Sai Vsr
Milea/Getty Images
You may believe that CD and DVD players have seen their last days, yet they are treasure troves for DIY ventures. Open one up, and you will discover stepper motors, laser assemblies, DAC chips, power circuits, infrared receivers, and precision mechanical elements — components that remain perfectly functional even if the device itself is no longer operational.
These components were designed to endure countless hours of disc spinning, data reading, and signal converting, making them sturdy. They are dependable, over-engineered in the most positive sense, and unexpectedly adaptable for hobby electronics, robotic applications, audio modifications, or custom control systems.
If you have one of these gathering dust in a cupboard or are about to dispose of it, consider pausing. Instead of adding to electronic waste, you can actually transform these into something beneficial. Here are five intriguing ways to revitalize that old CD or DVD player of yours.
Have you ever opened an old DVD writer? Inside, you’ll find a laser diode, sled mechanism, and stepper motor, which just so happen to be everything you require to create a miniature laser engraver. An Argentine maker named Aoshido discovered how to convert multiple DVD drives into a functioning engraver. He arranged the sled assemblies from two drives in an XY layout — one managing horizontal movement, the other vertical. An Arduino running GRBL firmware controlled the steppers, while the laser
