Did you go with TinyG?

Any updates on the software? Anyone can build an XY table following instructions from buildlog.net or cnczone.com but the part that I was excited about was a decent laser controller and software.

would to hear an update on how the the project is coming.

"Please, don't invent some control language. There is a common standard called g-code."
I second that. G-code is a standard for pretty much anything that involves more than one motor.

Is there any way for people who backed the project after the kickstarter funding ended (ie: via the paypal links on your web site) to see the "Backers Only" updates? I'm itching to get started and quite curious how things are going!

Thanks for the update. Have you taken any steps towards making this thing safe? Are there plans to place it in an enclosure with a filtered glass or will that be left to the builders? Also, I'm curious about how much of the $20K budget you guys have blown through on materials and tools. Do you have plenty of funding left to complete the project?

Please, don't invent some control language. There is a common standard called g-code. It contains all sorts of simple movement commands and commands to switch spindles or lasers on and off. All cam programs can output in that language. The g-code commands are plain text and a parser is very simple. If needed I will send a list. I am glad you are making progress. However, it still makes me wonder why you did not come back to the offer to use our cnc shop to make parts quickly and cheap. Best of luck and god speed! Rainer

Sooo... it's now the beginning of November. Any updates?

Hi guys, I think we'd all appreciate a little more communication. I just found the flickr stream from your last comment, but I think it would be good if you made that more obvious (posted an update about it and/or posted it to the main project website). Other than the descriptions of those photos, there have been no project updates in quite a while!

It has been quite some time since you posted an update. In fact, it has been over two months. Even though I did not give you thousands of dollars it would be nice to know what my money is doing for your project.

II-VI Optics make the lenses and mirrors for Universal. They don't do mounts or anything, but they might be a good source: http://www.ii-vi.com/

Maybe this question has been addressed but, why would you spend 3-4k on a laser cutter when you can just buy one for the same amount?

Maybe a dumb question but what kind of material can one cut with this thing?

What's the cost of a laser tube that can cut say 10mm acrylic? I'd say this would be the most limiting factor of this project as basic motion systems are not that hard to come by and can be hard quiet cheaply, however a good laser is expensive but is key to a good laser cutter

We would like to offer some support in regards to software and motion controller.

We already manufacturer our own low cost 40w laser at $1650 complete.

In addition, we manufacture our own control card and all the software: www.fullspectrumengineering.com/co2laserv2-40w.html

See our video for RetinaEngrave USB: www.fullspectrumengineering.com/co2laserv2-40w.html

We have an SDK to access our direct print drivers and control the motion directly through a C++ object and are interested in collaborating on open source software that calls our API.

Thanks Elmo, I will do your suggest.

glich: Your late, sorry. See the text "Funding successful" on the right. Do ask Nortd Labs if they wan't more money still.

Hello,
I have been looking to pledge and be a backer but I could not find where.
Would some one help about this?

BR

I would like to translate the documentation into Spanish

Congratulations on making your goal. Harford Hackerspace is looking forward to building a Lasersaur with you.

Hello Nortlab (from France).
Just becoming an Alpha backer !. I'm very excited ...
Hope cutting my furniture range in 2011 with the Lasersaur !!! : www.ekkoflex.com
Maybe you will be at NY makefaire show in september to get some good ideas from other 3D printing systems ? ... i will be there ...
bye,
Pierre.

i hope you will make a good safety system since the laser'll cut lots of stuff (for instance 3 visible beams around the lasers and red led's used as sensors to detect light bent out of the place it is supposed to be in...

Keep it simple. The fewer the parts the more people will get involved and help the project grow.

A few thoughts: I paid almost $18K for my epilog 45 watt laser that has a 12" x 18" cutting envelope. If I could DIY construct and equivalent system for $5K I would be WAY ahead of purchasing another laser (I need one). I would be willing to pay $500 for robust control software alone, acquiring the motion control electronics and constructing hardware is child's play. Developing a robust, RELIABLE workable control is where the real task lies and is worth much more than any pledge you can make.

HAVE FAITH!!!

I've been playing with my new air assist nozzle on my epilog laser and have found that I still get the same cutting capacity increase if I drop the air pressure down to 40 psi from 80 psi. It seems that the difference in cutting performance gain is largely due to switching from blowing air at the cut zone to blowing air through the cut itself. I also noticed that the at the location where the laser first pierces through the material it doesn't quite cut all the way through before the laser starts moving. The industrial lasers that I have used have an actual pierce cycle where they turn the laser on and wait for it to cut through the material before the cutting is performed. With a 100 watt system and a good air assist the laser will start to behave more like an industrial system and I think it would be prudent to include a pierce delay in the lasersaur control system for those who might need it!

Another thought: lasersaur control be able to interpret G-code?

Alpha kit backers need to chill: It could be clearer, but the $512 pledge doesn't say you get a laser tube, motor, or frame. I just says you get a kit with all the parts you need to make "a laser cutter from motors, frame, and laser!" You supply the motors, frame, and laser...and our friends at Lasersaur provide you with the kit of other parts, instructions, drawings, etc.

Take a chill pill, donors! You could spend more than $512 on the laser tube alone!

Sounds like the details of the Alpha Kit had better be better explained... particularly since the pledge states "and laser" while now it's being talked of being omitted. While I have various 40w and 80w tubes, I'd sure want to know that the rest of the parts are worth it. How about the HV supply and triggering circuit; are they included? Funding could be withdrawn pretty quickly if this turns out to be more of a scam than a genuine kit. Including instructions for something that's supposed to be "open source" is not a real benefit. What is the Alpha Kit??

oops, i mean 25W, not 25V...

I have to admit to also being a little disappointed with the lack of laser with the Alpha Kit , but...

Would it be possible to do some sort of group buy? Any little amount off would be a good thing after all. I'm assuming that for a 25V laser we are talking in the $1000 range, right?

I previously brought up the topic of including a high pressure coaxial air injection nozzle in the design and to explore that I recently machined an upgrade lens holder / nozzle for my 45 watt epilog laser. The air assist now flows parallel and coaxial with the laser beam and I increased the cutting air pressure from the recommended 30 psi to 80 psi. The result is an astounding 72% increase in cutting capacity over the standard epilog air assist which is essentially a gentle blow at a 45 degree angle. This clearly demonstrates the necessity of a good air assist system in laser cutters.

Alpha Kit. Get Alpha Access PLUS a super limited edition kit with all the parts to make a laser cutter from motors, frame, and laser!

Nortd Labs says, "The laser tube will definitely not be included. "

In the Pledge amount it sounds like to me All means All. Not almost all minus the expensive parts.

Hi, I am engineer in Automatic Control, I believe that your project is very good.I would like to help them in the development of the project, specially if they may use renewable sources of energy.

Does the alpha kit contain EVERYTHING to build Lasersaur (maybe sans tools)? Or do we have to provide items such as steppers and the laser to complete it?

Just pledged for the alpha stage. I'm very interested in this project, and have some experience with 3-D AutoCAD drafting, so I may be able to lend a hand in some respects.

If you are considering Adruino and ARM... I know it doesn't meet the ethernet requirement by itself, but I find the Propeller Chip http://www.parallax.com/propeller/ superior to most of its competitors at the low end. You get 32 pins of analog or digital IO and 8 processors for $8. Propeller + ARM may be a better solution.

How dose your project differ from the already available fully open source laser cutter projects found on the Instructables.com site? http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/ Note on the right column of that page are additional versions.

For the controller board an Arduino is almost certainly underpowered, Beagle Board while out there may not make sense, Gumstix for what it gives too expensive. Anything else and you're quickly at the whims of a vendor.

Congrats on getting over the top. I can't wait to build up a laser some time soon. All I ask is that you make it work with Illustrator/Inkscape and Photoshop/GIMP. Please don't make me go through Corel Draw anymore!!! LOL. Well done.