lasergist

My other parts from a different laser cutter came in the mail yesterday. I am VERY happy with these parts. I used a company called lasergist. Much like Shapeways they are very cheap, provide a great service but have almost non existent customer service.  They only laser cut stainless steel. They only cut 304 polished and 316 brushed. They only cut in 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm or 3mm thicknesses. But....the cutting is fairly cheep. I cut enough parts to make four knives for $168.00 (13 parts with lots of holes). $170.00 is super reasonable considering how beautiful the parts are. As far as knife making, the type of stainless they are using is not very useful. Their website is pretty bare with no indication of where they are located or how long my order would take. Honestly I thought it was fake. I took the gamble and I am very happy I did. Just for the record they are located in Greece. I order on Jan 28th and received all of my parts Feb 3rd. If I had one complaint I would argue that the parts are just slightly off. I have not yet slapped a caliper but some of the small straight cuts seem to be off by a mm or so.  Again, it is hard to complain. 

I just placed an order for a large, tab and slot stainless shelf that I will TIG weld together. It was $130.00, measuring around 10" across the top. (renders at the bottom)

knife and Adam Whitney visit

I am slow with the blog posts. Adam Whitney came to RISD to do a demo for my metalsmithing class.  Adam is selling his work online and honestly you have to hold it in your hand to really appreciate all the time and energy that goes into making these little vessels. You should all visit his site here: https://aw-metalsmith.com/

On another note I am working on a few knives. I am actually modding a few knives first before I take the plunge into making the body components. I started by taking about a few existing knives and them remaking them in plexi using the laser cutter.  As soon as I get the template down I will get a few blanks cut and start actually make my own.  For now I thought I would post a few images of what I have so far.  

Nervous System

A trip to Boston would not be complete without a trip to the Nervous System.  Jessica and Jessie were gracious to give us a tour of their shop. They are having an open studio next weekend (December 5th).  For some reason I thought it was this weekend. I will just have to go again!  It is hard to have a conversation in the space because there are so many amazing things just sitting around on shelves. I wanted to touch it all!!!

I got to lay my hands on a few pieces that I had only seen in photos. The dress was a lot more robust that I thought.  It was also great to see their samples for the New Balance shoes. The geometry for the midsole pattern is based on pressure data.  It is really great to touch these things. The material the sole is being printed feels and reacts just like the foam from a normal sneaker. It will be interesting to see it this moves the industry to create custom sneaks based on your foot.

I didn't get a photo of it but their shipping/packaging area is impressive! I am a big nerd when it comes to good graphics/inserts/packaging.  I love their specimen jars and the black boxes. 

It feels just like yesterday when I had them do a Skype lecture for my digi fab class in 2009 at SUNY New Paltz.