lasercooler

An Arduino Controller for hacking a Counter Top Ice Maker into a Cooler for a k40 Laser.

Initial Implementation

This project is starting simple, using a spare Arduino Mega and relay board, it will control the power to a counter top ice maker's compressor and cooling fan to control the temperature of the water used to cool a laser. Initial features:

• A RGB LED to help indicate status at a glance.
  • White - Just powered on, not running yet.
  • Red - Stopped
  • Blue - Cooling
• LCD Display with Current temperatures and state of the cooler.
• 2 Sensors to pick up the temperatures.
• A Start/Stop button
• A pair of relays to power the compressor and compressor fan.

Project Background

Buying the K40 was a big investment as far as hobbies for me. I wanted a proper cooler as it gets quite hot during the summer, but all of them I found either weren't good enough or cost too much money (as much as the laser itself).

I found a table top ice maker on clearance and saw other people talk about using them. I had a bunch of components laying around, and decided to put the two together into this. I also added a few things just for the fun of it.

How To Build

1. Parts List
2. Build Steps

Future Enhancements

• Add Heater Control for the cold winter months to bring it up to operating temperature.

Parting Notes:

This is a hobby only, but I'm always open to improvements and making the code better. Feel free to help contribute back in. Happy Lasering!