Talk:Large Laser Cutter Vote

This is the second vote-in-progress proposing a fundraising campaign with kickstarter-style rewards. Who is expected to fulfill these rewards? Just laying this at the feet of the board without specifying a person or persons committed to making sure things get done seems presumptuous. Running a crowdfunding campaign is a lot of work, and voting to put that responsibility on the board seems like a bad idea to me. --Dbever (talk) 09:18, 3 March 2016 (CST)

What kind of laser to buy?

This is an area open for debate. Personally, I'd like to see a laser with a 4' wide bed, full feed through (e.g. you can laser a 4x8 sheet of lumber in segments), and a lot more power (100+ watts) to cut thicker material. Doing that at a reasonable cost likely means going with a Chinese laser. I know some people don't like Chinese lasers and want to go with something that has US support (like Universal Laser Systems, Trotec, etc.) that may also be more user friendly, but those either cost a lot more money or don't provide all that much improvement over the Epilog. Some wanted to get a Kern with oxygen assist that can cut sheet metal, although it is unlikely with renting the space next door that we can afford that now, and a CNC plasma cutter can probably handle cutting metal better. But the bottom line is that these are controversial issues and the vote doesn't provide specs. We've had more than enough money for a new laser for some time, and I think everyone sees the priority in getting one. I think the reason why we don't have one yet is that the membership couldn't decide which one to buy. This vote doesn't address that issue. --Rdpierce (talk) 07:34, 9 March 2016 (CST)

I'd personally rather see more money allocated for the purchase of a laser (I'm in the camp of folks who want to see something with US support). If we get something from Full Spectrum that's a substantial step up in size and power (36x24" and 90 watts) we'd need to add $3-4000 to the vote total, but I think money spent on a laser will benefit substantially more people than money spent on a plasma cutter (and I'm sure there are less expensive options in the plasma table department that would suit our needs fine). --Dbever (talk) 11:53, 9 March 2016 (CST)