About Us:
The laser cutter here is the culmination of approximately 2/3 of a semester's work of 7 students in Rice University's ARTS 262: The Art of DIY class. The class was piloted in the fall of 2012 by Mike Beradino, professor in the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts.
The design for the cutter is an experiment in open source technology, started at Nortd Labs. It is now in revision 12, and there are approximately two dozen Lasersaurs in various stages of completion around the world. CAD drawings, software documentation, bills of materials, wiring diagrams, and other support materials are listed publicly on the Nortd website. The Lasersaur is intended to be simple enough to complete with minimal technical skills - the frame is entirely extruded aluminum, and the most complicated technical procedures used during assembly were soldering amd using a Dremel and drill press to cut holes for ventilation, the laser, and the nitrogen system..
The Lasersaur is capable of etching metals and cutting through various media including acrylic, wood, paper and cardboard. To date, we have successfully cut paper, cardboard, balsa, museum board, and 1/4" plywood. We have also etched a carbon fiber/epoxy composite. The laser itself is approximately 4' long x 4" in diameter and is a 100 W water cooled carbon dioxide laser.
Part of our class is based in contributing back into the open source pool. This website is dedicated to documenting our build process. You'll find a time lapse of our build, photo documentation, personal journals, and links to various sources we've used to assemble our Lasersaur. If you'd like to know more, you'll find contact information here.
The laser cutter here is the culmination of approximately 2/3 of a semester's work of 7 students in Rice University's ARTS 262: The Art of DIY class. The class was piloted in the fall of 2012 by Mike Beradino, professor in the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts.
The design for the cutter is an experiment in open source technology, started at Nortd Labs. It is now in revision 12, and there are approximately two dozen Lasersaurs in various stages of completion around the world. CAD drawings, software documentation, bills of materials, wiring diagrams, and other support materials are listed publicly on the Nortd website. The Lasersaur is intended to be simple enough to complete with minimal technical skills - the frame is entirely extruded aluminum, and the most complicated technical procedures used during assembly were soldering amd using a Dremel and drill press to cut holes for ventilation, the laser, and the nitrogen system..
The Lasersaur is capable of etching metals and cutting through various media including acrylic, wood, paper and cardboard. To date, we have successfully cut paper, cardboard, balsa, museum board, and 1/4" plywood. We have also etched a carbon fiber/epoxy composite. The laser itself is approximately 4' long x 4" in diameter and is a 100 W water cooled carbon dioxide laser.
Part of our class is based in contributing back into the open source pool. This website is dedicated to documenting our build process. You'll find a time lapse of our build, photo documentation, personal journals, and links to various sources we've used to assemble our Lasersaur. If you'd like to know more, you'll find contact information here.