Abstract
Inspired by the reckless and dangerous projects of YouTube makers, this project is a sort of parody, answering the question: what's the worst idea I could conceive of and fabricate?
Design
This is an all-milled, aluminum stepper-controlled turret weighing around 15 lbs. It features on its business end is a 70 watt laser diode array. The design and concept was heavily inspired by the laser turrets from the video game Factorio, and the dull aluminum-heavy aesthetic was inspired by the design style of Robocop.
Fabrication
For the large pieces of structure, I settled on scrap aluminum tooling plate to mill into individual parts. The mechanical system was all designed in sketches or rough shapes in layout fluid inscriptions. Thus the first iteration has some mechanical defects I'm not super thrilled with. Milling took about two months and was my first experience with machining after finally running 240V power to my Bridgeport milling machine after purchasing it as surplus from the aerospace industry.
Conclusions
This project was a tooth-cutting experience for many manual machining skills I now rely on all the time, as well as an important experience for me to appreciate the added benefit of thorough drafting, to make mistakes in the design stage, rather than let them happen in the fabrication stage.
