[Noisebridge-discuss] Laser Cutter!

Michael Shiloh michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 28 23:00:05 UTC 2009


Does anyone know if it is possible to modify a medical laser for any 
useful use in a workshop? Some sort of X-Y table or arm obviously but 
the question is can it be made to cut the materials we care about?

Jonathan Foote wrote:
> 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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>>> 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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>>
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