[Noisebridge-discuss] Laser Cutter!

Tue Sep 29 16:29:05 UTC 2009

That's a good point. Try and go for straightest turn-key solution we can
get.

On another note, I'd like to point out that the laser cutter can be used to
cut and/or etch traces on PCBs, much like the little CNC. Additionally,
while shapes won't be quite as free-form as with the Makerbot, what we can
make with a powerful laser cutter ought to generally be far more
functional/structural. If we have the workflow setup right, we can make both
mechanical and electrical 'thingies' faster and more repeatably, more
on-the-fly, than any of our other methods (ideally).

-
DY

On Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 2:30 AM, Meredith Scheff <satiredun at gmail.com>wrote:

> I would like a tool that was a tool and not a project in it's own
> right. We have plenty of those.
> M
>
> Drawing stuff and making things
>
>
> On Sep 29, 2009, at 1:28 AM, Michael Prados <mprados at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I think part of the story on fumes we're missing here is the filter,
> > which I don't remember encountering on the machines I've used.  Here
> > are a couple of options:
> >
> > http://www.electrocorp.net/market/laser_engraving.html
> >
> > http://www.laserfilter.com/
> >
> > Not sure how effective these are, but the second one does mention both
> > wood and acrylic.  I would suppose there is some kind of tradeoff
> > between investing in awesome ductwork and fans and great filtering.
> > Of course the filter is another maintenance issue.
> >
> > -mike
> >
> > On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 8:33 PM, Mark Cohen <markc at binaryfaith.com>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Not to flog a deceased equine, but a real world example. There is
> >> this
> >> great company that laser etched moleskine notebooks called modofly.
> >> (http://lifehacker.com/392041/modofly-laser+etched-moleskine-notebooks
> >> ) On their site : http://66.116.156.9/blogger.php?paged=2 near the
> >> bottom, it reads.
> >>
> >> "Modofly is Back!
> >>
> >> After a hiatus due to bad chemicals occurring in the burning of
> >> Moleskines, we are back with our own designed book! Our new book is a
> >> front to back color delight! We are happy to say that we can now
> >> showcase art from the artists much better. We also have the ability
> >> to
> >> do one off customs in a way we used to not be able to feasibly do.
> >> Check out the custom button on the navigation bar.
> >>
> >> We have an amazing collection of artists working with us now, and it
> >> grows almost daily. We have (or will be uploading soon) artwork from
> >> Camilla d’Errico, Jason Limon, Travis Louie, Matt Cipov, Dan Hilli
> >> er,
> >> Marc Gabanna, Keith Thompson, Stephen Rothwell, Doktor A, and many
> >> many more. Come check it out!
> >>
> >> We print our books on demand which takes a touch longer on shipping,
> >> but allows us to give you such a wide selection of great artwork from
> >> artists around the globe. Do you have art you would love to see on
> >> our
> >> books? Do you know of someone we should be working with? Go to our
> >> contact tab on the navigation bar, and shoot us an email. Even if we
> >> can’t currently use your work, getting your own work is pretty ea
> >> sy,
> >> and if you are an artist, company, or marketing firm that wants to
> >> get
> >> over 20 books, contact us as we offer price breaks.
> >>
> >> Are you a store looking for unique merchandise? Do you know of a
> >> store
> >> we should be in? Please contact us if you are interested in selling
> >> our books, or know of a store that we should talk to.
> >>
> >> Do you run an art gallery, or do you frequently curate shows? Talk to
> >> us. We can help you get set up with books to sell with the artists
> >> that you are showing or will be showing.
> >>
> >> We currently have ruled books ready to go and should have our sketch
> >> books here in about 3 weeks, but they are ready for pre-order, so
> >> line
> >> up!"
> >>
> >>
> >> I happen to have one of their original laser etched books and I
> >> wish I
> >> had gotten more, they were AWESOME.. But I'd rather have living
> >> artists making book, not dead artists.
> >>
> >> Just my .02.. If/when we get a laser etch/cutter ventilation is a
> >> HUGELY important thing..
> >>
> >> /Mark/
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sep 28, 2009, at 10:34 AM, Rachel McConnell wrote:
> >>
> >>> Ventilation important b/c some of the materials it can cut
> >>> vaporize to
> >>> Nastiness that we don't want people to breathe.  We should make sure
> >>> to
> >>> have a force ventilator that vents out a window or through the HVAC
> >>> system (once that's installed).  Ideally it should live in a room of
> >>> its
> >>> own, although that may be difficult.  It should absolutely not go in
> >>> the
> >>> dirty shop b/c of the dirt, as epsas points out.
> >>>
> >>> Rachel
> >>>
> >>> epsas at evil-wire.org wrote:
> >>>> 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.
> >>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> >>>>>> 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."
> >>>>
> >>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> >>>>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> >>>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> >>>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> >>>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> >>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> >>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> >> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > sent from my computing machine
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
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