Ok. I popped in to have a look at the laser today. It appears that the outside bearing race holding the bearings on the gantry has disintegrated. This will need to be replaced. Unfortunately this means laser cutter is out of order until we get the parts in.
@Majicj installed them only to find that the shaft has worn a groove where it has been grinding against the seized bearing. We’re going to need to replace this shaft.
Who’s up for making this part? We have stock and we have the assembly in pieces for you to inspect. We need this quickly and we need this done well, so looking for someone who has the experience to bang this out with no trouble.
A big shoutout to @Billiam for repairing the shaft in our machine shop, @sampath for sourcing new bearings, @TyIsI for general bearing measurements, @lukecyca for problem analysys, lubricating the laser rails,cleaning mirrors, laser alignment and general quality checking, @Majicj for inital debugging, pulley mechanical disassembly/reassembly/installation.
All told it took about 10+ hours from everyone to get the laser cutter back online.
The main reason I mention this is to remind everyone that VHS is run by volunteers.
VHS needs YOU to help out where ever you can! If you see an area you can help out with please do it. Trust me you will be appreciated!