The BoD approved our request for Laser parts on Wednesday (05/17), the parts were ordered on Thursday(05/18). We received our order of replacement parts late yesterday(05/17). We will be replacing various components over the next few days. This effort is being lead by @got_tools. Special thanks to @Julie-Harris for getting the $3700 parts requests on the BoD agenda Wednesday evening all within an hour of receiving the parts request.
We will be replacing various components over the next few days. This effort is being lead by @got_tools. Team members will begin prepping Big Thunder next week for its return to service. Hopefully it will be back online within a couple of weeks, barring any out of stock parts that might be required. Once the three Thunder lasers are back in daily use, we can begin assessing the viability of continuing to keep them, or begin planning their replacement. Hopefully we can successfully rejuvenate them and use our future funding to explore additional capabilities in Laser.
So at this point, we’ve gone ahead and replaced both of the honeycomb beds for Donner and Blitzen. And on top of that, @got_tools and Patrick also swapped out the laser head bearings - those were looking a bit worn, so we took care of that as well.
On a separate note, one of our long-time members Patrick was working on cutting some scale model parts for an architecture project, and they were able to get some great results right away. Always nice when things come together like that.
Consider this like purchasing new tires for your car, along with a getting front end alignment.
Material: Card Stock
What parts were replaced? Four bearings(wheels) - two on top, and two on the bottom, not shown.
Results with original Laser head bearings:
Notice all of the little jaggies on what was supposed to be a straight line cut?
Notice how the jaggies are all gone?
We will try to keep everyone up to date on the repairs as they are done. Please be on the lookout for new signage and other improvements in the Laser area.