Monport Integrated Metal Color Fiber Laser Brings a Little Shock to the Laser Engraving Industry
Aug 27, 2023If You Want More Than One Thing From This List, Congratulations: You May Be A Responsible Adult
Aug 17, 2023Laser Additive Solutions invests in Trumpf TruPrint 3000 as it targets UK space sector
Aug 31, 2023Machine learning models for efficient characterization of Schottky barrier photodiode internal parameters
Aug 30, 2023Global Laser Cleaning Machine Market Size and Forecast
Aug 20, 2023Kerfmeter Measures Laser Cutter Kerf Allowances On The Fly
Nothing beats a laser cutter and a sheet of Baltic birch plywood or MDF when it comes to making quick, attractive enclosures. Burning out all the pieces and fitting them together with finger joints is super satisfying — right up until you realize that you didn’t quite get the kerf allowance right, and your pieces don’t fit together very nicely. If only there was a way to automate kerf measurement.
There is, in the form of Kerfmeter. It comes to us by way of the lab of [Patrick Baudisch] at the University of Potsdam, where they’ve come up with a clever way to measure the kerf of a laser cutter right during the cutting session. With the Kerfmeter mounted directly to the laser cutter head, a small test artifact based on an Archimedean spiral is cut into a corner of the workpiece. Pins on a small motor engage with the object and turn it until it jams in its hole; the wider the kerf, the greater the angle. Once the kerf is calculated, the rest of the design can be dilated by the proper amount to achieve a perfect fit. The video below shows it better than words can explain it.
What we like about this is its simplicity — all it involves is a motor and a microcontroller, plus a little software. It seems much faster than using a traditional kerf gauge, not to mention more precise. And while it does use up a little bit of material, the test pattern is really pretty small, all things considered. Seems like a reasonable trade-off to us. Still, if you want to figure out your kerfs the old-fashioned way, we’ve got you covered.
Thanks to [Leif] for the tip.