kerf

Lasers with their extremely narrow kerf are more finicky, which can mean a surprisingly high consumables cost.

Knowing how to properly configure a fench, featherboards, and how to use the kerf and ribbing knife is important.

The low kerf diamond wire saw is also a critical technology for this, but the powdered diamond required can be synthetic.

But material hardening was a drawback as was the metal vapor and the conical kerf.

In reality you have kerf, ugly offcuts, and the fact that nobody wants a cutting diagram that looks like a circuit board.

In another class on laser-cutting I had students make a kerf-meter, which became more accurate with a Vernier scale.

Were any of the open source versions such as ngn/k or Kerf etc.

Proper track saws though tend to come with finer tooth blades with a thinner kerf so that they cut cleaner than a circular saw.

But you end up with a very thin kerf and minimal waste.

I don't get all the negativity RE: kerf not being open source in this thread.

I have a somewhat negative experience with Kona and its derivatives Kerf and Kerf2.

Changes in wafering that you mentioned (like the reduced kerf diamond wire saw) have reduced silicon consumption per wafer and therefore per watt, even holding cell technology constant.

I used it to cut up to 1/4" steel sheet for the windmill (it would cut up to 1" but then the kerf would be quite ugly), as well as much thinner sheet for the laminations.

In case rot13 doesn't come naturally: alias rot13="tr 'A-Za-z' 'N-ZA-Mn-za-m'" echo "Lbh arrq fvk phgf orpnhfr lbh arrq gb rkcbfr rirel snpr bs gur prageny phor." | rot13 I wish I had Mr Gardener's zero-kerf saw blades in my shop!

When I make a cut on a table saw I need to account for Kerf, which is the part of the wood being stripped away.

With regards to Kerf, I don't know much of the history.