4 ms·
I first used a laser cutter ~eight years ago. Our printer's UX relied on sending designs with special colors to an attached usb driver. So you'd make something
by icyfox 4y ago
I first used a laser cutter ~eight years ago. Our printer's UX relied on sending designs with special colors to an attached usb driver. So you'd make something in Illustrator, open a regular print dialogue, and get out a precisely cut acrylic piece a minute later. It was pretty incredible.
This was back in college so we had a manufacturing lab that was chock full of them. They're a bit harder to find in the wide world - but highly recommend the experience if you can get your hands on one.
- lightedman 4y agoAny Chinese K40 Laser Engraver paired with K40 Whisperer works exactly this same way. Red for cutting, blue for engraving, black for raster-sweep printing. This is how I run my setup.
- jfim 4y agoLaser cutters are pretty cheap nowadays. There are diode lasers that can be retrofitted onto 3D printers, as well as the Chinese K40 laser cutter that uses CO2 laser tubes. There are even DIY projects to make your own laser cutter using a CO2 tube, these can have a very large cutting area (eg. 8x4ft). A word of warning about the K40, make sure that you know about proper laser safety. I believe that many of the machines available don't even have a proper door interlock that stops the laser if the door is open.
- traverseda 4y agoThe diode lasers probably aren't worth your time.
- jfim 4y agoIt depends on what the intent is. If it's just to try it out a few times to play with it, it's a cheap way to know if one is interested in putting more money in that hobby. Otherwise, I agree with you, they're kind of weak and as such operate really slowly.