Season 3, Episode 4 — 3D Fab Light: A Deep Dive Into Industrial Laser Cutters

Plus a visit to the SF Drone School and a look at the X-Class Drone Racing League

In this episode, we learn about the world of industrial metal laser cutters with the 3D Fab Light team. What initially started as a project at Otherlab to make bicycle frame fabrication easier eventually spun out into a very capable (and highly specialized) 4-axis metal laser cutter. The Fab Light is actually so specialized that while it can cut through a ¼” piece of steel, it has a hard time cutting through cardboard! As we discover from 3D Fab Light engineers Joel Rosenberg and Ramya Swamy, it’s all in the wavelength. 

SHOW NOTES

• 3D Fab Light
• Primer on laser cutter wavelengths 
• The difference between fiber and CO2 lasers
• SF Drone School
• Bird’s eye view of an X-class drone
• Team Vondrone 

ABOUT 3D FAB LAB

3D Fab Light was founded in 2015 as a spinout from Otherlab. Their mission is to break down the barriers to advanced flexible manufacturing using lasers and software. The team has decades worth of experience designing laser cutters and machine tool software, as well as just making stuff in general. You can read more about 3D Fab Light in The Fabricator’s Technology Spotlight.