4. Computer controlled cutting

Due 2024/02/13

How to use this document

Please refer to instructions in the week02 weblog entry

Conceive

  1. Vinyl cutting is like a knife cutting through steak. A successful cut requires sufficient pressure and a sharp enough tool to split the meat.

  2. Laser cutting is like a magnifying glass that concentrates sun light on a piece of paper in order to burn a hole in it except that the laser cutter creates its own light.

Assignments

Have you? Done
Group assignment: computer-controlled cutting ⬇
Characterize the focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, and joint clearance of the laser cutter Yes
Document your work Yes
Individual assignment: ⬇
Model:
Design, lasercut, and document a parametric press-fit construction kit, which can be assembled in multiple ways. Account for the lasercutter kerf Yes
Cut something on the vinyl cutter Yes

Learning outcomes

Have you? Done
Demonstrate and describe parametric 2D modelling processes Yes
Identify and explain processes involved in using the laser cutter Yes
Develop, evaluate and construct a parametric construction kit Yes
Identify and explain processes involved in using the vinyl cutter Yes

Checklist questions

Have you? Done
Linked to the group assignment page? Yes
Explained how you created your parametric design? Yes
Documented how you made your press-fit kit? Yes
Documented how you made something with the vinyl cutter? Yes
Included your original design files? Yes
Included hero shots of your results? Yes

Context

  1. This week we focus on cutting in two dimensions. We cut with vinyl cutter and laser cutter.
  2. Syllabus FAW04
  3. Assessment FAW04
  4. Tutorial FAW04
  5. Video FAW04
  6. Review FAW04
  7. FabAcademy 2021 Documents
  8. FabAcademy Home Page
  9. FabLabs Home Page

Vinyl cutting

Comprehend (vinyl)

  1. Vinyl cutting happens when the machine drags a blade across two-dimensional material. Unlike chip and dust making such as sawing, It creates no kerf and a finished edge ready for immediate use. THEH v1, ch.6-2
  2. Roland CAMM-1 GS24 vinyl cutter
    1. Form (We used this pre-COVID)
    2. Function
    3. Performance measurments
  3. Silouette Cameo 4
    1. Form (Durability rigidity stability–DRS)
      1. Weight 4.7 kg
      2. Dimensions 57 cm x 19.5 cm x 17 cm
    2. Function (Efficiency repeatability accuracy–ERA)
      1. Work area 30.5 cm x 61 cm with a cutting mat
      2. Maximum cutting force 2.1 kg for carriage 1, 5 kg for carriage 2

Take Caution (vinyl)

  1. Silouette Cameo 4
    1. Human
      1. Beware of loose clothing and jewelry.
      2. Despite the fact that the blades are well shielded, avoid cuts by handling them with care.
      3. Avoid moving parts when the machine is on.
    2. Machine
      1. Do not connect the machine to a non-rated power supply.
      2. Set up the machine with enough room around it to avoid contact with other objects; avoid areas of excessive noise and vibration; do not store the machine in direct sunlight.
      3. Do not lubricate the machine; do not use liquids inside the machine.
      4. Silouette Cameo 4 troubleshooting
    3. Environment
      1. Cutting cannot cause fires but poorly maintained power supplies can
      2. no fluid involved in with cutting
      3. no fumes involved with cutting
      4. From Federal Communications Commission: Cameo 4 is a Class B digital device. It may not cause harmful (radio) interference; it must accept any interference received

Calibrate and characterize (vinyl)

  1. Silouette Cameo 4 setup & calibration
    1. Turn on
    2. Load the tool
    3. Adjust the white rollers
    4. Adjust the blades
    5. characterize

Control (vinyl)

  1. Human-idea interface
    1. I made an effort at this assignment before the Covid pandemic. I was dissatisfied with it. After George Floyd’s death, I was inspired to try again.
  2. Idea-design interface
    1. Initially, I planned to use Adobe Photoshop to make a black and white image then cut the black portion.
    2. The resulting image was pixelated. It did not produce clean outlines and was difficult to weed.
    3. I ended up using Adobe Illustrator instead. Using the Object>Image Trace>Make tool produced much better results.
    4. I then exported a compatible version of the design file to the Silhouette Studio CAM software.
  3. Design-CAM interface (DCI)
    1. Use Silhouette Studio to define what part of the design should be cut.
    2. Identify what tools the machine should use
    3. Identify the toolpaths the machine should take
  4. CAM-Controller interface (CCI)
  5. Controller-machine interface (CMI)

  6. Machine-material interface (MMI)

    1. Silouette Cameo 4

      1. Materials and sources
        1. The Cameo will cut paper, cloth, leather and other material
        2. I only cut vinyl
        3. I purchased vinyl online from US Cutter
        4. I purchased vinyl locally from JoAnn Fabrics
      2. Fixtures
        1. The Cameo 4 uses three techniques to present material to the machine
          1. Mat: place the mat on a clean, flat work surface; orient the mat so that “Silhouette is in the upper left corner; position the piece of material on the mat so that its top and left edges sit flush with the top and left sides of the grid on the mat; remove any wrinkles and air bubbles from the material; a tool such as a tile roller can help with this.
          2. No mat
          3. Roll
            1. I used the roll approach

    2. Exacto knife

      1. Once cut, the design must be weeded in order to separate it from the excess material.
    3. Transfer tape
      1. One can transfer a weeded image to the display surface using transfer tape.

Return to assignments

Laser cutting

Comprehend (laser)

  1. Laser cutting happens when a focused beam of light caused by electrical energy exciting electrons in a gas burns a path in material. While t does create some kerf, it also produces a finished edge. TMEH v.1,ch.14-62
  2. Epilog Legend 36 EXT
  3. Glowforge Pro laser cutter
    1. Form
      1. Weight:
      2. Dimensions: 965 mm x 527 mm x 210 mm
      3. Case: high modulus, infection-molded plastic
      4. Linear System: Custom extruded aluminum linear rails with belt driven v-wheel carrier
      5. Motion: Dual hybrid stepper Y axis; single hybrid stepper X axis
      6. Cooling: Closed loop self contained internal cooling.
      7. Air Assist: Internal air assist with no external compressor hookup required
      8. Recommended Operating Temperature: 60F-81F (16C-27C) Pro
      9. Laser: CO2 45 W operating at 10,600 nm wavelength
      10. Fixed Alignment: Factory calibrated optical system does not require any alignment by the user
      11. Sealed Optics: Enclosed optical path with cleanable and replaceable windows protects the laser optics to avoid replacement or realignment
      12. Peak power consumption: 800 W
    2. Function
      1. Work volume (maximum) 279 mm x 495 mm x 13 mm
    3. Performance measurements

Take Caution (laser)

  1. Glowforge Pro

Calibrate and characterize (Laser)

  1. Glowforge Pro setup
  2. Glowforge Pro calibrate camera
  3. Glowforge characterization
  4. Test patterns for shades
  5. Engrave test pattern
  6. Gap gauges

Control (laser)

  1. I want to make a geodesic kit. I want to connect the piece with something more than a friction piece cut to a specific angle.
  2. Find boackground
    1. search “draw geodesic dome in fusion 360.”
      1. Geodesic project Fusion 360
    2. Search “geodesic dome theory.”
      1. This Instructable and this
      2. EPCM white paper
    3. Search “icosahedron geodesic dome math.:
      1. Simply Differently geodesic dome Introduction
      2. Simply Differently Icosahedron based geodesic Calculator
    4. Search “uniform polyhedron icosahedron.”
      1. Icosahedron symmetry from Wikipedia
    5. Search “platonic solid.”
      1. Platonic solid from Wikipedia Check out icosahedron animation.
      2. Plato from Wikipedia espoused
  3. Rabbit hole!
    1. I wondered why Plato used geometric solids to represent the classic elements fire, water, air, earth, and wind.
    2. I was reminded that Plato, his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle were all influenced by Pythagoras.
    3. Representing nature with solids seems (ha) natural to me. Visualization expedites knowledge creation and concept comprehension.
    4. Western philosophers combined learned geometry in Africa.
    5. I speculate that they learned to combine geometry and logic in Africa as well.
    6. These two elements are necessary if not sufficient for scientific method and knowledge creation.
    7. Arithmetic and maths can refine understanding but can impede initial comprehension of concepts.
    8. I believe that geometry should be part of the trivium instead of the quadrivium. That is children should learn logic and geometry before arithmetic.
    9. St. Augustine also lived and studied in Africa.
    10. He made significant contributions to modern, Western Christianity because of his logical approach to the spiritual system.
    11. I believe that the ancients understood that the “African ethos” provides humans with the most efficient path to creativity.
  4. Wolfram Mathworld
    1. Geodesic dome
    2. Polyhedral formula
  5. Design press-fit kit using Fusion 360
    1. Prepare Fusion 360 to create a design.
      1. Launch Fusion 360 and login to Autodesk account if necessary.
      2. Set Preferences under the user icon as needed.
      3. Fusion orders folders and files according to Teams. Confirm that the correct Team is selected.
    2. Start design
      1. Initialize a new design with one of the following methods:
        1. Fusion 360 launches with an untitled Design by default.
        2. Click on the plus sign tab to initialize a Design.
        3. Select File>New Design
      2. Set the correct dimensions for the Design.
      3. Begin design
        1. Create>Create Sketch
        2. Select plane upon which to sketch.
        3. We choose Top
        4. On the Project tree, under Origin, this corresponds to the XY plane
    3. Before sketching anything, I used Modify>Change Parameters to define some User Parameters in order to easily reuse common dimensions.
  6. Complete design
    1. The 2V Icosahedral 2/3 geodesic dome uses two triangles.
    2. I tried to make triangles with Create>inscribed>polygon of three sides but that did not work. I used line segments instead to make the basic triangles.
    3. I designed these connectors to account for the appropriate angles for the dome and sphere construction.
  7. Laser cut pieces
    1. Export design as .svg from Fusion 360.
      1. The Glowforge app takes dxf and svg file formats.
      2. For DXF, right-click on sketch of part that you want to export. then >Save as DXF.
      3. For SVG, use Shaper Utilities Add-On
        1. After installing the Add-On, go to the Utilities tab and select Export-to-Origin icon.
        2. To Select different input types, tick the Advanced box in the popup.
        3. Select the body or elements that you want to export as SVG
        4. Click OK.
        5. Name and Save the SVG file.
    2. Use Glowforge laser cutter.
      1. Begin a new layout in Glowforge.
        1. Import SVG or DXF files
        2. Place the parts on the cutting area.
      2. Select material of the work-piece.
        1. Choose part to edit and Select cut type.
      3. Press print button in app to Send file to laser cutter.
      4. Press Print button on laser cutter to cut the parts.
  8. Increase functionality of kit
    1. Add additional connection holes.
    2. Make additional connectors.
    3. Make different geometries
  9. Some examples
    1. open flower/pin wheel
    2. snake
    3. tulip or cup
    4. car
      Return to assignments

Files

Geodesic dome file George Floyd Adobe Illustrator file