Monthly Archives: May 2016

New Utility Knife Engraved

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The little Xacto knife we’ve had in the toolbox has proved unequal to the tasks that arise in the laser lab: the point is often broken off the blade. So I picked up a cheap utility knife and a bunch of blades for it. These blades are quite a bit thicker than the Xacto knife blades, so maybe they will last longer and do a better job.

The body of the utility knife is red anodized aluminum, so I took the opportunity to do a little raster engraving. I used 50% power and 100% speed and the results are very nice, almost identical to the manufacturer’s logo. utilityknife

Windows 10

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I’m told that Microsoft saw fit to unilaterally “upgrade” our laser’s computer to Windows 10 the other day, despite my efforts to disable the automatic update. Oh, well.

Full Spectrum Laser doesn’t seem to have a position on whether their software, Retina Engrave 3D, will work on Windows 10. I don’t know any particular reason why it wouldn’t, but I have a strong belief that if you haven’t tested something, it probably doesn’t work.

I will do some rudimentary testing soon and add a comment to this post with the results. If it seems to work, I’ll leave it on Windows 10, since the upgrade would seem to be inevitable. If I find any problems, I can theoretically still back down to the older Windows version we were running before.

May Classes Scheduled

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Two new sessions of the basic operation and safety training course have been scheduled:

Sunday, May 15, 1pm to 5pm

OR

Sunday, May 29, 1pm to 5pm

If you’d like to sign up for one of these classes, please email class@colaser.org and let me know which session you’d prefer. The laser room is small, so class size is limited.

The class is free, and once you’ve completed the class you’ll be able to schedule time to use the Colaser, which is also free for art and personal projects. You don’t need to bring anything special to class. Be prepared for about 90 minutes of classroom instruction, followed by hands-on exercises with the laser.