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More on the Versalaser
A random reader writes: "In an article at PCMag.com, Bill Machrone describes what has to be the coolest printer ever (or close to it). A company called Versalaser sells a printer which uses a laser and can cut/write on everything from paper to wood to stone. Available in 25-50 Watt models, starting at only US$10,000. Great for the geek who must have it all! Unfortunately, Windows drivers only at this time." We mentioned this wondertool before.
Far cooler are glass (or is it crystal?) laser printers. I haven't seen them, but a coworker was telling me about seeing them at a big mall somewhere in Sacremento. You get modeled by a scan, then it curs your image into a block of glass -- in 3d.
That makes me wonder...
Could you send a flat sheet of ice through and get a nice relief sculpture out of it?
Imagine being able to cater ice reliefs of dinner speakers, etc. by simply printing graphics out of photoshop.
Hot Damn! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!
A Use Case for this thing:
p g
My summer hobby is model rocketry.
I usually build my own. Specifically, I recreate old, old models from the early 1960s:
http://www.io.com/~stefanj/posed_with_hustler.j
http://www.io.com/~stefanj/017_14A.JPG (big)
Usually I cut my own fins, and less often turn my own nose cones, but if I'm in a hurry or need exact work there's a great outfit that uses a laser cutter to create these pieces.
You send them a file in an accepted rocketry-CAD format, select a material, and use a spreadsheet to figure out the prices. They can cut cardstock, balsa, thin plywood, and special laminates.
The burning effect is really interesting. The centers of the fins and rings and such are creamy white wood, the edges a dark chocolate brown with an interesting ridged texture.
Stefan
I used to work with an 25W Epilog CO2 laser. While watching a coworker, I saw him place a plastic part to be cut in the machine. What I did not see was that the part was placed incorrectly. He then closed the lid and pressed the start button. When he realized the part was incorrectly placed, he opened the lid and reached to save the part without hitting stop. Usually this would not be a problem. Unfortunately for him, he had bypassed the safety switch early that day and had not reset it. It burned a nice little line all the way down and through his index fingernail and into the cuticle before he realized his error.
:-)
While I have no doubt that it is possible to mark skin in decorative ways with this machine, I can assure you that it is not a painless process.
John
I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it. jya.com/ap.htm
A company I worked for before had one of these...back in the year 2000...but it wasn't a Versalaser, it was another brand. We "printed" from a Mactintosh G3 using Illustrator onto things like Corian and wood...it supposedly did not understand Postscript fonts, but we installed a Postscript driver and simply pointed it at the printer, and the thing worked fine. It was pretty fast, and could burn anything but metals...
1 - Take an old plotter ...
2 - Hook a power laser to the pen
3 - Load usual plotter drivers
4 -
5 - Profit! (sell it for $10,000)
Unfortunately, Windows drivers only at this time.
This thing could have been some sort of combination Time Machine/Transmogrifier/Fountain of Youth, but if it only had Windows drivers, we'd have to find a way to bring in the holy war and complain about it.
Slashbots: One. Track. Mind.
Belloc
I got more rhymes than Jamaica got Mangoes.
I wonder what effects things like this has on the jewelry industry. In the next century, there will probably be children's toys that make and cut diamonds into any shape they can imagine with their 3d holographic editing system :)
Karma Clown