The Butter Project - Laser Overhaul/Maintenance Vote

Sponsors

• Burton Kent
• Nathan Upchurch ?
• Ash Jasani ?

Background

PS1 lore has it that our membership really started taking off when we bought the Epilog laser. Since then we've been fortunate enough to add Boss and Universal lasers to our equipment. However, these lasers have been sporadically and somewhat poorly maintained.

The Boss laser has been performing poorly. Where it once could easily cut 1/4" plywood at 20mm per second (like butter), it now struggles to cut plywood at 5mm per second. The Universal laser performs slightly better, but without continued proper maintenance we can expect preventable problems and outages.

The goal of this vote is to:

1. Pay for experts to diagnose the lasers.
2. Overhaul/upgrade the lasers.
   • Boss
     • Molybdenum mirrors for durability and easier cleaning.
     • Possible tube replacement.
     • Needs replacement lenses of an appropriate focal length.
   • Universal needs a honeycomb bed replacement. The downdraft table was installed upside down, not sure what problems this caused.
   • Any filtering/upgrades needed for the compressed air?
   • Air exhaust needs to go through the roof and have an appropriately powered fan.
3. Work with the experts to learn how to maintain the lasers properly.
4. Set up a documented maintenance plan with trained maintainers.

A separate vote will be written for asset disposal of the Epilog. Laser tubes perform best when used, otherwise contaminants get into the tubes and degrade them. Since the two newer lasers perform much better, we have no need for the Epilog and can sell it to return some funds to our organization.

Language

• This is the official action language of the vote. It's the only part of the vote that the membership is agreeing to. It must be written in the form of a statement that can be responded to with a yes or no.
• Write the language of any policy you'd like to see implemented.
• Write the amount of money this vote allocates towards a particular action.
• Write the duration of the action (if applicable) such as how long money will be made available for a specific purpose.