Design Your Own Wireless Laser Engraver and Pen Plotter CNC

While this isn’t the first laser engraver we’ve featured here, it’s certainly one of the cleanest, and even uses Bluetooth for sending G-code from your computer. The build uses a 1000mW laser module that runs off of a USB power supply, and is capable of engraving on wood, cardboard, leather and plastic, as well as cut lightweight materials like paper and sticker sheets.

The DIY machine runs on an Arduino Uno with a CNC shield and two A4988 driver boards to handle the X/Y steppers. Steppers used here are inexpensive 28BYJ-48 motors, converted from unipolar to bipolar in order to facilitate easier Arduino control. Resolution is 102 stepps/mm, so the device is capable of small intricate engravings, and the laser can even be swapped out for a pen as needed.

Pieces to be cut are arranged on a clear acrylic bed that moves under stepper/belt control in the Y axis, while the writing instrument is pulled along a gantry for X-axis movements. In pen mode, an SG90 servo lifts the writing instrument as needed, employing a secondary Arduino Nano to convert laser signals from the CNC shield into appropriate PWM outputs for the servo.

More info is available in the project's writeup, with STL files for 3D-printed parts and a Fusion 360 design file that can be modified to your needs. Check it out working with a laser and a pen in the videos below!