After a fire put this Redsail X700 laser cutter out of commission at Joshua's work, he managed to snag the carcass and passed it onto Amy, who was determined to restore it.
Between the melted ABS, soot, and powder residue from the extinguisher, the clean up was going to be pretty intense. Amy had to take apart the majority of the machine, scrub it all with wire wool and wipe down with isopropyl alcohol. She then sanded off the burnt paint and repainted the area.
Since she was already rebuilding the machine from the ground up, Amy decided to upgrade the laser tube, which involved cutting a hole in the side of the machine and welding a new enclosure into place. She also designed and 3D printed new adjustable tube holders, which she has shared on Thingiverse.
She also wanted to raise the entire thing up, allowing her to store the fume extraction and chiller in the same unit. To do this she built an extension, copying the original machine by adding casters and threaded feet. She then painted it all yellow and attached it to the frame. She also built the fume extraction herself, using the Fume Coffin Instructable by patternmusic.
You can read the full details of how Amy achieved all of this over on her blog: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. She has also uploaded videos of the entire process onto her YouTube channel.
(Via Hackaday)