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| quote: | Originally posted by Viber
Why did you get it? |
Mainly for work (but also a little bit for fun). I kept having to outsource projects to different printers/workshops etc and as my projects are always quite complex, the process was just so time consuming (send them the file, get a quote, get a sample made, tell them how they fucked it up, adjust the sample (rinse and repeat until they get it right) and then go in to production.
I also just love making shit. Everything from my own art projects to radio controlled planes, to just playing and learning how lasers work.
It's amazing that you can own such a precision piece of kit in your home for a few thousand, that can cut through 1/2" plywood or acrylic, engrave on glass or metal and cut thin metal sheets.
| quote: | Originally posted by Richie
Retrofit as a weapon derppppp
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Lol, the thing is a weapon. I'm not quite sure it's a great idea to have a class 4 laser radiation device in my bedroom 
There's one guy who does tatoos on himself with it. Apparently power setting 1 (out of a 100). On a 100 that thing will cut right through your finger.
| quote: | Originally posted by Richie
You can get way better components if you purchase it directly from china as most if not all the ones in that price range are pretty much cheap Chinese stuff.
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Nah, I looked long and hard in to that. Full spectrum also sell the Chinese ones as their budget models but the issue is that lasers are incredibly high precision units. 0.5mm variance in the path of the laser is enough to render to unit completely useless. Also, by the time you buy all the parts, you're at at least $2k, and that's before you've got a decent enclosure or the peripheral things like the extractor fan, compressor, water pump etc.
There's also three things you can't go cheap on; the laser tube (the shit chinese ones aren't up to power ("50 watt" is more like 30 etc) and burn out much faster. The processor board which makes it simple to print from any program is only made by one US company and the optics have to be top notch.
Basically, to build the same laser you're looking at $2.5k and at least 50 hours of building/assembling to have unit with no warranty.
I'm happy to pay the extra grand and have warranty, support and know that everything was made and built properly.
| quote: | Originally posted by Richie
The ones they use for nuclear site decommissioning could probably slice people like a light saber.
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And that's the scary shit right there. You can already buy (albeit you probably end up with a visit from the FBI unless you have a damn good reason for buying one) handheld lasers that will cut through car body paneling or small body parts.
The future (and by that I mean Star Wars) is nearly here. If you go on to the web and start digging deep, you've got guys that have built lasers at home that are scarily powerful, even handheld ones. The light sabre will happen in our lifetime. There's even a video from 2012 military testing showing a tracking surface to air laser slowly cutting off the tail of a plane. It takes like 5 minutes but I bet by now they got one that just slices it off in a few seconds.
Those bastards on Tomorrow's World weren't lying after all.
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