[Noisebridge-discuss] Laser Cutter!

[Jonathan Foote]

Yeah, as epsas & Rachel point out it needs ventilation (it's not a
laser cutter so much as a laser burner --  it's like having a smoker
in the family). Bre suggests a "filter" which is likely a
fan/filter/vent thing; we could likely hack something similar out of a
shop vac sending exhaust out a window/wall vent, but that's going to
be noisy (also figure that  low-powered cutters will be slow and a
20-minute run for a complicated cut is not out of the question). At
NYCResistor, they had a separate room for it with a window and the
space still wound up a little smoky, but I didn't see a dedicated
vent.

Is the "DJ booth" space out of the question? I also note that a
light-tight darkroom will be approximately air-tight as well, but I
would understand the photographers objecting (not suggesting doing
both cutting and developing at the same time, natch).

As for funding, why don't we set up a deadline (Halloween?) and see
how much dosh we have. I'm all for cheap and cheerful if we can't
afford top of the line, but there's nothing like a crappy tool to make
you appreciate a good one.


On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Shannon Lee <shannon at scatter.com> 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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>
>
>
> --
> Shannon Lee
> (503) 539-3700
>
> "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
>
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