Laser Cutter/Full Spectrum Laser 40W

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LASER CUTTER. WANT.

I (J.Foote) am 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. Some points:

  • Is this cool?
    • Hell yes it is cool. Laser cutters improve DIY projects by an order of magnitude --davidfine
  • What do we want in terms of power, deck size, cost (i.e. name brand or Chinese)?
  • Where does it go? The DJ booth seems ideal in terms of corner location (for low vibration) and access to window/wall (for ventilation). The DJs might disagree. Thoughts?
  • How do we pay? Consensus donations seems to be the only real solution, but we would have to work out quid pro quo (i.e. donors get priority or something)
    • at Metalab their software tracks how much time each user has the laser powered on and bills accordingly.
  • Maintenance. Who babysits and/or fixes tragedies of the commons? (I will volunteer some but can't be there 24/7.)
    • This may make leasing the best option for now.


I will summarize any email discussion here. Also I asked Bre Pettis of NYCResistor (who makes a living on his) for advice. I will summarize any responses.

Pledge

Sign up to pledge below:

buy or to lease. Buying could be anywhere from $3k-20k. Leasing may be as low as $150/mo. This pledge is non-binding, but try to be realistic.

Jtfoote $1000 or ___/mo to lease

Mprados $100 or ___/mo to lease

davidfine $200 or $15/mo to lease

DYao $200 or $20/mo to lease

Discussion

Update 12/15/2009

The laser cutter issue has been revived. We may be able to lease one for around $150/mo. Make a pledge below to help make it happen!



Update 11/14/2009

September 09 thread on laser cutter petered out, but the NYCR post seemed very informative.

There had been talk in October of laser cutter access outside NB but since then it's been all quiet on the laser front.

Any news? --Hurtstotouchfire 13:59, 14 November 2009 (PST)

---

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.

Jtfoote 15:42, 27 September 2009 (PDT)


Update 6/2009:

From grey,

Prices are coming down; and some decent units are out there.

A used Epilog I've been told can be had for around $5000.

However some of these random no name Chinese brands are undercutting that -new-. Matt Westervelt in Seattle recently got a 50W unit from Redsail for about $3000. In a similar price range, Jeri Ellsworth in PDX ordered a JCUT 3040 with a 60W laser bulb after some haggling. Ebay has some very small engraver units for $1000 (dubious quality) and Jake said he saw some units for as low as about $250 in Shenzhen (presumably similar to that low end engraver, questionable quality).

If we can collect information here about some different viable models, how much space they take, how powerful they are, what their surface area is, software compatibility, etc. And can determine what looks good - let's see what we can do.

I've got a close friend in HK who has dual Chinese & HK license plates and if we have a specific model he may be able to hunt it down and slow boat it to us for some costs savings. Maybe not, but it's worth looking into. -grey

Lenses: http://cgi.ebay.com/18mm-ZnSe-Focus-Lens-for-CO2-Laser-Engraving-Cutter_W0QQitemZ400056068169QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d25332849&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A13


There are rumors of Epilog having a rent-to-own program for what sounds like very reasonable monthly rates. Does anyone want to follow up on this?