More on the Versalaser

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Posted by michael on Thursday October 23, 2003 @08:13AM from the keep-remaining-fingers-out-of-the-machine dept.

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.

24 of 236 comments (clear)

AHA! by wizarddc · 2003-10-23 08:14 · Score: 4, Funny

So this is a self admitted repost, huh?! You doubly lazy slashdot editors.

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Th
Glass laser printers by Trillan · 2003-10-23 08:16 · Score: 4, Interesting

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.
1. Re:Glass laser printers by bravehamster · 2003-10-23 08:37 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I bought something from one of these in Plano, Texas. (My mom just graduated from law school, and I bought her the scales of justice inside a crystal block.) Very, very cool to watch it done. From the way the guy running it explained it, it works by using two lasers. When the two lasers intersect, it gets hot enough to create a small fracture in the crystal at the exact point of intersection. From there it's pretty easy to see how it gets done, although the fractures do have to be done in a certain order, otherwise the previous fractures will difract the lasers.
  
  --
  ---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
Re:Surely by Nutt · 2003-10-23 08:17 · Score: 3, Insightful

Most likely it's because this tool would be able to make precise cuts at a very narrow diameter. From working with wood I know it's hard to get a perfect line 1/16" thick in a piece of wood. Same with stone I'm assuming. There's only so small you can go with mechanical tools. It also doesn't require cad/cam experience so people like landscape companies could etch their name into paving stones or things like that.
It had to be said... by Cyclopedian · 2003-10-23 08:18 · Score: 4, Funny

I want sharks with fricken Veralaser printers on their heads!!

Throw me a bone here, people!

-Cyc

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/.'s 10 Millionth
1. Re:It had to be said... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-10-23 09:02 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Here is a guide to getting +5 funny on slashdot stories. The humour of the slashdot crowd is pretty sophisticated but with this guide you should just be able to stay in touch.
  
  1. The phrase 'I want sharks with fricken [insert story related term] on their heads', will never become unfunny no matter how many times it is used. Although the original reference involves lasers, the quote can be adapted for other stories with no loss of humour value. See 'I want sharks with fickin DVD drives on their head'. Absolutely hilarious.
  
  2. Make references to slashdotters porn collections. Pretty much any article involving mass storage can be enlivened with the phrase 'but that still won't hold my pr0n collection!'. Always use the word pr0n or it won't be funny.
  
  3. If the story is about cars then you can write something along the lines of 'its a good job they don't run windows or they would crash a lot'. Although this might seem quite unfunny at first, it works because you are using the word crash in two different contexts. You can expand the theme to stories about medicine with 'I hope that's not made by microsoft or the patients will catch lots of viruses!'.
  
  4.On stories about the RIAA and file sharing there are often a lot of funny posts which seem to be misclasified and get modded up as 'insightful' or 'informative'. Stuff like 'I've downloaded a lot of music off kazaa but then I just had to rush out and buy the CD's!' or 'The reason I download music is not because I like getting stuff for free but because I'm taking a moral stance against the tyranny of the RIAA!'. This must be a bug in the slashcode.
Just don't share it. by nairnr · 2003-10-23 08:18 · Score: 5, Funny

Please for the love of god, don't set this up as a windows share. It is bad enough that we have people accidently printing email on our HP5000 4' plotters. No, you can print your email on wood!.
I suspect God may have had one of these for the tablets for Moses...
1. Re:Just don't share it. by MR.Gates · 2003-10-23 08:32 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I accidently printed a win98 test page on a rather large HP plotter when I worked for FMC. Needless to say I am now the proud owner of a win98 poster size test page, D'OH!
  
  --
  
  A few hours grace before the madness begins again.
Someone had to try it... by keep_it_simple_stupi · 2003-10-23 08:18 · Score: 4, Funny

"Customers have also come up with some notably bad ideas, including engraving plastic butane lighters."

You know, it's amazing we've lasted this long.
Re:Surely by tsanth · 2003-10-23 08:18 · Score: 4, Insightful
I really don't understand why the price is that high either...
1. It's fairly unique.
2. It's for a niche market.
3. Supplies are limited (as in, one supplier makes it).
I'm sure I missed something.
Another use... by tomzyk · 2003-10-23 08:18 · Score: 4, Funny

Have your own tattoo parlor, right on your computer desktop!

(Caution: be sure to have plenty of gauze and ice, a phone, and be in a place where the EMTs can find you easily...)

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Karma: NaN
1. Re:Another use... by John+M+Ford · 2003-10-23 08:49 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  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
Mac not? nooooo! by ben_of_copenhagen · 2003-10-23 08:18 · Score: 3, Funny

They have to fix a mac driver for this. With xmas coming up, i could really annoy all my friends by making them nasty wooden door signs written in Gill Sans Ultra Bold.
Re:Surely by vpetersen · 2003-10-23 08:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

What if you wanted to cut / print on two hundred stones plates (or tiles, glass sheets etc) and in larger volumes than a person can write, thousands a day, for several years? Surely, it's not worth $10,000 if you need just one printed item.

I guess it's the same reason we use regular printers and digital storage and not 16th century monks manually re-writing bibles, one book a year.

Unless I'm missing your point?
A Windows-only peripheral that literally smokes!? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-10-23 08:21 · Score: 5, Funny

I think I'd like to have one ... but not with my son in the house - he be testing whether it could print on "dog".
view the thing by seriv · 2003-10-23 08:22 · Score: 3, Informative

you can see a picture of it here, the link provided above. And a techTV spot of it.
-Seriv
1. Re:view the thing by seriv · 2003-10-23 08:25 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  or view images of what it can do Here.
  -Seriv
DANGER! DANGER! by HungWeiLo · 2003-10-23 08:25 · Score: 4, Funny

Disaster (serves 6)

1 tbsp. of laser that can cut anything
2 qts. of Windows drivers

Mix ingredients gently. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve immediately.

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There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
Re:VersaTattoo by Mysticalfruit · 2003-10-23 08:36 · Score: 3, Funny

The laser lab at WPI (www.wpi.edu) has the best sign on the door.

"Do not look into laser with remaining eye"

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Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
The next generation of these . . . by StefanJ · 2003-10-23 08:40 · Score: 5, Funny

. . . will only cost $1000, and get bundled for free with new systems, but you'll need to buy $300 fusion plasma cartridges for them every few months that are designed to go critical and explode if you try to refill them.

For now, I'll stick with an X-Acto knife and that wood burning kit I got at a garage sale.

Stefan
20 times more power at 3 times the cost by Chris+Y+Taylor · 2003-10-23 08:41 · Score: 3, Insightful

For about $20,000 dollars more you can get a used 1kW industrial laser. It'll be powerful enough to cut 3/8" steel plate if you slow the feed rate down. Of course it takes up more room. And the operating costs will be a tad higher. But, it is just the thing for disposing of unwanted British spies.

http://www.franeklaser.com/usedlasers.htm
Oh God NOOOOO! by DAldredge · 2003-10-23 08:41 · Score: 3, Funny

Who let a member of marketing become a member of /.?
Sample Products by MhzJnky · 2003-10-23 09:07 · Score: 3, Informative

Here you can see some sample products made by it.

Think I'll order my up one and start working on filling up the Trophy case.

--

"Failure is not an option, it's part of the standard package"
Re:Surely by DoctorTuba · 2003-10-23 12:20 · Score: 3, Informative

The VersaLaser is manufactured by Univeral Laser Systems in Scottsdale, AZ (http://www.ulsinc.com/) and comes in several versions. The VL-200 has a 25 watt laser and a 12" x 16" working area. The VL-300 can be had in 30, 40, or 50 watt versions with a 12" x 24" working area.

The $10K (US) price tag is for the VL-200 without any of the extras you'll need to make it work (exhaust ventilation, colinear air/NO2) and only in the engraving version. The honeycomb table for cutting table will set you back $240. And the VL-300 and accessories are even more expensive. Figure $15-$20K to make it really useable, and >$25K if you want in at 50 watts.

We've been using a 30W VL-300 for a couple of months now in our research lab. We were told to expect 6-8 weeks to get the machine, but in fact it took over twice that. The machine is nicely designed, but in places the fit and finish are pretty bad (at least on the early one we got). The current driver won't work on anything older than Win2K (we bought a cheap XP box for it since we're a Mac only group) and comes preconfigured with a set of materials and thicknesses (for cutting} which can't be changed. When I first tried to cut 1/4" basswood (a material I'd previously cut with a 10 Watt CO2 laser) I was told that a 30W VersaLaser couldn't do that job. No workaround since you don't have access to power levels or cutting speeds.

Also, Epilog Lasers in Golden, CO makes a similar machine, the Legend 24TT.

Is it a cool toy? You bet. But be aware that Universal has a fixed notion of the niche for these things and they're pretty reluctant to modify that notion. So if you've got the next, great market for their product don't be surprised if they're not interested.