How to use a laser engraver to make a keyboard?

[Eureka]

Since I got into custom keyboards about a year ago, I have bought many keyboards in different configurations. top mount, sandwitch mount, tray mount and gasket. I bought two gasket keyboards. think6.5 v2 and vega. The design, texture and sound are amazing. So I thought of using a laser engraving machine to make a gasket keyboard. I chose the OMTech https://omtechlaser.com/ laser engraving machine among OMTech, glow forge, and thunder because my budget is not high. But since I have never used laser engraving machine, I don't know how much power I should buy.

[glibber]

You should probably specify what parts exactly you want to "make".

Do you only want to engrave some designs on parts you bought? Do you want to cut a plate/other parts of the case? What materials do you want to work with (wood, acrylic, metal...)?

To be honest, laser engraving machines are mainly made for just that - engraving. You might be able to cut some plastics and wood to some degree, but with metal you'll be out of luck for the most part. Actually making a keyboard with only laser cutting would be difficult anyway, as you can pretty much only do through cuts. So I'm not sure if you've got the right thing to begin with there.

[Eureka]

You should probably specify what parts exactly you want to "make".

Do you only want to engrave some designs on parts you bought? Do you want to cut a plate/other parts of the case? What materials do you want to work with (wood, acrylic, metal...)?

To be honest, laser engraving machines are mainly made for just that - engraving. You might be able to cut some plastics and wood to some degree, but with metal you'll be out of luck for the most part. Actually making a keyboard with only laser cutting would be difficult anyway, as you can pretty much only do through cuts. So I'm not sure if you've got the right thing to begin with there.

What a stupidity. I can't believe I forgot about this. I was thinking of using acrylic or pc for the housing (stacking) as well as the positioning plate.

[Leslieann]

You need at least a 20 watt laser to really get through acrylic, preferably a 40 watt and even that will need to be tuned well for the thicker parts. This is a Chinese laser, they are always under powered for the rating and in this case a proper 40watt will barely fit into that housing and you still need to mirror system, and where is the cooling system? I have serious doubts these are true 40 watt lasers, the size and lack of cooling is questionable (1/2in to spare for side panels and mirror? Doubtful).

The harder the duty cycle the shorter the lifespan, especially one that isn't cooled properly. A 40 watt tube without water cooling will not last long under long thick cuts like a keyboard will need, I would highly recommend rigging up some sort of cooling system if it supports it, I've seen everything from a simple 55 gallon drum to just absorb heat to water cooled computer radiators to aquarium chillers. Expensive, yes, but so are lasers, the tubes are considered consumables. In other words this isn't going to be a $400 laser you buy once, it's a $400 laser with a short tube lifespan, then you get to spend a couple hundred replacing the bulb every so often.

While they say "home use), these are not toys, you will need a vent or have this in your garage. You will also need a smoke detector and extinguisher. It's pretty much a given that at some point it will catch fire. Make sure it has a metal case, it will help contain it without falling apart or itself catching fire. While you may think you can get away without a detector, I've seen what happens when a misaligned laser escapes and catches something on fire behind the operator. It happens.


Honestly, if you just want a custom board you could save some money and get a nicer board by just contacting someone with a water jet and having them cut what you want from metal or anything else rather than buying a laser.

[Findecanor]

A laser cutter/engraver will also need an active ventilation system hooked up to it to vent the smoke from burning the material. If the smoke is not properly vented it will settle on the mirrors, making them absorb the laser energy instead of reflecting it — and thus overheat and destroy them.

When my local maker-space first got a laser-cutter, we could not solve the ventilation issue, so we didn't run it. We weren't allowed to hook it up to the building's ventilation system, and we couldn't run our own air ducts outside because we were too deep in a basement.
At the second location, after we were able to set it up, users were required to first go a safety course. The material could catch fire, so cutting should always be supervised with a fire extinguisher nearby.
Every material and thickness needs different settings. Some materials are forbidden in the laser-cutter because they either catch fire too easily or they produce too much smoke.

[glibber]

You need at least a 20 watt laser to really get through acrylic, preferably a 40 watt and even that will need to be tuned well for the thicker parts. This is a Chinese laser, they are always under powered for the rating and in this case a proper 40watt will barely fit into that housing and you still need to mirror system, and where is the cooling system? I have serious doubts these are true 40 watt lasers, the size and lack of cooling is questionable (1/2in to spare for side panels and mirror? Doubtful).

If I read their website correctly, they sell the matching cooling unit seperately - for another $160 for 40W. The machine only comes with a pump and ports as far as I can tell, so a seperate cooler is probably required to run it at all.

Their 40W units however only have a max. cutting depth of 1/8" (ca. 3 mm) in acrylic, so it might be doubted how powerful they actually are. According to their specifications, a 50W machine does 1/2" (ca. 13 mm), which might still be a bit slim; on a 60W one you get 3/4" (ca. 19 mm).
If that's sufficient for you, you're already at $2,750, plus $500 for the according cooling unit, plus possible cost for ventilation/safety measures - you can certainly get a lot of parts cut by someone for that money.

[Leslieann]

You can get through 3/8-1/2in on a 40 watt, it takes a long time, and you can end with a pretty serious kerf if you don't change the focal point but it can be done.

The lack of cooling explains why they're "only" mid $400. Cooling and ventilation will add significantly to that.
Really, while they claim these are for home use, they really shouldn't be, you need some sort of business to offset the costs associated and they are not really family friendly, what with laser beams shooting out, fire hazards and the toxic fumes.

[Eureka]

Thank you all very much. I'd prefer to operate it myself rather than pay someone to process the material for me. Because with my own machine I can process the material as I want. But as you guys said, I may need a 60w laser engraver and a water chiller. I also need to place the machine in a well-ventilated place for safety.