Laser Committee Meeting Saturday 6/24

Laser
#1

Hey all,

There will be a Laser Committee Meeting this coming Saturday, June 24th, at 3pm in the Conference Room. Please come participate as we talk about:

  1. Laser Classes and Progress towards LMS – need help getting the Laser Basics class online
  2. Area Maintenance Items – let’s discuss any laser performance issues or concerns, following the meeting in the conference room we’ll work on the lasers and area clean up
  3. Laser Payment Processing – need to empty and process envelopes in the black payment box
  4. Future Purchases – we’ll be deciding on new laser purchases! We’ve got a quote for more Thunder Lasers, and can discuss other options. Also if you have any tool/supply requests please share them.

If you have any items you would like to add to the agenda please post them :slight_smile:

@Team_Laser

2 Likes
#2

@merissa would you share a little more about the Laser purchase item.

I heard rumours of replacing the Lasersaur with 2 smaller thunder lasers. At the same time I’ve heard discussion of possibly getting a fibre Laser.

#3

Sounds like you should come to the meeting!

2 Likes
#4

@merissa, you want me to come to the meeting and just wing it? Your item says that a decision will be made on the purchase of lasers. I would like the opportunity to inform myself before I’m part of the decision to purchase a tool.

#5

Oh no! Not a meeting where things aren’t predetermined!

#6

Nope, I just want active committee members rather than Talk debates. Please come to the meeting and share your thoughts if you want a say in what our future purchases may be. Nothing is final and I guess I should have said we’ll be deciding soon.

Luke got us a quote for Nova 35 Thunder Lasers, and I’d gladly welcome anyone else to do research and get us quotes for other options within our budget. Some folks have expressed desire for more expensive laser brands (Trotech, a larger Epilog laser) but those are outside our price point unless we continue saving up and beg for a huge discount. Boss lasers look ok price wise, but there’s something to be said for having lasers using the same (albeit crappy) software so folks don’t have to figure out quirks from machine to machine. I’m not too knowledgeable on fiber lasers, so if anyone wants to pursue this and find us an option come propose it to the committee!

Hopefully that gets those interested informed enough for discussion at the meeting.

See everyone Saturday :wink:

#7

On a more serious note, I reached out to Thunder Laser in May about acquiring two smaller lasers. Two Nova 35 models with 130 watt tubes (like the Nova 63 has) would be just under $15K delivered. It was mostly out curiosity but it’s something we could actually do if people want to. Other options would be a used Epilog Helix or similar model which is good at rastering. The Lasersaur could be kept or it could be sold/donated depending on how much room we have in the foreseeable future.

1 Like
#8

Lol, I see what you did there Luke. Double Negative. :smile: This is a meeting where everything is already predetermined. That is what your saying right? Keep on sticking it to the man! Bro Fist!

But seriously, @merissa thanks for sharing more information on what we are considering. Also, thanks Luke for sharing the price range and power specs.

I feel that the Thunder Laser has proven a good platform for us.

On a Pros side of things:

  • We have many members that know how to use the machine and software.
  • We already have curriculum to teaching the software and running of the machine
  • It has been a pretty intuitive platform. This has been very apparent as the support documentation is pretty lacking and I’ve seen many issues just worked out by messing with setting and diving through menus.
  • The software imports many file formats
  • Consistent user interface for multiple machines
  • Good at Vector and Raster Cutting / Engraving
  • Moderately fast head movement speed
  • 130 watt laser good for cutting the materials we have been supporting in the Laser Committee.
  • Low cost compared to quality

Now for Cons:

  • Not great support documentation.
  • Lower quality laser diode. The Thunder laser we have uses a tube lasers rather than the higher quality lasers used in epilogs. This is a cost saving move and I believe the tube lasers have a shorter lifespan. But, in the long run this may be a wash.
  • Not a raster cut power house like the Epillog. Not sure we have large demand for raster etching areas larger than you can fit in the epilog, especially when you consider how long it would take.
  • Not able to cut metal. Speaking to others on fibre lasers capable of cutting moderately thin metal, getting to the power levels needed to cut metal would most likely require major electrical work for the facility as these lasers are not as efficent as the CO2 lasers.

Personally, I support the idea of getting 2 smaller Nova 35 Lasers from Thunder Laser, especially with 130 watt Laser Diodes. I think they would quickly get more use than the Lasersaur as I have found a line for the Thunder Laser while no one is using either the Epillog or the Lasersaur. I also like the Thunder Laser Software over the Epillog or Lasersaur’s offerings. It fits my work flow of designing in a CAD or Vector Art software. You just import the files, plus the step and repeat grid functions has proven useful.

I hope the rest of the committee supports this.

1 Like
#9

Re raster- i think a big part of how long rasters take is because of the “interval” setting. That’s that distance between laser passes. 0.5-0.6 is generally a good balance between speed and resolution quality.

Detail wise, I have seen some results as good as the Epilog. That has surprised me.

Re Thunder vs other Chinese lasers, @lukeiamyourfather pointed out at the meeting that the software is rebranded by sellers. Boss and Thunder both use RDWorks, but add slight tweaks.

1 Like