@Team_Laser the emergency discussion about thunder is today at 6:30pm.
1 Like
Where is the meeting going to be held?
Unfortunately a family celebration has popped up that will prevent my attendance. I’m sure I’m not the only one that will not be able to attend.
Please post results of the meeting on Talk.
Not sure of all the options, but my vote would be to purchase 4 more thunder lasers (1 large, 3 medium) and maybe get a bulk discount. Could store extra at off-site until expansion. Would be cheaper than buying 1 new epilog to replace thunder
What can we do differently so we’re not right back here in 3 years with constant maintenance issues having to decide if they need replacement?
My opinion is that it’s time to look elsewhere, maybe not Epilog/ULS/Trotec, but the thunder lasers have proven they can’t stand up to makerspace abuse and that concerns me.
1 Like
I feel the problem is that the Thunders aren’t durable enough for our needs and the Epilogs won’t fill the needs of the big thunder because they simply don’t come in larger sizes.
Bit of a pickle, hence the meeting.
2 Likes
In my limited research time the size of thunder is available from very few vendors.
This meeting is specifically about thunder and to weight our option many volunteer hours have been required lately I think with tube replacement thing may be much better now. It may not need replaced immediately as origanly thought and the call for the meeting.
1 Like
Because of this
the pressure is off for doing something immediately.
I’m not familiar with the current failure modes or maintenance required lately, hasn’t the large thunder been in service for a few years with no replacing electronics boards / motors / bearings? What should our expectation of uptime / overall lifetime of a laser cutter at DMS be?
Just for reference, some of the things I’d look for in a ‘step up’ laser would be…
-More effective fume extraction
–Ideally it would be good enough to prevent most smoke from reaching the beam path
-Mostly enclosed mirrors (not beam path) with an air ‘blast’ on each
–This would prevent smoke from dirtying mirrors and possible fusing to their surface
-Enclosed chamber for laser tube, beam combiner, first mirror
–I don’t see why a ZnSe window couldn’t be used to achieve this, would prevent any smoke/debris from contaminating the tube or stationery optics
-More rigid gantry
–Better details when rastering is always a plus
-More consistent Z axis
–Ideally the cut bed should be level enough to cut a large piece from one side to the other, this is almost never the case
Admittedly there’s not a good alternative at this size. It’s quite possible that the high end brands dont make something this large because they can’t do so and maintain their levels of quality. I’ve run a decidedly smaller ULS laser and all the items on my list above come from experience with that machine.
Given the desire to keep the big laser and the lack of options one thing that does come up is, as someone else phrased it, ‘makerspacing the s£*& out of it’.
1 Like
Some thoughts since I will not make it to the meeting and the lasers are a tool I retain my membership for.
The makerspace environment is hard on lasers for a variety of reasons, but I believe that the large number of users and the fairly high duty cycle has a great deal to do with it. The lasers are one of the easier CNC machines to use in the space thus are in constant demand.
I’ve find material holding and indexing a challenge on all the DMS lasers I’ve used - the FSL, the lasersaur, and the Thunder lasers. I’ve seen countless things used to make up for both of these, likely contributing to the problem of user-caused head crashes. I don’t know that there’s an easy solution to the problem but reducing the need for external objects in the head’s X-Y plane seems like it would help.
Some feel that more expensive lasers are the better choice:
- Why?
- What additional capabilities do they bring to the table?
- What makes them more resistant to
- head crashes
- driving the head into the material
- fogging optics
- extracting air
- ruining limit switches
- wearing out encoders
- maintaining precision
- maintaining squareness
- etc
- Since they’re more expensive they need to last longer. How long do they need to last to hit the Thunder’s amortized cost per hour of operation?
- Are they less maintenance-intensive and does that help the cost per hour argument?
4 Likes
I rsvp’d yes but now will not be able to attend. Work.
I think a good addition to the laser line-up would be the 51" bed size machine (Nova51) that is between the Thunder and Donnor/Blitzen. A large majority of the items cut on big Thunder today could be cut on that mid-size machine. Being smaller, I’d also assume less mechanical stress.
Also something to keep in mind is that even though Thunder might be approaching end-of-life within DMS due to consistent maintenance needs in an overly abused environment, its value is still not $0. You could definitely get a few grand out of it by someone willing to replace some of the failing mechanical components. This takes the price down of a new machine and makes completely replacing every 3 or so years more feasible.
1 Like
Last minute request from my son to bail him out on a Valentine’s Day gift for someone secretly admired. I wil be a no-show. Stephenie has a prior commitment with one of her girlfriends.
The official feedback from your former Chair and Vice Chair is:
-
Make decisions that result in less overall work for our hard working volunteers. They are our most prized assets. If that means buying better products, so be it.
-
Seriously Consider the Epilog Hepa Filter and Mobile Cart.
-
Rotary devices and beds have been previously approved for purchase. Consider those items.
-
The approved design of the new Laser floor area should be factored into any big purchase decisions. Align with previously agreed upon floor plan decisions.
Regards,
Scott
I can tell you a crash on an Epilog can also be a machine life shortening occurance.
2 Likes
I’m not sure how to post a new topic on talk but hopefully you’ll get this another member was trying to use the big thunder and it was making a lot of noise and he gave up I went over and looked at it and the bed looks like it’s at least 2 inches out of alignment . It is high on some sides and low on others
1 Like
The lead screws are likely dirty and causing the steppers to stall (out of sync). The plan is to replace the machine with a new one of the same model, not because of that issue but in general the machine has seen a lot of wear and tear. @sixvolts took notes during the laser meeting.
3 Likes
I fixed big thunder, leveled the fuck out of the bed.
Please don’t use wood shims to raise the bed. This is not a fix. You’ll start a fire and burn the place down.
Donner is double cutting lines and could use a second set of eyes on alignment.
9 Likes
Thank you very much Pearce I know how big of a job that is. your efforts to make the space better even when you are just up to make something and work on personal project constantly interrupted by other makers.
Not sure I could give you a big enough thank you but thanks for all you do.
3 Likes