Kirch, Anna

Recently, I (Anna K) gave a presentation to the board of directors to start a group buy to purchase an Xtool P3 CO2 laser to begin replacement of our 3 ULS lasers: Left Shark, Katy Perry, and Right Shark

At this juncture of the Milwaukee Makerspace, it is in our best interest to replace these three lasers.  The oldest of these three was made in 1996 – when I was in the 4th grade.  We have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to keep these lasers operational over the years.

Each laser requires a CO2 tube that costs almost $3000 to replace.  Left shark’s tube was last replaced in 2013- meaning it is past due for a new tube.

In addition, as compared with new lasers, these machines only have about 14mb of RAM, which seriously stunt’s  our member’s capabilities.

Xtool is the leading laser manufacturer for hobbyists.  Last year, we purchased the Xtool F1 Ultra fiber/diode laser, and the ease of use and capabilities are far superior to that of the ULS lasers we currently have.

Some features of the P3:

• 80W CO2 laser
• Integrated water chiller (unlike our BOSS lasers which have a large exterior water chiller
• 36×18 bed (which is larger than Katy Perry.
• Can cut 1/2″ material
• Free software that members can download onto their own computers
• Dual cameras for auto-positioning
• Flame and smoke sensors and a CO2 cartridge to put out fires automatically
• LiDar system for auto-focusing and auto-focusing while working (think wine glasses)
• Conveyor system for larger sheets of material

If you would like to donate to this group buy:

Go to https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1312756 and then comment on this post or email lasers@milwaukeemakerspace.org with how much you donated and the date.

Or, if you are a member, you can go on your MMS Membership Portal (WildApricot) and donate via area fund donations to lasers.  Just let lasers@milwaukeemakerspace.org know that you donated and how much and the date.

The board will be voting on 12/2/25 about whether or not they will be matching funds for the group buy.

If you would like to see the slideshow that was presented to the board, go here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1F6onsZSNdkxDB_dKhDPeco1ZU_3CRLBfz_DeA6JPkWo/edit?usp=sharing

Happy Lazing!

When the Milwaukee Makerspace was new, we relied on donations and hand-me-downs for a lot of our equipment.  In 2015, member Tom Gondek lent us a ULS V460 laser that he had used for one project.  That project happened to be cutting PVC!  It was his laser, so he can do what he wants with it.  So when we received the laser, it was pretty corroded.  We ended up buying this laser off of him after it caught fire.  Very surprisingly, this did not make the V-460 inoperable.  It chugged away through a few fires, through corrosion, through heavy rail damage from lack of cleaning, through the air assist cone not staying on, through shot springs on the x-axis…in other words, this laser has seen some sh*t.

Since this laser came to us in 2015, the year of the famous/infamous super bowl show with Katy Perry, Hapto (Sarah Davitt) came up with the name “Left Shark” for the laser.

Lets face it: Left Shark was simply *not* member’s favorite laser.  Between not being able to go over 60% speed, the honeycomb being…for lack of a better word: wonky, and  the cone not staying on…oh, and lets not forget that it cut at an angle because of the springs.

So with help from a group buy, and a very generous donation, we purchased a brand new X-axis, as well as the Y-axis rails AND a carrier.

I (Anna) started right away taking left shark apart.  It was so messed up.

This was my first time taking apart and putting back together a laser.  I figured, if I can take apart my ender 3 and my CR-10 multiple times when fixing them, I could do this.  Unfortunately, ULS did not send ANYTHING  BUT THE RAILS.  So this meant…that we didn’t have any new bands, any new pulleys or bearings to pull the bands, no hardware…it didn’t even come with the stopper at the end of the right Y-Axis.  Of course, the majority of our hardware was entirely corroded.

So not only did I have to find new thumb screws and other screws…I had to make new screws, with the assistance of Tom Klein and Bill^2.  I am happily now trained on one of the band saws in the machine shop, and can cut down screws.

I also had to get Bill^2 to get the stopper off the old Y-axis so I could put it on the new rail.

So the next day, I start putting things back together.  Markus took out the honeycomb and began replacing it with a new frame (after the bad fire, he epoxied the old frame in, so we needed an entirely new frame).

It was at this point, I realized that they did not include the back side of the X-axis, which holds the tube for the air assist.  So..I had to take that off the old rail and that rusty thing on the new rail. They also didn’t include an air assist cone…

This was the point where I realized, after I got the bands on and got it moving, that they sent the wrong carrier.  The carrier they sent was not an air assist carrier.  This was the completely incorrect rail.

Our ULS tech graciously got a new rail sent out to us within a few days.  Tony and I worked after the board meeting to get the new rail installed again.  We reused all the old bearings, which were crusty, but work (We will order new bearings soon).

Tony and I worked together to get the rails adjusted and the bands tight enough.  He then taught me how to use alignment mode to adjust the mirrors and align it.

Two days later, Markus installed the new honeycomb.

I also replaced the lens, because tony bought a bunch of lenses on ali and I wanted this to feel like a brand new laser.

And as of Thursday evening, Left Shark was a brand new laser.  The tube was still fantastic (surprising since it was last replaced in 2013), and it is running smoother than Right Shark (the crowd favorite).

So feel free to use Left Shark.  Please ensure you thoroughly clean the rails, the lens, and the cone and mirror after each use.  This was around $3000 to replace everything.  We want it to be treated well.