the open end of the drive shaft must coincide with the end of the body, and the crimped end of the copper tube should be flush with the threaded end.

Set the collet to the correct size.

We fix the flexible shaft on the body.

To secure the cutting tool

We use a punch as a stopper.

Tool
As tools that turn a compact engraving device into a multifunctional processing device, the following are used:
- drills, with the help of which the engraver turns into a mini-drill;
- milling cutters of various designs, allowing the processing of flat and shaped surfaces, as well as holes, grooves and recesses of various configurations;
- disk tools used to perform cutting operations on materials of small thickness;
- metal brushes, which are used to clean the treated surfaces from traces of corrosion and other contaminants;
- abrasive tools with working heads of round, semicircular, oval and cylindrical shapes used for grinding and polishing surfaces;
- tools with a working head of a conical shape for applying inscriptions and patterns to the surface of the workpiece;
- tools, the working head of which is made of felt, for polishing operations.

Sufficiently high-quality cutters for engraving machines can be made from broken drills if their working part is given the required configuration using a conventional grinder.

Attachment drive
Drive motor, which can be any motor powered by 220 volt electric current. This may be the engine from a washing machine or other household appliances that you do not use.

An electric motor from a sewing machine is optimal for a homemade engraver, since it is possible to regulate the speed of rotation of the shaft within a fairly wide range. Such engines, as a rule, are capable of developing a shaft rotation speed of up to 6 thousand rpm, which is quite enough for a household engraver. It is better to work with soft materials at slow speeds, since a high speed of rotation will cause overheating of the tool or melting of the edges of the workpiece. At medium speed, it is recommended to work with metal. It is best to process hard natural stone at maximum speed.

As a drive for the engraver, you can use a grinder with a “flying” gearbox, a drill or a screwdriver.
A temporary use case is also possible.

Creating an engraving machine with your own hands is a rather difficult task. Despite this, there are craftsmen who can make a homemade CNC engraving machine at home, which is many times more difficult. In this article, we will provide detailed instructions, following which you can create your own device for engraving workpieces.

Of course, designing such a machine at home requires a lot of material costs and solid skills, but by making such a machine yourself, you can save a significant amount of money and create a device that best suits your production goals.

Where to begin?

If you decide to make an engraving machine with your own hands, we recommend that you immediately design a CNC device. This will greatly increase the performance of the device and make it easier to work with it. After that, decide on the layout of the device. As a basis, you can take an old mini-drilling machine and replace the drill in it with the cutter itself.

Choose a mechanism that will be responsible for moving the working unit along the planes. For this purpose, you can use carriages from an old printer. In addition, the apparatus constructed in this way will make it relatively easy to attach a digital node. It is worth noting that carriages are best taken from large printers. This will significantly strengthen the design of the machine.
Equip your machine with a powerful stepper motor. For this purpose, we recommend using old electric motors.
Pay special attention to the milling unit.
To carry out the transmission from the engine to the working unit, it is best to use a toothed belt drive.

Device assembly

After we have decided on the layout of the machine and the origin of its main parts, it's time to start assembling our machine for engraving workpieces. The basis for the device can be made a rectangular beam, which is mounted on rails. It is recommended to fasten the remaining structural elements to the beam with screws.

The fact is that our entire structure must have increased rigidity, since quite serious loads will act on it during operation. The lack of reliable fasteners and the unsteadiness of the installation will necessarily affect the quality of workpiece processing.

At the same time, do not abuse welding. The fact is that welding seams are quite seriously subject to deformation and destruction. Such connections are especially difficult to tolerate various vibrations, which will be quite a lot during the operation of the device. Guides should also be made of durable material, resistant to a variety of deformations.

Otherwise, this element of the structure will have to be changed after a relatively short time after the start of use of the machine. The design of the device must include a lifting mechanism for the milling unit. It is best to use a screw gear for this purpose.

The vertical axis for the machine is best made from an aluminum plate. Its dimensions must be compared with the dimensions of other elements of the structure of the machine. When we have the axis ready, we can proceed with the installation of stepper motors. The first will move in the horizontal direction, and the second in the vertical direction. Transmission method - belt. Before using the machine, it must be operated in manual mode.

Electrical equipment and software

Any modern engraving machine will only be as efficient as its software. High-quality electrical equipment also plays one of the defining roles.

What the digital node should look like:

The software must have all the necessary drivers for the installed machine elements. In addition, the machine program must be consistent with all operating modes of the device. First of all, the software must be reliable and functional.
An LPT port must be provided in the design of the unit.
Numerical software is connected via the LPT port.
After installing the CNC on the machine, all the necessary drivers and programs are installed.

When assembling a digital engraving machine assembly, it should be remembered that the quality of the work performed will necessarily affect the operation of the device. Before using the device, you should carefully check the functionality of the software. After correctly setting up the entire machine and troubleshooting, a home-made device will be able to perform many functions with high quality.

Video: do-it-yourself engraving and milling machine.

Which engine to choose?

Any CNC engraving machine should be equipped with an electric type stepper motor. For these purposes, engines from old printers are perfect. Most of these products were equipped with a pair of suitable motors. In addition to the units themselves, rods can also be removed from the printers, which are also suitable for our device.

It is worth noting that for the full-fledged work of a home-made engraving device, not two, but three similar motors should be installed on it. Thus, one must either look for two matrix printers, or buy the necessary parts on the market.

The optimal structure of the engines should include five separate wires for control, which will significantly increase the functionality of the device. An important indicator for the motor is the number of degrees per step. An important factor is the operating voltage and winding resistance. Information about these indicators will help to correctly configure the operation of the entire device.

A nut and stud with the required dimensions can be used as a drive.
Fasteners for parts can be made with a drill and a file. For these purposes, a sleeve with a screw is perfect.
The motor shaft is most often attached with a thick rubber wire with a good winding. Through this element, you can qualitatively attach the engine to the stud.

The above instructions are suitable not only for making a homemade engraving machine, but also for designing other devices with numerical software. For example, using these recommendations, you can make an apparatus for coordinate boring of parts. Depending on the power of the machine, it can process workpieces from different materials (metal, wood, chipboard).

Engravers are widely used in various industries, not only for engraving various materials, but also for drilling miniature holes, polishing, grinding, milling. The same operations with their help can be performed at home. If this is required only occasionally, or you just need to save money on buying a tool, then you can make a mini-drill yourself from unnecessary equipment, which often lies unused in garages or storage rooms. With the help of home-made drills, it will be possible to perform the same operations as with a factory tool of similar power, only you will need to use the appropriate nozzles.

According to the features of their functioning, engravers are divided into milling and laser engravers. In the first, the material is processed with various nozzles. In laser models, all the work is done by a laser beam - this is non-contact engraving. At the same time, such a device belongs to the category of high-tech equipment. But a homemade engraver can be made at home.

To create a laser engraver with your own hands, you will need the following parts, tools and materials:

stepper motors from a dvd drive;
computing platform Arduino;
Proto Board with display;
limit switches for motors;
laser module (for example, with a power of 3 W);
a device for adjusting the magnitude of the constant voltage;
laser cooling system;
MOSFET (transistor);
boards for assembling motor control elements;
frame;
toothed pulleys and belts for them;
various sizes of bearings;
wooden boards: 2 pieces measuring 135x10x2 cm and two more - 125x10x2 cm;
4 round metal rods with a section of 10 mm;
lubricant;
clamps, bolts with washers and nuts;
vise;
locksmith tools;
drill;
electric jigsaw or circular saw;
files or sandpaper;
computer or laptop.

Stepper motors can be taken not only from DVD, but also from a printer that is practically not used.

The machine is assembled according to the following algorithm:

create a foundation;
mount guides with movable carriages;
assemble an electrical circuit;
install the necessary programs on the computer;
carry out adjustment (adjustment) of the laser head;
check the functionality of the machine.

Connection diagram stepper electric motors taken from an inkjet printer or DVD is shown in the photo below.

The entire sequence of actions that allows you to assemble a laser engraver on arduino is shown in detail in the video below.

The created CNC engraver will cost much cheaper than any factory-produced laser models. It can be used for making stamps, for photoresist, for working with wood, plywood, plastic, cardboard, polystyrene foam and cork sheets. Metal engraving is also possible.

Assembling an electric engraver with a tripod and a flexible shaft

An electric engraver is the most common type of this kind of tool at home. To make a functionally complete device on your own, capable of competing with analogues of industrial production, you will need an electric motor that runs on AC 220 V. Such electric motors can be taken from the following equipment:

Soviet-style reel-to-reel tape recorders;
DVD players;
washing machines;
angle grinders;
electric sewing machines.

The latter option is optimal, because it is possible to adjust the speed in a fairly wide range using the built-in rheostat.

For domestic use, a drill with an idle speed of up to 6 thousand revolutions per minute is sufficient.

Holding an electric motor from any of the listed types of equipment in one hand is inconvenient, and in most cases it is simply impossible. Therefore, it will be necessary flexible shaft for engraver. In this case, the general view of the future device will turn out, approximately, as in the photo below.

The functionality of the created device for engraving will depend on the materials and mechanisms used in the assembly. The motor can be put on the table, but it is more convenient to do tripod for engraver, or rather its likeness.

Production of a flexible shaft

With a flexible shaft, everything is relatively simple. It can be done in several ways:

from an old drive shaft, for example, from a dental drill;
using the speedometer cable of a motorcycle or car.

The shaft attachment can also be used from a drill or make it yourself from different materials, for example, from wood, textolite, plastic pipes. From textolite a device (handle) for holding the snap is done like this:

cut off 2 textolite platinum (sheet thickness should be about 1 cm) about 2 by 10 cm in size;
connect them together and grind them with a file or sandpaper on the outside to make a cylinder;
grooves are machined from the inside;
metal rings fix the parts with each other;
a tube is inserted into the front of the handle, under a cartridge consisting of two separate halves connected with a bolt.

As a result, you get a handle, as in the photo below.

The internal hole made between the textolite plates must be of such a section that it does not interfere with the free rotation of the cable. It will be possible to insert nozzles with a shank diameter from 2 to 5 mm into the chuck.

Assembling the engraving machine

It is very easy to make a tripod (base for installing an electric motor) from plywood or the same textolite. To do this, proceed as follows:

cut out from a sheet of material several pieces (4 is enough) of the size corresponding to the electric motor;
a motor is attached to one of the fragments using clamps;
collect a box;
a hole is drilled in the front for a flexible shaft.

The created structure is suspended from the wall.

Convenient to use factory clamp holder for the engraver, if the size of the electric motor allows. Mount connects to any table. But such a device will need to be purchased additionally.

Further assembly of the engraving device is performed in the following sequence:

using a coupling created from a drilled bolt, the cable is connected to the motor shaft;

put a rubber hose of the appropriate diameter on the cable and attach the handle made to it;

install the start button;
connect the equipment to the network;

check the performance of the device.

A homemade drill will allow you to process wood, bone, metal, glass, plastic, ceramic blanks, as well as various metals, natural and artificial stone.

You can also use electric motors to create home-made straight grinders, rated for 380 V, but if they can be adjusted to 220. In such cases, you will need to tinker extra. There is a lot of information on this subject both on the Internet and in books on electrical engineering.

Making a mini drill from a motor

It happens that at home it is required to make small holes in wood or plastic, while drills from a drill are not suitable. In such cases, a homemade mini-drill from a motor will help. It can also be used to wood engraving. And if there is an interest in amateur radio, then using the created tool, you can drill and cut boards.

To create a homemade fixture, you will need to take a miniature electric motor from an old tape recorder. Even various models of motors from children's toys will do. If you use a mini-engine from a 12 V tape recorder as a drive, then you will also need the following materials and parts:

power supply unit or several batteries (accumulator) with 12 V output;
a piece of plastic pipe (about 10 cm long) with such a cross section that a miniature electric motor can be inserted inside;
heat-resistant glue;
power button;
wiring for electrical connections.

Do-it-yourself mini-drill is assembled according to the following algorithm:

using an electric drill or a knife, make a hole in the tube for the switch;
lubricate the motor with glue to fix it inside the future housing;

insert the motor into the tube;
any of the wires through which the motor is powered is protruded into a hole previously drilled in the housing, and the other end is left on the back of the housing;

one wire from the power supply is inserted into the hole for the button;
solder the switch to the protruding ends with a soldering iron, carefully isolating the contacts;

the two wires remaining from the end of the tube (from the button and the motor) are connected to the connector for connecting the power supply;

cut off the neck of any plastic bottle;
make a hole in the center of the cover for the connector and glue these parts together;
glue the neck to the tube;

connect the assembled mini drill to the power supply;

by pressing a button, they check the performance of the homemade product.

Supply unit voltage should be selected so that it matches the operating voltage of the electric motor used.

To make a mini drill autonomous, it is enough just to adapt batteries to it.

Homemade dremel from a drill and a blender

If you have an old or unnecessary blender, then it is also easy to make a mini-drill out of it. This household appliance already has a comfortable handle. In addition to the blender itself, you will also need such devices and additional parts:

tools to disassemble the device (screwdrivers with different tips, pliers);
caliper or ruler;
collet;
soldering iron with soldering kit;
file for finishing, sandpaper;
switch.

You can do without the last detail, but then you will need to constantly hold the power button with your hand while working with a straight grinder.

An engraver from a blender is created like this:

neatly disassemble household appliances;
they take out internal parts: an electric motor and a printed circuit board that controls the operation of the device;
using a caliper, measure the diameter of the spindle in order to purchase a collet chuck suitable for it;
if the electric motor is contaminated with something, for example, rust, then it is carefully cleaned with care so as not to damage the windings;
fix the purchased collet chuck (or made by yourself) on the spindle;
the power button already on the blender is replaced with a switch: solder the wire contacts;
adapting a hole in the housing of the household appliance for a new switch;
install the electric motor with the board in their places inside the case;
collect the tool.

Depending on the model of the blender you are converting, you may need to do additional holes in its case, or expand existing ones with a file. Doing this won't be a problem.

The entire described process of assembling a dremel from a blender is demonstrated in detail in the video below.

You can not remake the blender, but simply connect a flexible shaft for a factory-made engraver to it. The docking method is shown in the video below.

You can also make an engraver from a drill. The assembly of variants with and without a flexible shaft is shown in the following videos.

Making an engraver from a 3D printer

An ordinary 3D printer is a good basis for creating an engraver, with which you can cut various materials, do crafts and perform other operations. To upgrade an existing device, you will need an additional install fee, which will feed the operational circuits of the equipment and the laser module.

An engraving machine created from a 3D printer is demonstrated in the following video.

In addition to the considered simplest ways to create a homemade engraving machine from a 3D printer, a small electric motor, a small electric motor, a blender and a drill, there are also other options. At the same time, both this technique and other power tools are used as a basis. Craftsmen constantly come up with new modifications, showing design imagination. Implementing in practice any of the above options or independent development, one should provide security created homemade. To do this, it is necessary to isolate the electrical contacts well and to reliably assemble the equipment.

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