I wanted to send a quick message to let everyone know that a full detailed fiber laser update will be coming out this week. I apologize for the delay in updating everyone, especially those who donated. I’ll share the update this thread and will also be sending individual emails to each person who donated.
Soon we’ll have this incredible machine online for members to use!
Alright, without further delay, here’s the latest details on the fiber laser!
We’re aiming to bring this awesome machine online in April and will continually update here as the timeline becomes more definitive. When we start working on class development, we will be working with our donors from the fiber laser fundraiser as the run-through students. Donors will be receiving emails with more info on this.
The fiber laser will be positioned next to the garage door in the new metal shop. This will be on the Alta Open/OpenPath system to allow members to open the garage door from outside for easy load in.
To ensure safety for all members in the shop, the fiber laser will be fully enclosed with multiple openings for optimal functionality. This enclosure will ensure that members in other areas of the metal shop are not exposed to the laser without proper safety glasses (similar to the need for eye safety with welding). The enclosure will have a steel frame designed and signed off by structural engineers. The frame also includes a material hoist that will extend out of the enclosure into the loading zone.
This hoist will assist members in safely moving heavy materials from vehicles directly onto the laser bed through the side barn doors that will run along the long edge of the machine with an 11’ opening to easily accept the largest size materials the bed can accomodate.
We purchased the machine with a 700W laser source, however this strength is somewhat limiting in the materials and thicknesses that can be cut. Thanks to the help of additional donors, we have purchased a 2kW laser source. This upgrade will allow for a wider variety of metals to be cut including brass and aluminum. We’ll be able to give more details on materials and thicknesses that can be cut once we are able to get the new source installed and do test cuts. This information will be aggregated into a materials library to give members a handy source when planning out projects.
While we don’t have exact dates yet, we do hope to have this machine online in April. Here’s some general info that will become more detailed and fleshed out as we get closer and finalize things.
We will have a Fiber Laser: Techniques class that serves as the class that clears you to use this machine as a member. We also plan to have some project-based classes as well.
The fiber laser will have equipment-specific time limits similar to the CNCs and lasers, with a max of 4.5 hours at a time. As mentioned in the fiber laser fundraiser, donors who contributed $500 or more will have extended booking time limits (increased to 6.5 hours) for the first 30 days after the laser is fully online.
We’ve all been waiting a very long time to have a fiber laser at Asmbly (it’s been a 5+ yr journey!). We’re excited to celebrate this machine and the rest of the metal shop having it’s own dedicated space and will have a big party similar to the Ceramics Grand Opening we had this past Saturday. Stay tuned for more details on that as we get closer to the finish line!
Very excited for this. Thanks for the updates @valerie!
Looking forward to it.
Thank you for all the work and updates!
The 2kW laser source upgrade is now functional and the enclosure build is in progress! Stay tuned for more updates here from @jamesfreeman as things continue to progress.
Also be sure to save the date for our re-opening celebration on Sunday 6/8 from 3pm-5pm! 
What’s a the latest fiber laser news, please?
I know the enclosure is being worked on.
The enclosure is being worked on currently. While doing that we are also finishing up the laser source swap. We’ve verified the new source works, and are ironing out the bugs in the software.
Once the bugs are completed, and tonsome degree before, the class development will get under way.
We are hoping to complete everything by the metal shop grand opening.
Made some good progress today on the enclosure, thanks to James, Jason, and Kevin for helping to make this possible!
We spent about 10-15 minutes talking over the safest way to lift this stuff up, making sure everyone had their jobs ready and understood, and about 10-15 seconds making sure the bracket went to the proper side. Easy to fix, but I think we’ve all felt the feeling of the second image.
Awesome! Thanks for all the hard work, time, and attention.
