Nice round-up by Joseph Flaherty at Wired of some great examples of laser cutting. The table (above, top) is my favorite. He writes:
3-D printers are an exciting technology, but another hot new tool may have just as significant of an impact in real-world projects.
Laser cutters were invented almost 50 years ago, but only became part of the home workshop in the past few years. In that short time, however, the maker community has embraced the machines with creative enthusiasm. While these 2-D cutters don’t produce sweet 3-D Yoda heads at the push of a button, they do bring impressive versatility to a wide range of applications.
If makers want to experiment with creative ideas that need to be produced with engineering-grade plastics, wood, leather, metal, or even food, laser cutters are often the only appropriate tool. Most laser cutters, and their beefy plasma cutter brethren, can produce objects much larger than standard 3-D prints in a much shorter time, and usually for a significantly lower cost. One forward-thinking cafe in Japan has even installed a cutting system so makers can laser cut parts while sipping a latte — whereas waiting for a 3-D printout would require a seven-course meal.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Diving into the Raspberry Pi RP2350, Python Survey Results and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
