Laser would catch the mylar on fire or melt it at least, i’m thinking.
Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 22, 2025, at 14:09, Anders Nelson via cctalk <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I would love to see someone create a galvo-laser system for punching > paper/mylar tape. On Aliexpress you can get a galvo set for (all prices > USD) ~$30, a 10W laser head for $40, and I expect making a stepper-motor > driven capstan wouldn't be too hard for someone with the time. Then add a > low-speed fan attached to a 3D printed tape guide with a slit for chad > suction/collection and fume exhaust. Not sure what kind of anvil/platform > you need for a laser beam - maybe just the uncoated side of a ceramic floor > tile sitting at an angle in the chad chute to absorb the laser energy, with > the platform having a void sized for the punching area. > > I imagine the whole thing could be pretty compact and wicked fast! > > -- > Anders Nelson > www.andersknelson.com > > > On Sun, Jun 22, 2025 at 9:24 AM [email protected] steven--- via cctalk < > [email protected]> wrote: > >>> On 06/21/2025 11:47 PM AEST Gavin Scott via cctalk < >> [email protected]> wrote: >>> A paper-tape reader is easy enough, just something where you manually >>> pull the tape past an optical reader etc. >>> >>> I have a ~cheap diode laser cutter and on my someday get around to it >>> list is to write a paper tape "punch" program that will cut a one foot >>> strip of punched paper tape out of a larger piece of paper, with the >>> possibility of using a roll of paper and manually advance it a foot at >>> a time using the sprocket holes and some pins for alignment. >> >> I wrote a tool to make 5-level Baudot, 8-level ASCII, Whirlwind, chadless >> etc. paper tape using a home CNC vinyl/stencil cutter >> https://github.com/1944GPW/ptap2dxf >> >> I saw another similar utility on Hackaday that uses a laser, but it did >> not have as many format options. >> https://hackaday.com/2025/01/29/paper-tape-with-lasers/ >> >> Steve. >>
