[ John A. Tuttle wrote in 020425 MMDigest: ]

> I wonder if using a laser to cut rolls is more feasible now?

Yes.  At the MBSI annual in Baltimore last year a few of us visited
Don Nielson in Pennsylvania.  Don was able to cut a few feet of a test
roll using a commercial system.

The downside is the cost.  It will take someone about 60,000 USD to
purchase a machine outright.  Gene Gerety and I offered our services to
the manufacturer to change the software to do a continuous cut.  At the
moment the software in these systems is overvalued and proprietary.

These units are used for engraving a name on a wine glass or mug.  The
main issue is that the drum makes one circuit of revolution, then the
software must be reloaded.  There is no current way with a commercial
system to enter more than 360 degrees of information, before a glitch
occurs.

I estimate that it would take 18 to 24 months of software development
to solve this problem.  The main issue is that no one is willing to let
someone experiment with such a valuable machine.

A few of us are of the opinion it is only a matter of time before
someone completes this application.  On the other hand the market is
too small to get funding.  When it does happen, it will be someone
like Nielson, who has a large collection and needs only a few rolls.
Currently there are just enough mechanical perforators out there to
handle the demand.

I did get as far as drilling a plate for a mechanical perforator, with
a lot of help from Matt Caulfield and Russ Doering.  At the moment my
real-world work (in Kentucky) has taken precedence.

I do have a Postscript program that will generate a roll template from
a MIDI or BAR/ANN file.  I did this now about 2 years back.  (Robbie
has a copy.)  It would not be that much trouble to adapt it to a laser
cutter.  At present it makes templates on 8x11-inch or DIN A4 (preferred)
sheets which have to be taped together.  This program is available to any
on the MMD.  It does, however, require special knowledge to make it work
and it is dependent on the printer hardware.

On a related note, before coming to Kentucky, I had the wind chest of
a Caliola laser cut from poplar and maple.  This project is also on hold,
but I did prove the technology.  Readers of the MMD will recall that
I also spent time setting up CNC programs for roll transports.

Julie Porter