A laser-engraver is one of those tools that many people often lust over - but may not have access to one. If you're in this situation then one option is to make your own, and the process of doing this has been documented very well by Instructables member GetBurnt. The engraver is quite powerful, using a 1.5W laser and some huge NEMA23 stepper motors to move the platform along the X and Y axis.
The process of taking an image from a PC to engraving is also simple, and can work with raster or vector-based engraving with the supplied software and code. Overall it's a great example of what's possible with an Arduino and demosntrated in the following video:
For complete instructions including design files and more, visit the engraver's Instructable page. And for more, we're on facebook, Google+, and twitter - so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you're looking for an Arduino Uno-compatible board for various projects, choose what tens of thousands of others have done and use our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-Uno compatible with low-profile USB socket, onboard prototyping space and easy to view LEDs:
