[hackerspaces] adafruit discount

Tue Jun 1 06:08:19 CEST 2010

<
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/06/01/big-news-all-hacker-spaces-in-the-world-get-adafruit-reseller-pricing-starting-today
>

Check it out!

MakerBot Industries
http://makerbot.com
Recent Press: http://nyti.ms/mkrbot

On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 10:48 PM, Matt Joyce <matt at nycresistor.com> wrote:

> I really do have to suggest being WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY careful with a
> project like this.
>
> those lasers are not easy to deal with, and are severely dangerous.
>
> be super super cautious.
>
>
> On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 9:55 PM, john arclight <arclight at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> This sound interesting. Most importantly, I think we need a good,
>> sturdy 3-axis gantry that can be used to move around a router, Dremel
>> tool, LASER head, stencil cutting knife, etc.
>>
>> All of the systems I have seen so far (Reprap, Makerbot, etc)  are too
>> light to move something like a LASER system or a high-speed router for
>> cutting out circuit boards/etc.
>>
>> And all of the heavy-duty movements I've seen have involved one-off
>> salvaged components, like steppers+ball screws from a wrecked CNC
>> machine tool or a large industrial line printer.
>>
>> So I would encourage the team to think about not making the platform
>> 100% specific to LASER cutting, but an open design that could have
>> multiple components bolted on.
>>
>> A repeatable design for a nice, rigid 3-axis movement would be an
>> excellent "Stage 1" design goal, even if the LASER portion proves to
>> be harder to master.
>>
>> Arclight
>> http://shop.23b.org
>>
>> On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 7:49 AM, Bryan Bishop <kanzure at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Lasersaur
>> >
>> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/405545346/lasersaur-open-source-laser-cutter-0
>> >
>> > """
>> > The idea is simple: Design a laser cutter and make the building
>> > process repeatable for others.
>> >
>> > Here's the thing. Laser cutters are traditionally expensive ($30,000
>> > to as much as you can spend) and there are a lot of artist, hackers,
>> > architects, designers, DIYers who could do great things with them- if
>> > they could afford one, or even get regular access to one. Pretty much
>> > anybody who is a maker could benefit from a laser cutter.
>> > Unfortunately, turnkey systems are expensive, and there isn't really a
>> > clear and simple way to build one. We can change this: with roughly
>> > six month of R&D time we can develop a laser cutter which anyone can
>> > build, use, and maintain. Most importantly this system will be open
>> > source which means anyone can improve and modify the design.
>> >
>> > Everyone should be able to have a laser cutter! Our goal is to design
>> > a 100W machine which is capable of cutting 1/2" (12.5mm) acrylic,
>> > wood, multiple layers of fabric or thin sheet metal.
>> >
>> > Why
>> > Laser cutters are a key technology for making things.
>> >
>> > Remember when people couldn't make their own videos, CDs or print out
>> > photos? Me neither (at least we try to forget). In many areas of
>> > media, the last century was quite the read-only culture where a few
>> > gatekeepers would sit on the means to produce everything. Not the best
>> > situation for creativity or for people with lots of cool ideas but no
>> > cash.
>> >
>> > When you look at robotics and fabrication this is still the case. In
>> > 2010, a reasonable laser cutter is still well over 30k and therefore
>> > outside the budget of most of us. However, we are at a point where
>> > this can change. We believe we are able to design a laser cutter that
>> > can be built for under 5k (a 100W version) and a budget version (25W)
>> > for under 3k. It would be completely open source and repeatable.
>> >
>> > How this will go down
>> > First of all, we need your support! Your pledge is what makes this
>> > project possible. Once our funding goal is reached, the first
>> > prototype will be formulated. With material testing and debugging
>> > underway we can make a solid alpha system in about 6 months. At this
>> > point, start checking your snail mail box for the alpha kit (see
>> > pledges on how to get one).
>> >
>> > Once our alpha testers have had a chance to geek out for a few months,
>> > we will launch into beta with the beta testers. Then collaborators.
>> > Our goal is to launch publicly within a few months thereafter,
>> > releasing the project, documentation and schematics to the greater
>> > good.
>> >
>> > We will offer the Lasersaur open source system as kits available to
>> > the public as well as offer documentation online for anyone wishing to
>> > build their system from scratch.
>> >
>> > Who we are
>> > We (addie and stefan) are alumi from NYU's ITP and more recently
>> > fellows at Eyebeam in New York City. Both are institutions dedicated
>> > to open source culture and experimentation with cutting edge
>> > technology.
>> >
>> > As individuals, and as collaborators, we have been designing open
>> > source software since 2002, hardware since 2006, and like sharing our
>> > ideas with the bigger community. Our first open source hardware system
>> > was launched in 2007 (CUBIT: the multitouch system, as well as the
>> > later Touchkit, 2008). These systems were covered internationally and
>> > nationally by media such as MIT Technology Review, The Economist, Der
>> > Standard and even CNN. Over the last half a decade, our open source
>> > hardware has been built and used by hundreds of people, labs and
>> > research universities or institutions. We believe that people should
>> > think globally and act locally and the open source movement has been
>> > instrumental for this.
>> > """
>> >
>> > I was kicking around the same idea with a fellow in Austin, TX a while
>> > back but we had a sub-$1000 price target. I wonder if these eyebeam
>> > fellows will be wise enough to use EMC2? I hope so.
>> >
>> > - Bryan
>> > http://heybryan.org/
>> > 1 512 203 0507
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> > Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>> >
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