A laser build is never done

One of the fun things about building your own laser is that you get to keep improving it. Whether it is something totally functional or purely cosmetic or some combination of the two, there is always one more piece to add, one more adjustment to make, one more way to try, one more...


For the past year or so, my DSP Laser Controller control panel has been mounted in a plastic box and tethered to the laser with a long cable. It was meant to be a temporary fix until I decided how and where I wanted it mounted. It worked that way, but it also occasionally got knocked onto the floor. It never hurt it, but why continue to chance it.

 

("Temporary" mount in box sitting on top of laser.)

Recently, Bart (bdring) over at BuildLog.net designed a custom top panel for the laser that allows easy mounting of the control panel. Since I never seem to get around to designing all the things I think about, I ordered one. It arrived last night and 20 minutes later, it was installed.

(New laser skin installed with integrated controller panel.)

I think it look quite nice and should work out nicely. And now that the tethering cable is totally enclosed and no longer needs to go through the hole in the front panel, I can start thinking about the next change I want to make to the laser. Surely there is something useful I can do with that hole.

Like I said, you can always find one more improvement to make, right?