Urgently need training for acrylic laser project

[chanelmignon]

Hi everyone!

I was commissioned to create some wedding signs for my friend’s wedding. They are going to be made out of plastic and I need someone’s help with training! I don’t care how skilled you are in this area, I just need to learn how to use the machines. I will have my designs and I have experience and have been trained to laser cut wood.

Can anyone train me today or on thursday to use our laser cutters on acrylic sheet?

I also need to learn to use a heat gun or heat line bender to bend some of the pieces.

PLEASE let me know if you are available on here! I am also able to compensate for your time if needed! I can also exchange design services for making help.

Chanel

[PearceDunlap]

I would check the calendar for the laser classes

[chanelmignon]

There are none right now. I work almost full time as well and it’s really tough to make the classes work with my schedule.

Thanks for the suggestion though. If there was a new not full class today or thursday early in the day, I would love to join it.

[mdredmond]

Chanel -

I can’t officially train you (I’m not a trainer) but I’d be willing to help you cut your designs in exchange for a little of the design work you mentioned. I can use both the Thunders and the Epilog Fusion.

I can teach you what I know but to get signed off you’d need to take the class.

PM me if interested.

[TBJK]

@chanelmignon

I have experience and have been trained to laser cut wood.

So this kinda confuses me. Are you trained on our lasers? I didn’t know we were doing any wood only training for the laser.

[mdredmond]

Sounded like experience somewhere else.

[chanelmignon]

My laser cutting experience is from the Savannah College of Art and The Royal College of Art.

[PearceDunlap]

I’m sure Matt @mdredmond can get you squared away for the current project, just send him a message.

you’ll still need to take one of the classes, since they are more about the idiosyncrasies of using our machines at the space and what we do and don’t allow, we don’t really have test out options.

if you get really down to the wire, I have a thunderlaser at home and can do paid work on it without the Makerspace rules and hoops to jump through.

[David_A_Tucker]

So far as I know, heat guns don’t require training. They’re in electronics.

As for using the heat line bender, I don’t know if that even requires training. Contact the plastics SIG leader whoever that might be. I thought I saw one there a while ago, but I might have been dreaming.

Plastics SIG and soon to be Committiee

Hello, after talking to Nick about Plastics SIG and all the research that was done into it while I was vice chair of 3D fab I offered to field all the questions and keep this SIG on track so it can become a committee soon, I want to help him keep this SIG compartmentalized so he can focus on machine shop stuff, He suggested I post here. I asked NIck to talk to Stan and separate plastics from machine shops for now at least in the area of honorariums so member who are currently teaching can send …

If you can’t coordinate with Matt, hit me up. I’m trained on the lasers, but I’m not a trainer. I can even show you how to add cups/glasses to your skill set:

[Raymond]

Bending the plastics takes patience and props. I did some very complex shapes when making some polycarbonate backing for some damaged pinball plastics on my Blackwater 100 pin.

You’ll want a very clean surface to keep from having debris texture the plastic. Find some heat resistant props that are similar size and shape to what you want to make. For example, I found a piece of duct work that was 8" round and fit the curvature of what I wanted to make perfectly. Heat slowly, evenly, and don’t push it too fast or you’ll create little craze lines when you bend.

[chanelmignon]

Ok guys, so I am still struggling to get my signs cut on the lasers. The classes during my days off went full. I am not working today and tomorrow, if anyone can help me, please text me at 817-907-7321.

[chanelmignon]

Is there any way that someone can train me today or tomorrow instead of help me with it? The bride is taking a long time to get the seating completed and it will be a last minute process.

My hands are tied at the space, everything is locked and I can’t use anything basically. I’m heart broken about it and spent my day there yesterday crying in a room alone. Please someone train me… please.

[PearceDunlap]

Im not authorized to train on the lasers, and I can’t sit with you on the lasers this week, but my offer is still good to do them from my house if you have the stock to cut and files.

if @Team_Laser or the chair wants to chime in, they might clear me to give you a crash course on the thunder lasers, id request that you still take a class afterwards to get the full rundown.

[chanelmignon]

I can pay a trainer $40, and I levy for Pearce’s training rights.

[TSki]

In another post, Chris Vrana said he was open to doing some 1-on-1. You might drop him a line and see if you guys can get together [though Pearce is a great resource too].

Laser training or classes?

Life happened. I’ll post some classes for soon tonight. (Meaning they’ll show up on the calendar like, Friday or something) If you wanna set up a 1-on-1 go ahead and DM me. I do those a lot as well.

Also, you need to go to the “Member Access (Green Dot)” category of the forum and request your “green dot” - it opens up the Members’ Only section of the forum.

[trapezium]

I’ll be up at the makerspace tomorrow afternoon and evening and I can help you out.

[chanelmignon]

This just made my week. You’re awesome. I’ll have the files done by then and have some test material to try it out on for learning purposes.