Having a 3D printer at home is a very attractive idea, but if there is something on a similar level, it is having a laser engraving machine. Professional solutions blow any budget. However, the main e-commerce portals already offer DIY kits at more than acceptable prices. These kits come with basic software, but if you want to experiment with more advanced tools, you should download a copy of LaserGRBL.
Laser engraving of objects is not only interesting for developing personal projects and making gifts, but it is also shaping up as a secondary source of income. Personally, I have bought ornaments, boxes and cups with impressively precise laser cuts and engravings, and I have always considered the possibility of acquiring a machine.
Unfortunately, personal, household and pet factors (lasers and cats don't mix) prevent me from doing it, although something tells me it's worth making the investment, even if there are no plans to go to market. Now, any piece of hardware has its advantages, but software cannot fall behind. That brings us to the doorstep of LaserGRBL, a good open-source solution.
DIY Laser Engravings
According to the official site, LaserGRBL can transmit G-Code to Arduino and engrave images, photographs or logos with the help of an internal conversion tool. The developer created LaserGRBL to use it on his own engraver, which he built by recycling parts of an old CD-ROM.
One of the most important aspects of LaserGRBL is WiFi connectivity support, courtesy of the small ESP8266 module that revolutionized the DIY world. LaserGRBL has no problem engraving or cutting, and if we go by the videos, the software is at a very solid level.
Both the source code (GPLv3) and the Windows-compatible binary are available via GitHub. The latest build includes some minor fixes, but was published fourteen days ago, so it is a fairly fresh version. Needless to say, LaserGRBL requires some adaptation time and several sessions of "trial and error". However, I think it will suit your laser machine very well.
