[Noisebridge-discuss] Laser Cutter!

[epsas at evil-wire.org]

The laser cutter will need to have ventilation -- it will also need to be in a room free of dust and airborne contaminants (as those can munge up the mirrors)...  access to water is also important for cooling.

On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 10:21:39AM -0700, Shannon Lee wrote:
> So, I think this is a great goal; perhaps we decide what we want and then
> set up a fundable for it.
> As for your specific questions:
> 
> 1) It's totally cool, and has been something specifically mentioned in the
> same breath as '3d printer' as something we want for our fab setup. We
> didn't get one at 83c because we didn't have room.
> 
> 2) I am a big fan of the 'get a cheap one now' model; cheap means we get a
> lot more experience figuring out why it broke, and now means we have more
> time to do it -- we may have bought a cheap one, learned how to do cool
> stuff with it, broken it, and been able to build enthusiasm for a much
> better new one by the time we've raised the money for a nice one.
> 
> 3) Does it need its own room?  Can it live in either the dirty shop or the
> electronics area?  Does the room currently being used as the electrical shed
> work for this purpose?
> 
> 4) Fundables is a great way to raise money for stuff like this, someone has
> to volunteer to be the Point Person.
> 
> 5)  Everyone.
> 
> --S
> 
> On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 3:57 PM, Jonathan Foote <jtfoote at ieee.org> wrote:
> 
> > LASER CUTTER.
> >
> > WANT.
> >
> > After seeing the awesome you can do at Tech Shop and NYCResistor, I'm
> > willing to spearhead (lenshead?) an effort to get a laser cutter for
> > Noisebridge. Though I've used one a couple times,
> > I'm a relative noob. Talking points:
> >
> > 1. Is this cool?
> >
> > 2. What do we want in terms of power, deck size, cost (i.e. name brand
> > or Chinese)? Used (cheaper, but potential for fraud and jankiness)  or
> > new ($$$$) ?
> >
> > 3. Assuming people are OK with it at Noisebridge, where does it go?
> > The DJ booth seems good in terms of corner location (low vibration,
> > out of the way, some sound isolation) and access to window/wall (for
> > ventilation). The DJs might disagree. Thoughts?
> >
> > 4. How do we pay? Consensus donations seems to be a workable solution,
> > but we would have to figure out a quid pro quo (i.e. donors get
> > priority or something). Is $20K an unreasonable goal?
> >
> > 5. Maintenance. Who babysits and fixes it when it breaks? (I will
> > volunteer some but can't be there 24/7.)
> >
> > Grey started a wiki page in June. If you are interested in donating,
> > using, or just interested, please sign up:
> > https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Lasercutter
> >
> > I will summarize any list discussion there.
> >
> >
> > Just in: I asked Bre Pettis of NYCResistor (who makes a living on his)
> > for advice. Here's his response:
> >
> > > Minimum: 35 Watt Epilog Mini. 12x24  Machine + Filter + Tax = 20K
> > >
> > > Very Desirable: 60 Watt Epilog. 24x36 Machine + Filter + Tax = more than
> > 20k.
> > >
> > > We wish we had gotten a more powerful machine, but because we didn't know
> > better and it's a lot of money, we went with the mini.
> > >
> > > Don't get a chinese off brand machine. They are cheap and well, cheap.
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Shannon Lee
> (503) 539-3700
> 
> "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."

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