Laser cut props: What would you want made?

Risu

Risu

Master Member
If this needs to go in the junkyard, then mods please feel free to move it. I just signed up with a makerspace with a laser cutter and I'm loving it. I want to start making lots of cool stuff and hopefully pay some bills with it, so I'm looking for cool ideas for props to make. I can laser cut styrene, acrylic, cardboard, wood, and I think ceramic and I can engrave all of those plus glass and marble. I have some ideas in mind, but I'd like to get some more things to think about. Stuff like display stands for props, I've already made myself a really nice stand for my Korben Dallas blaster and I'm about to make one for my Tom Baker sonic screwdriver, Luke saber, and Han Solo blaster. I'm also going to make some Fifth Element stuff as well. So throw out some ideas, especially if it's something you'd be interested in buying. (If it's the latter, we can discuss.)
 
No, laser cutters aren't capable of cutting metal unfortunately, for that I'd need a water jet. I might be able to engrave aluminum and brass, but the effect might be more like chemical burn in than actual engraving.
 
I get 6mm aluminium plate laser cut for one of my products. I guess it all depends on the power of the laser.

How large is the bed? There are some guys in the Alien Floor Tile thread that could be interested in this.
 
The bed is 24"x18", and if there is a laser cutter that can do metal like that it must be a heavy duty industrial one. The ones at the makerspace are the largest and most powerful ones they're apparently allowed to have in a commercial facility.

Alien floor tiles sound cool, but again I think that would be metal. If we're just talking decorative though, I have access to a plastic sheet that's skinned in brushed aluminum, so it has basically the appearance of metal. Just the cut edges would all be black. And the backside. Might work quite well as a backing on a PR display though.
 
small question please. If I joined a maker space and found the tool I need to use. do you have to know how to use that tool? or Is there someone to teach also. don't know much about maker space....
 
Risu said:
The bed is 24"x18", and if there is a laser cutter that can do metal like that it must be a heavy duty industrial one. The ones at the makerspace are the largest and most powerful ones they're apparently allowed to have in a commercial facility.
Click to expand...

The place that does these parts for me is a huge industrial facility.

Alien floor tiles sound cool, but again I think that would be metal. If we're just talking decorative though, I have access to a plastic sheet that's skinned in brushed aluminum, so it has basically the appearance of metal. Just the cut edges would all be black. And the backside. Might work quite well as a backing on a PR display though.
Click to expand...

I think plastic would be fine as most will wall/ceiling mount. i don't think too many want to build actual flooring, though it has been suggested.

It started with people looking for pallets that were the same or similar to the ones used in these films in back in the 1980s. Of course no luck there, so ideas of custom making one came up. After contacting a manufacture to get a custom designed one made was to expensive, I suggested laser cutting plastic like Perspex (and then layering it up to get the thickness) either to make each tile as a static display piece or to make a master that could be cast and molded. I'd look into this myself except shipping to the US would be a deal breaker for most. Given you are already in the US, this might be a good opportunity to get into a small production run.
 
sean said:
small question please. If I joined a maker space and found the tool I need to use. do you have to know how to use that tool? or Is there someone to teach also. don't know much about maker space....
Click to expand...

If it's a good Makerspace, there are people there who would be more than happy to teach you how to do things. The only reason a MS exists is to spread the love of Making to as many people possible.
 
Booyotch said:
If it's a good Makerspace, there are people there who would be more than happy to teach you how to do things. The only reason a MS exists is to spread the love of Making to as many people possible.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I checked we have one not too far from me. I think I may do this also. not the prop for money part. but I would really like to learn milling..
 
That's definitely possibly if you've got a vector file. If you're serious about it and you want to discuss it further, go ahead and shoot me a PM.

And yea Sean, the one I went to required that you take the intro class before starting and they have 3 more classes. This particular shop only has laser cutters and will be getting their kind of crappy 3D printer up and running soonish. I did recently learn milling at work though and it's a cool skill to have.
 
Do you mean the ZPM from Atlantis? That would be awesome, but I don't think laser cutting is the way to go for that.
 
As for cutting or engraving metal on a regular laser cutter (not talking industrial ones here which can cut plate steel) you cannot cut metal, however there are two other things you can do. If you have brushed aluminium you can engrave it, rather successfully. It leaves a whiteish engraving which can look quite nice. The other thing you can do is to fuse another material to the metal and thereby creating a black "etching". There are companies such as Thermark that make various products which can be used for this purpose.

You should never ever laser on anything reflective, such as polished metals or mirror surfaces. The reflection, while being too weak to burn anything, can still damage the machinery and your eyes. Use adequate protection.
 
Yea, anodized aluminum etches nicely.

Those crystals look awesome. If you can post up some shots of screen used ones I'll get to work on a couple.
 
I can definitely do the plain clear one. Would you say the etching is on one side, or is it two 1/8" thick pieces sandwiched together with the etching on the inside?
 
I believe it is on one side, as I see no evidence of seam lines on the sides, and one of the propworx articles states that a decal was peeling off on one of the more complex versions. So, the simple version's details could have peen painted, etched or decaled(I don't really know a good word for this :p), but they were probable silkscreened or painted, as these were only one color, unlike the complex versions.
Hope it helps! :)
 
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