We are at 33c3

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Some of us have travel across the seas to visit the 33rd annual Chaos Communication Congress (33C3). It’s a four days of total hacker fun. Filled with talks, workshops and many a good time.

If you are at Congress be sure to drop by the Irish Embassy and Tog Assembly. If you can’t make it along in person you can watch it all live streamed over the internet. -> https://streaming.media.ccc.de/33c3

Check out the sign Tdr made for the occasion. 3 sheets of 3mm plywood glued together. For photos of the build check out our gallery.

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Baubles

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We wanted to spreed a bit of cheer the season that’s in it. We decided to make some baubles. The fabulous Louise Nolan did up lovely design. We cut them all on our laser cutter and then with the help of all the craters, we have them ready to send to friends of Tog.

If you would like to make your own our designed is available here or check out more photo of the fun we had making them in our gallery.

 

 

 

A Sign for Radiona

Last October, our own Jeffrey Roe visited Radiona, a makerspace in Zagreb,Croatia. While their he gave Skull Radio workshop and hung out in their space. As a thank you, we decided to make them a new sign for their door.  Taking a raster image from the Radiona website, we turned their logo into an SVG and made a sign. We went for a raised lettering effect with 3mm Plywood and using CF glue to stick the letters.

For photos of the build, check out our gallery.

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A video of the sign being cut.

Check out some photos of Radiona in our gallery.

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Pew! Pew! 5 things you need to know to start laser cutting

Our own Jeffrey Roe talked to Silicon Republic all about laser cutters. Read an extract of the story below.

 

Ever dreamed of running your very own laser cutter? Here are five tips to get you started cutting shapes into everyday items like wood or paper.

Laser cutting – sometimes called etching or engraving – is not only one of the coolest ways of bringing a design to life but also, by far, the most accurate.

While it might be easy to design and cut out a small sign by hand, a laser cutter can do so much more, such as the kind of multi-layered lettering and design that even a skilled artist would struggle to execute.

 

With so many possibilities, you might be wondering: how does the average person get involved in laser cutting and, more importantly, is it prohibitively expensive?

After all, when it comes to laser cutting, my first thoughts usually veer towards the famous scene in the James Bond film, Goldfinger, in which a giant laser gradually edges towards the groin of the British spy.

In reality, laser cutters are far less powerful – and a lot more realistic. Yet they still have enough power to burn through most thin wood, paper or plastic to create a design you need.

To get a look at one in action, Siliconrepublic.com popped down to the impressive Tog hackerspace in Dublin where its CEO, Jeffrey Roe, was on hand to take us through what you need to get started.

Read the full story on their website -> https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/laser-cutting-starter-guide

Continue reading “Pew! Pew! 5 things you need to know to start laser cutting”

Lasersaur Realignment

 

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We have been without our much loved laser cutter since our move to our new space. A host of work had to be carried out to get the laser up and running. A new extraction system had to be installed in our electronics. The tube had to be reinstalled in the laser which was taken out for its trip to Blackpitts. The final bit of work was a whole realignment. Each of the 3 lens had to be calibration which takes hours.

Check out the photos from our first few cuts in our gallery.