Do we need a room for the laser cutter?

Continuing the discussion from VHS still needs your help!:

@davidcarne was kind enough to take most of the lumber as we don’t have a place to store it.

Which brings me to a new topic, do we actually need a room for the laser cutter? If so what is the benefit?

I only ask because places like makerlabs (and previously laser cutter cafe) have kept their laser out in the open, i’m sure there are other places as well.

The arguments for having a laser room:

  1. Keeps the laser clean. Lasers are also really good at igniting wood dust it turns out.
  2. Keeps the loud extraction fan noise (mostly) to those who are using it.
  3. Ensures operators aren’t distracted and monitor their laser jobs.
  4. The main reason we have a laser room at the Bunker is safety, as it ensures no bystanders will be exposed to reflected laser light.
  5. If there’s enough vertical (as it was at the Bunker, but won’t be at the Shoebox), provides a place for filters/fans for the laser.

With the reduced space, I’m honestly on the fence about having a separate laser room. I’ve thought about having somewhat of a “laser nook”, with a half-height wall or something - but that only mildly helps with #3, so is pretty useless.

If we can say with some certainty that we will have effective dust extraction in the Shoebox for wood cutting and sanding, then that solves #1.

We can build a box to dampen the noise from the extractor fan again, which solves #2.

I do think #3 is the largest issue we have from the list. No offence, but many VHS members might as well be squirrels. :stuck_out_tongue: Even with the separate room that we have at the Bunker, it’s been an issue in the past.

For #4, there was a bug with the original control electronics that the laser came with, where you could ignore/override the hoods safety interlock by clicking the Pause button in the software. We replaced it with a much better controller about a year back though, so that eliminates the largest concern for safety. But there’s always the chance of someone doing something stupid.

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I would say yes:

  1. It’s a members only thing
  2. safety
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@garthomite - Actually, I didn’t end up with most of it. I took only the short scraps (<5ft) for firewood. @Daniel_DeGagne took most of it, I think to be used for something. There was nowhere to store it, and the alternative was the dump.