Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Questions, Suggestions, Tips, Etc

Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby All3n » Fri Dec 07, 2012 2:23 am

Forget it, I have better things to do then wait for this guy to maybe offer parts.

It's supposed to be open sourced yet we all have to wait for this guy to make custom parts? Yes, apparently we do because having them made elsewhere is prohibitively expensive. (Because we all want to over pay for essentially what is a Chinese laser, that we have to build ourselves.)

God forbid you ask his holiness when things will be available, because he does not take requests or reserves blah blah blah. Well excuuuuse me.

Then he has the nerve to supply people on this site with Batch #7 without even notifying us who are patiently waiting in this thread.

In case you have not guessed it, Batch 7 is already being sold to others.

Now I understand why this site is such a wasteland despite having a cool project.

Way to kill the DIY vibe.
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby gfc62 » Fri Dec 07, 2012 4:28 am

Hey Bart,
It occurs to me that I haven't thanked you enough for all the work you put in making this site useful for people who understand the DIY vibe while also making parts from time to time for others who are too busy or lack the skills to make them from your open source plans. You do all of this while having other work and family responsibilities, that's more than I could do. Thanks for that.

I sometimes feel guilty for not contributing as much as I should to this great community. Thanks to Allen for reminding me that I could do much worse.

G
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby mondo50m » Fri Dec 07, 2012 4:47 am

All I need is the gantry end plates. Is anyone else making these? I have spent alot of time and money massing all of the parts and can now go no further as I can not have the end plates, left and right.

Milt
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby lazorus » Fri Dec 07, 2012 5:25 am

I am with gfc62 when I say that Bart hasn't been thanked enough as well. Now here is the time for me to say it, THANK YOU BART!

All3n, don't give up. I had to wait for Bart to release new batches, and was fortunate enough to have subscribed to his twitter feed (even though I don't know much about twitter). I caught his post that there was more kits released and ordered one. After seeing the parts in the kit, the only parts which I would have had a hard time making we're the gantry end plates (if not manufactured properly, the gantry will not ride squarely), and the z lift plates (I wouldn't know where to get the little floating nuts, or how they get pressed into the plates).

The rest could be made by hand if you were patient. I have a cnc router so fortunately didn't have to go that route. :D

I learned so much from this build. My daughter helped me build it and I know the learning process was a good one.

You could quit and give up. It took me about 3 months to get all the parts together. And about a week to complete it. Once you get the unit together and start cutting stuff with it, amazement follows. And just think, you'll be the only one on your block to have built your own laser. I don't know much about the china lasers, but from pictures this build is about 10x better. And with the forums help I built one!!
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby mondo50m » Fri Dec 07, 2012 2:26 pm

I totally agree with the above. But where else but here are we supposed to be able t get the end plates? Inventables have a lot of the parts, but they do not have the end plates. I went into this build believeing I would be able to get the parts needed to complete it. ALL I need is the end plates. Please, somebody make some of these. I even have the DSP 2012 waiting to be used. Too much money spent to have to stop now because of just 2 parts.

Milt
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby cvoinescu » Fri Dec 07, 2012 3:29 pm

This is probably futile, but I would like to remind All3n that "open source" comes from software, where it means simply that the source code is open (i.e. it's available, with permission to modify and redistribute it). In the case of hardware, the equivalent of source code are the design documents: engineering drawings, bills of materials, assembly instructions. Those are unambiguously open in this case: Bart is doing a better job than many open-source projects at making these available and keeping them up to date. Any help in sourcing the parts (e.g. identifying suppliers and part numbers for off-the-shelf items, or a supply of the custom-made parts), is just gravy. It's "open source", not "open sourcing". None of the parts have any secret about their making: the design is open. You could sit down and make, say, your gantry ends, working with Bart's drawings and reasonable skill in metal working. Or, if you did not have the tools or the skill, you could ask a friend, or hire a fabricator to make them for you -- in which case, of course, you'd have to pay. But you would not need to do any costly and time-consuming research and development, nor would you need engineering skill to design the machine and its parts, because Bart's already done that and shared the results with you, and everyone else. That's what "open source" means -- thank you, Bart! All3n, or anyone esle, could even make dozens of kits and sell them, although there's etiquette about that.

Also, there seems to be quite a bit of fox-and-grapes action going on in your post, All3n. :)
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby All3n » Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:22 pm

There is not much you can say. This is not my first go around with this laser. The implication of the new 2.x laser was supposed to be made with more common parts.

There is no sense taking subtle jabs at my DIY skills because you cannot handle my constructive criticism. To make some of these parts with a reasonable amount of quality requires a shop with metal working tools, specifically the bends in the gantry ends. I do not have a brake or a corner punch. I debated having the "bends" tig welded, but here you still have to try and drill holes on the bent pieces after. So unless you happen to have a metal shop worker in your pocket, having any of this work done by hired help escalates the cost quickly beyond the realm of a "hobby" laser.

I can see why some of you are defensive, but lets be realistic here, I am not the only one frustrated with the reliance of custom parts. This project is 95% modular 5% unobtanium.
I don't want to have a mostly slick laser then have to bugger together the last few precision parts in my garage because I own mostly woodworking tools, or spend $500 plus on having simple parts made for a lack of tools. I had already accepted that I could not get the skins shipped to Canada, but how far ya going to go? The whole thing may as well be custom, lol.

I am not interested in customizing the laser on the first build, I simply want to buy the parts, follow the directions and build a working laser, with a REASONABLE amount of fabrication and problem solving.
Sure after I built one, would I customize another? sure, why not.

I assure you I can have the patience of Job if the project is doable, but for now 2.x is non sequitur for most people.
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby All3n » Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:35 pm

On a side note, you may as well stop throwing the word "open source" around. This is not a piece of software, this is a tangible three dimensional object who's parts have to be sourced from somewhere.
The plans are claimed to be "open sourced" but at the same time you have to pay or simply not obtain all the parts to make the device work.

So the reality is the opposite of the open-sourced mentality. You have limited choices regarding misumi, that's fine. Then you have the maker slide, last time I checked it cost money and the money goes into the creators pocket.<This is not open source. Then the custom kit is the icing on the cake.

So sure you can tell me the usually responses I see around here, but they are just cop-outs. I am not going to glue my rails together either.
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby TheRulesLawyer » Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:58 pm

A more productive approach might be finding a shop that will machine these for a reasonable price on demand and partnering with them. That way nobody has to wait for bart to make up the kits. They just go somewhere and hit order. Might not be quite as cheap, but avoiding the bottleneck of when the next kit comes out seems to be the biggest issue. I don't want to even start until I have a kit because of this.
Last edited by TheRulesLawyer on Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Possible 2.x laser Kits Batch #7

Postby SSW » Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:01 pm

Hi guys,

I'm looking to build one of these too. I have some possible resources.

Does Bart offer the DXF files for those gantry ends? All I can find are PDFs. I see he has posted DXF and STEP for other parts. If not, I guess we just need to re-draw them.

Thanks,

SSW
-- Bernie
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