stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Right, I am after a cheap custom gobo for our school. We tried to source them before and found around the £30-35 mark. We also thought about trying to make one - but the head of DT had worries. We have a CAMM2 CNC miller and a laser cutter. I read a thread on here from 2005 saying it's possible, HOD for DT said it's not possible to use the laser cutter as it can only cut acrylic or wood - but I've read it is possible to do thin aluminium. If laser cutting isn't possible what about CNC miller - we considered it before but they reckoned it could break the machine but we are only looking at 2mm alumium really (we want an M-sized gobo for a Seleron Acclaim lantern). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 If the laser cutter can handle acrylic, I'd imagine it would be happy with litho plate - and that's all you need for a custom gobo as long as it doesn't have to last forever. A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Sorry, missed the second bit of the question ... The logo in your post would be possible as a glass gobo, but if you want to cut it out of metal you'd have to do a lot of 'tagging' to get bits to stay in place. Presumably you want the black bits of the image to be the bits that light passes through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 Well that was my thought, he was saying that the beam would be reflected off the surface of the metal though. We drew up the logo in CAD software all "tagged" but the argument was at M size the design is too intricate. Yes the black bit ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I have no experience of laser cutters (at my school - and I can't believe I'm using that phrase in a Blue Room post ;) - the metalwork workshop was decidedly low-tech!) ... but I don't buy the 'reflecting beam' argument. Printers' litho plate isn't a particularly reflective surface - I've seen acrylic sheet that's much more reflective than the average bit of litho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 I have no experience of laser cutters (at my school - and I can't believe I'm using that phrase in a Blue Room post ;) - the metalwork workshop was decidedly low-tech!) ... but I don't buy the 'reflecting beam' argument. Printers' litho plate isn't a particularly reflective surface - I've seen acrylic sheet that's much more reflective than the average bit of litho. Haha, I don't believe the reflectiveness would be a problem either as most of our metal is all crappy and dull anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Personally, I think £35 is very reasonable for a custom gobo and as Gareth says there's a lot of tagging needed in that design. Depending on how often you want to use this gobo, you might do better by hiring in a Selcon Pacific lantern and printing the gobo on acetate sheet in an inkjet or colour laser printer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 Well, we were actually looking at this today. I had a look on stage electrics who quote (to buy):SELP1228LT SELECON 0738100 PACIFIC 12/28 LENS TUBE £ 168.00SELP1435LT SELECON 0738500 PACIFIC 14/35 LENS TUBE £ 168.00SELP4575LT SELECON 0731300 PACIFIC 45/75 LENS TUBE £ 235.00SELP2350LT SELECON 0738300 PACIFIC 23/50 LENS TUBE £ 168.00 Will they all do the job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Those are the prices for just the Lens tube you realise. The actual price for the whole unit is about IIRC £600-£700 Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 It's not that easy. Pacifics consist of three different parts - the lens tube, the lamp house, and the lamp module to go into it. Those prices are only for the lens tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 Those are the prices for just the Lens tube you realise. The actual price for the whole unit is about IIRC £600-£700 Josh Oh, well £800 might be a little high then - SE don't make that fact clear on there website ;) . Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I did say hire in my previous post!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 I did say hire in my previous post!! Haha, I know I just was looking at the purchase price first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 SE don't make that fact clear on there websiteActually, they do ... the product description makes it quite clear that it's a lens tube, and anyone who's looking to buy a Pacific profile would surely know that the unit is a) made up of more than just a lens tube, and b) costs a lot more than £168!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartm Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 SE don't make that fact clear on there websiteActually, they do ... the product description makes it quite clear that it's a lens tube, and anyone who's looking to buy a Pacific profile would surely know that the unit is a) made up of more than just a lens tube, and b) costs a lot more than £168!! Oh yeah, reading it back they do ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Getting back on topic, using cheap and custom in the same phrase is generally an oxymoron. By the time you've messed around with the various options, you'll be better off buying in a custom-made gobo from Rosco or Goboland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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