We still want a laser, but now we have a bit more of a focus. Much like the open source hardware Makerbot is for printing, Lasersaur will be an open source laser cutter. 
Hive76 really wants to make one! So we have adjusted the pledgie where we are collecting donations to match the new goal: $2000. Here’s the cost breakdown:
- $570 Lasersaur Alpha kit: optics, electronics, belts, fasteners
- $500 Extruded aluminum rails
- $700 Fume extractor for exhaust
- Remaining funds for unseen costs
- Free: Laser tube from Meatcards, Stepper motors from Meatcards or elsewhere, Paneling is nominal.
As before, your pledge will be rewarded with laser time at a dollar per minute. Also, any $10 pledge gets some not-yet-designed lasercut trinket!
Let’s make it happen!
Do you have a metric for potential donors to make it easy to estimate how many minutes it would take to laser-etch a particular image?
It varies a lot. Etching is slow; a set of meatcards should take about 20 minutes. Cutting is quicker. You could cut a 3″ snowman ornament in about 30 seconds. As it is we don’t have anything to test with. Once the laser is built, expect a blog post with instructions on how to redeem and some examples with timing.
http://www.buildlog.net/cnc_laser/index.php
check that one out in the meantime. you can get a good idea what is involved if you read through that build.