Dantx101

I'm betting the engraving would look best if you were trying to make it mil-spec, but I'm trying to make what I can with what I have. So its tons of experimenting for me. I might try to use the laser to create cut lines on a piece of acrylic...saw cut...spray paint........then laser off the paint where needed. Should be ummm interesting lol

FYI Pitbldr.......just for fun, I tested our YAG laser on a spray painted piece of clear acrylic. Its outstanding. Nice and sharp edged and did not affect the clarity one bit. Do not have a Co2 laser to test, but if the shop you find has a YAG, you should be impressed.

y2kiah. Wow, awesome work. I would be interesting in what you would charge for a panel set. Unpainted and not labeled.

Alex.....thanks for info. I also found that the Arduino is not inherently HID compatible, of course I found that out after I had ordered them :) Thats how I found out that the "Teensy" is HID right out of the box. I'm hoping I can get a switch matrix going with that and possibly do some of the complicated processes with the Arduino and port them to the Teensy. I'm planning on using AVR studio with the Teensy, but the Arduino is very easy to program and there are tons of pre-made programs available that may only need a tweek or 2 to work with. With the Teensy at $20 and HID I really cant think of anything out there thats cheaper. Maybe not easier to work with but getting things working are half the fun to me. It's assuredly going to be a learning experience, but these things are fascinating to me. Its getting to the point that so many options are out there that your imagination is the limitation, so lets find out how limiting they can be to me (chuckle)

Those are some compelling reasons I admit, but sadly sounds a bit out of my current understanding :) This is my first attempt at creating an input method for a simulator so I'm in the "baby step" phase, so I'll avoid hijacking your thread by asking how to do that, and leave it for another post. But I'm certainly going to be following your progress since my Arduino Mega will be here tomorrow (rubbing hands together) Actually the laser is not happy cutting anything, although I have cut thin aluminum and the cut quality and detail is impressive. Another FYI, I also operate our lathe here so keep that in mind also. Maybe we can trade services. Tips on how to implement for machining/laser.

y2kiah.....Excellent work your doing there. Its really working on my bug to get some sort of cockpit work started, but if you dont mind I have a question for you about using the Arduino for an interface. I have 1 mega on order but after reading a bit I also ordered a "Teensy" , I'm curious about your thoughts on this http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/ I understand that your going to go with an ethernet shield, but I was leaning towards the usb route which can be an issue with the arduino since it does not support usb natively but the "Teensy" does. What do you think? FYI, if you ever want some material tested with a YAG 1064nm 40watt diode laser, I operate the one we use here to engrave stainless steel. I'm always looking for new uses for this thing.