Our laser cutter has long been one of the most used facilities in the space, only rivalled by the tuck shop, though it has historically had some problems. The laser alignment would often drift and the available power left a lot to be desired.
Last Friday, with only 2 hours notice, we scrambled to assemble a team of volunteers to take delivery of our brand new Omtech Max-1393. Yes, you read that correctly; not second hand, brand new! This is the culmination of almost a year of crowd funding and organising to find the biggest and best machine that we could fit in the space. We owe a huge debt of thanks to the many members who contributed, as well as Spirax Sarco, a local business who generously donated to our appeal.
Preparing for the lift
For those who care about the tech-specs, the machine boasts:
1300x900mm cutting bed
130W CO2 laser tube
Automatic focusing
600mm/s max engraving speed
An A4 sheet looks tiny on the cutting bed
When we say that this is the biggest machine that we can fit in the space, we aren't exaggerating. With a depth just a few cm shy of a standard door width and weighing a quarter of a ton, we had an exciting afternoon of choreographing every step of its short journey from the curb, into the digifab room.
Not a lot of clearance to get through the door
Thankfully we had a sizeable and capable team of members who worked like a well-oiled machine to carefully guide the unit through several doorways and perfectly position it in its new home.
Best of all? It's already been commissioned and members are able to be trained to use it!