Awesome! Thank you.
Fiber laser update as of 10/6/25.
Progress has been made on the Fibet Laser. The repaired source has been installed, and testing is underway. The ut performance was far from ideal, but with the guidance of a consultant and help from multiple members, I believe we are in the home stretch.
The nitty gritty:
After installing the source and programming the software, we verified the laser fired. The laser has a red dot for aiming, but it was working “sporadically”. Decided to pause on that diag, as that’s a luxury right? Well this past weekend while starting the focus testing, I explained the problem to @atwatsoniii who figured out the red dot was in fact working correctly, but when you wear the protective glasses it filters out the red dot. Face palm me! Thanks Al for taking that worry off my plate.
Next came the focus trials. Using parameters and the process advised by our consultant, we verified we can’t get the correct beam to the material. 1/8” steel is what we are testing on, bit the focus was always off, and the adjustment couldn’t correct it enough. While we were testing, we found that raising the cutting height to a much higher position than it should be, gave us an ideal kerf but poor cut.
So back to checking all the settings and machine. After more research, and more trials, it was discovered that we have the wrong focus length lens in the collimator. Silly mistake, but should be an easy fix.
Ironically, because the focal length was to low on the 1/8” material, that meant it would likely be correct for thicker material. To verify, we tested cutting through 5/8” steel last night. The machine had no trouble with it. Thanks to @phurfphurf and @JCicolani for being there to soundboard and encourage me on.
I’m optimistic we are finally on a correct path forward. There is still a good amount of work to go and the timeline is still questionable. Most parts are slow to order from China. We’ll be discussing hiring a consultant to help finish the project and get us to the finish line.
Thanks for everyone’s patience along this journey, and feel free to ask any questions.
Pics of test cuts.
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Awesome! So much thanks.
Amazing!! Thanks for the heads up!!! This is so exciting. Thank you for everything you are doing for this and the space @jamesfreeman You are the man.
Work has resumed on building out the rest of the enclosure for the Fiber Laser. We have a plan for creating the sliding doors for the loading side, and the rest is straight forward.
If anyone is good with tape and floating drywall, you’d be my best friend.
Thanks again for everyone’s patience and understanding in this long process. I believe the finishline is in sight, although I’m hesitant to put a date on it. I’ll contunie to update here as progress is made.
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I can jump in to tape and float on Tuesday. Are supplies already on site?
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They arent, but I will make sure they are. Thank you for the help!
Do you have the tools, ir should I being some.
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I need to learn to tape and float drywall so I can repair some of my walls and roof at the house. And what better way to learn than by working on someone else’s stuff, right?
I’ll look at youtube and get some materials at the hardware store. Should be able to start this weekend. And I can get some pointers from John next week.
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I’ve got tools. Also 3.5 gal of all purpose mud which is probably plenty. and at least a little hot mud. I’m pretty low on tape, though. So, probably a roll of fiberglass tape would be good.
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Great. I’ll get my tools and both kinds of tape. It seems mesh tape is easier for beginners but both have their benefits.
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More progress on the enclosure is being made. Big shootout to Jon for not only designing and getting a materials list, but for also fabricating the large metal barn doors for the enclosure. This is a big hurdle to clear to help get the machine ready for testing and class development.
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If there are any opportunities to help with the getting the fiber laser online, I’d love to help!
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I’m also interested and ready to volunteer.