Making jewelry is a fun hobby, but if you want to take it to the next level by making your pieces, then laser welding is a great way to do so. A laser welder can melt metal very precisely and quickly, which means that it can make perfect welds on even small jewelry items. This post will show you how I made my jewelry laser welder for under $20.
Laser Welder – how it works
Now that you’ve got all your supplies, it’s time to assemble them into a functional laser welder. This is a pretty straightforward process, but there are a few basics you need to know about how the device works so that you don’t accidentally burn yourself or start a fire.
To begin, insert the battery into the battery box and make sure it stays firmly in place. The next step is to connect all of your wires—this will depend on what type of wire you decided on earlier. Once this has been done correctly and tightly wrapped with electrical tape (or whatever material matches), attach the screw terminal connectors at either end of each wire length. These should be slit open so that each LED can be connected directly without needing any other support parts; once again, take care when doing this step so that nothing gets damaged!
Once completed, wire up all four LEDs using jumper cables below their respective sockets within our laser cutter machine body shell. Ensure they’re secured properly inside before connecting them back up top through holes drilled out long enough for both screw terminals. As well as 8-pin headers being used for extra support during operation periods later down the line here today at home.
What do you need to make your jewelry laser welder?
Here are the parts you need to make your jewelry laser welder:
- A laser tube and power supply. These can be purchased separately or as a package, but they’re both essential. You will also need an optical lens that fits over the light from your tube to focus it properly on your workpiece. Finally, you’ll need an enclosure for everything—this helps keep dust off the lenses and protects against breakage in case something falls over during use (which they sometimes do).
- The right equipment isn’t cheap! A good-quality laser tube costs $2,000 or more; a power supply can run up to $1,500; lenses range from $100-$500 depending on size and quality; enclosures run about $500 for something basic enough for hobbyists like us who aren’t going into production mode anytime soon! So if you’re looking at building one yourself instead of buying one ready-made from companies like Epilog Laser Systems (who makes pretty much all these parts). Expect total costs of around $5K-$7K before shipping/taxes, etc., which may seem like quite a lot compared with what others might charge per hour for doing similar work professionally. But this DIY option offers two main advantages worth considering:
- Freedom from having someone else control how many hours we spend per day/weekend(s) crafting our masterpieces. We decide what projects get done by setting up automatic timers on each machine. So everything runs unattended while we attend to other duties throughout the day.
- Ability to customize our machines as needed while keeping costs low by using less expensive components without sacrificing overall quality performance.
Assembly of the welder
Assembly of the welder:
- First, you will put together your frame. The base section is a simple piece of wood with a hole in it that fits onto the motor shaft. The top section has two holes for bolts (one on each side) and a threaded rod that holds the laser tube in place. You will insert this into one side of your frame, then use nuts on both sides to secure it. You’ll do this for both sides of your frame.
- Next, attach your power supply to one end of your saw blade and clamp it, so there’s around an inch between them when they’re touching each other.
- Then connect one end of your wire leads to each clamp; these should be labeled “positive” and “negative.” So you know where the positive lead connects directly with the positive terminal at one side while the negative lead connects directly with another terminal at another side.
- Finally, hold all three clamps together firmly (but not too tightly!), so they’re connected properly before screwing down any bolts or screws.
The final look of the complete device
The laser beam is projected in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the lens, which is made of optical-quality glass. The diameter of this beam should be as small as possible, and its intensity should be at least equal to our expectations.
The focused and controlled laser beam must not exceed 1 mm2 in the area (diameter). Otherwise, we will get poor results. A larger focus (and thus a smaller focal distance) allows us to use smaller lenses that are cheaper and easier to manufacture than large ones.
If you want your welder/cutter/engraver/burner etc., device for jewelry crafting at home or in your studio, it’s worth knowing that many models are available on eBay. Still, only some can meet all your needs: from size (they need space) to power consumption (they eat electricity). If you need help determining what kind of tool suits your needs best, then keep reading!
Conclusion
The jewelry laser welder is a cheap and effective solution for anyone who wants to start making jewelry. In this article, we looked at some of the most important features of this device and how you can use it to create beautiful jewelry pieces. We also discussed some things you should consider before building your own welder and what materials are required for assembling it.
