Week 3: Computer-Controlled Cutting
Having already had some experience designing for and outputting to the vinyl cutter, what ended up being the time-consuming piece for this part of the assignment was deciding what I was going to design/make. When Shawn emailed the link to Fab Lab Japan's "Fab Font", I decided that I would use that fun typeface to do something text-related.
My school (where I teach) just adopted three broad "school rules" this year: Safety, Respect, and Responsibility. I thought that rather than pin-up the tabloid-sized posters the school was offering classrooms I would instead make large black vinyl decals of the rules for my wall.
![](images/vinyl01.png)
Aside from looking pretty cool, the Fab Font was particularly great because it required no weeding!
![](images/vinyl02.png)
Backing paper was required to transfer the vinyl to the wall.
![](images/vinyl03.png)
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Yes, my classroom is lime green.
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As for the laser-cutting portion of the assignment, I thought that I would start simply and create a stand-up "nameplate" for my desk. I started with a basic text-based design in Illustrator, originally with my full name but then shortened to just my first in the interest of simplicity.
I colored each letter differently so I could better distinguish between the interlocking letters/parts. I created the tabs by first creating a small rectangular shape and chamfering the edges. I duplicated the tab and placed them on the letters, aligned opposite one another.
![](images/laser01.png)
Next I created stand structures so the model would stand upright.
![](images/laser03.png)
Once the tabs were in place, I used Illustrator's pathfinder tools to subtract the receptacles and unite the tabs.
![](images/laser02.png)
For the last step of the design process, I uniformly set the fill color of all the pieces (blue) and added a red hairline border.
![](images/laser04.png)
I had to make a slight adjustment in the printing layout--the stand pieces were narrow enough that they fit precisely between the folds in the cardboard and were being sliced apart. Rotating them 90 degrees resolved the issue.
![](images/laser05.png)
The trickiest part of this assignment was getting the tabs sized properly so they would fit snugly. I went through five iterations of sizing, printing, and resizing:
- Δ 0.0009 in.
- Δ 0.0079 in.
- Δ 0.0179 in.
- Δ 0.0279 in.
- Δ 0.0379 in.
I seemed to find the "sweet spot" between the fourth and fifth iterations, though I ultimately kept with the 0.0379 in. difference (smaller receptacle) as I had already used quite a bit of cardboard by that point. The downside is that the tabs did not fit as perfectly as I would have liked, though they did fit tightly enough to keep the pieces together when stood upright.
![](images/laser06.png)
![](images/laser07.png)
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Goals
- Create a vinyl cutout using the vinyl cutter
- Create a press-fit cardboard model using the laser cutter
- Post artifacts and reflections to personal class website
Explorations
- Used Adobe Illustrator to create a graphic design with the intent to output to the vinyl cutter
- Cut the graphic design using the vinyl cutter and, using backing paper, transferred the final pieces to my classroom wall
- Used Adobe Illustrator to create a press-fit design with the intent to output to the laser cutter
- Printed, tweaked, and reprinted the design several times until the tab measurements fit snugly together
- Updated personal class website to reflect this week's work
Learning Outcomes
- "Measure twice, cut once" does not apply (or is easily disregarded) when using the laser cutter
- When laser-cutting cardboard, pay attention to the grooves and seams and how cut pieces might be affected by their placement