He Built a Fiber Laser in His Garage. What does that Means for Fabrication? #63
Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
Release Date: 07/01/2026
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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He Built a Fiber Laser in His Garage. What does that Means for Fabrication? #63
Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
In this episode, I sit down with Travis Mitchell, a full-time creator who has built a flat-sheet fiber laser, tube laser, metal 3D printer, CNC equipment, and more from his garage. Travis did not come from a machine-building background. He started in graphic design, got hooked on 3D printing, and followed that curiosity all the way into building machines most people would assume require an OEM, a factory, and a much larger budget. We dig into what it actually takes to design a DIY fiber laser: starting with the controller, finding compatible components, decoding manuals, studying commercial...
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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From Curiosity to Career: How SparkShop is Building the Next Generation of Makers, Episode #61
Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
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The Price of Progress: Investing in Machines, People, and Trust
Making Sparks Podcast for Fabrication Leaders
🔥 Welcome to Making Sparks, the podcast where we ignite your passion for metal fabrication and fuel your business success! 🔥 In this episode, hosts Matthew and Casey sit down with Rob Sublette of Mountain Man Welding and Fabrication to talk about leadership, ownership transitions, smart investment in equipment, and building a business that thrives on quality and process. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why investing in your business can inspire confidence in your team - How buying the right equipment sets up long-term growth - The importance of balancing financial realities with...
info_outlineIn this episode, I sit down with Travis Mitchell, a full-time creator who has built a flat-sheet fiber laser, tube laser, metal 3D printer, CNC equipment, and more from his garage. Travis did not come from a machine-building background. He started in graphic design, got hooked on 3D printing, and followed that curiosity all the way into building machines most people would assume require an OEM, a factory, and a much larger budget.
We dig into what it actually takes to design a DIY fiber laser: starting with the controller, finding compatible components, decoding manuals, studying commercial machines, and iterating through the countless variables that make laser cutting work. Assist gas, focus height, cutting recipes, capacitive sensing, motion control, and support documentation all become part of the puzzle.
But this conversation is about more than one guy’s wildly ambitious garage. It is about what happens as serious manufacturing capability becomes cheaper, smaller, and more accessible. Travis built his first fiber laser for around $15,000. Now, compact air-cooled machines with real cutting capability are entering the market at similar price points, ready to be delivered instead of assembled piece by piece.
For job shops, fabricators, and makers alike, the question is changing. It is no longer just, “Can I get this capability?” It is, “Should I build it, buy it, or rethink what my shop can do?” That gap between industrial equipment and accessible technology is shrinking, and Travis is building right in the middle of it.
What's Covered in this Episode
- (0:00) The capability you can buy or build keeps getting cheaper and more accessible
- (1:05) Meet Travis Mitchell, the creator building fab machines in his garage
- (3:35) From graphic design burnout to 3D printing to DIY machine building
- (7:50) Why accessible tech and working technology stacks are manufacturing's future
- (8:53) How Travis concepts a machine: start at the brain, then build around it
- (11:20) Take your shop to the next level with DN Solutions
- (12:33) Shopping by user manual instead of spec sheet
- (13:38) Using ChatGPT and Gemini to digest 100-page manuals (and the love-hate reality)
- (17:50) The first big project: a flat-sheet fiber laser nobody had built on camera
- (21:21) Why you need to join us at the IMTS Job Shops Workshop on September 15
- (22:16) Ordering from China and learning assist gas from a single internet photo
- (25:53) The love-hate with cheap Chinese parts versus true production machines
- (27:53) Building the DIY tube laser and solving the chuck and clamping problem
- (32:08) Tube laser capabilities, and designing around the cost of shipping material
- (34:54) How can ProShop ERP help you achieve on-time delivery?
- (36:24) Buying a prosumer Skyfire 1200W air-cooled fiber laser and how it compares to xTool and G-Weike
- (39:29) Lasers versus plasma, and why nobody wants a water jet in their garage
- (41:13) The CO2 Galvo build, made with his own shop's machines
- (43:32) Why fiber lasers need a controller with capacitive height sensing
- (46:45) A new four-car garage and a plan to build a machine together