4. Computer controlled cutting¶
Task : Computer-Controlled Cutting¶
For this week assigmnement we had to :
- My group assignment was to characterize the lasercutter’s focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types.
- Design, lasercut, and document a parametric construction kit, accounting for the lasercutter kerf, which can be assembled in multiple ways.
- Cut something on the vinyl cutter.
Vinyl Cutter¶
During this week, I worked on cutting a sticker on the vinyl cutters and designing and laser cutting a parametric construction kit. In addition, we were given our first group assignment, so I worked with my instructors as i am the only student in my lab along with the documentation process for group work.
I started the week exploring Cuttle.
Cutting a Vinyl Sticker¶¶
The first thing I worked on this week was creating a vinyl sticker to cut on the vinyl cutter.Our lab uses CAMM-1 GS24 from Roland.
Our Vinyl Cutter has only 1 cutter head and
I have never experienced working with the vinyl cutter, so it was a faacinating to figure out how to cut it. I immediately realized It involved a multi step process from cutting to weeding and transfer. My instructors Nisha and Aatif showed me the workings and suggested printing the logo on stickers and a t-shirt. Since the lab only had a Medium size t-shirt and 14th feb was a fab academy session i decided to gift it to my partner.
I also transfered the Vinyl sticker to a pouch
The first thing I did was to import the image of the logo I wanted to use. resize from the document properties. I then traced the bitmap of the image.
Then I printed on the Vinyl Cutter
Here is what the final sticker looks like
Cutting on a Lser Cutter
¶
Safety Considerations: My Instrutors Nisha & Aatif breifed about the Safety Training and follow manufacturer instructions and lab safety protocols to prevent accidents or injuries.
Prepare the Work Area: Clear the workspace of any clutter or flammable materials. We started by doing a cleanup and maintainence of the laser cutter.
Power On the Laser Cutter: Switch on the power button of the Roload mini laser cutter, Exhaust and Compressor.
Load Material: Place the material to be cut or engraved onto the cutting bed of the laser cutter.
Set Cutting Parameters: Adjust the settings on the control panel on the computer. For the ply we were using the recommnended setting based on Group Assignment was Power 100 % and Cutting speed 0.7
Exhaust System : Turn off the exhaust system after 60sec remove any fumes or smoke generated during cutting.
Step
Step
Step
Parametric construction kit¶¶
The second part of our individual assignment was making a parametric construction kit. I had worked with parameters in Week 2 of the CAD Assignment but still struggled to make the kit. I tried it in Freecad and inkscape software before doing it Fusion360. I took inspiration from Zach Rotzl work as shown below
I started by parametric design on inkscape . I used the Clone feature to do the parametric part and the original design as the Key.
Next, i experimented with Freecad and creating through spreadsheet
I started by assigning the parameters I knew I would be using, such as tab length, tab width, and cardboard thickness
To assign parameters on Fusion 360, go to the “Modify” tab and scroll down to “Change Parameters” and enter the parameters you are going to use. I used tab length, tab width, and cardboard thickness as my parameters because I was going to be keeping them constant if I changed the dimensions of my pieces.
Next, I began a sketch for making my shape that I would include in my construction kit.
I started with designing a hexagon. I added tabs at the midpoints of each side with to act as slots to insert the other pieces into: This is going to be the hexagon in the construction set. I extruded the square to the depth of the cardboard in order to make a 3D model.
After I designed the hexagon, I decided I wanted to make a triangle next. I used the same parameters for the tab length and width of the triangle, and added the slits on the 3 sides . Again, I extruded it to make it a 3d model
The last shape I designed was a tube.
Here are all the shapes I created. After I had my shapes designed, I exported the file as a .dxf and uploaded it into Inscape to lasearcut it.
For cutting 3mm cardboard with a 30W Epilog Mini laser, the settings for power, speed, and frequency can vary based on the specific type of cardboard and the desired quality of the cut. However, as a general starting point, you might consider the following settings:
Power: 70-100% Speed: 10-20% Frequency: around 500
This is the printed and assembled construction kits
Summary¶¶
Through my work this week, I my skills with both the vinyl printer and the laser cutter. I started working with Parameters on designs and it makes more sense to abe able to edit the design later. I would like to do more parametric design on softwares like Tinkercad and coding with Python. I even tried to create a box with Python code on FreeCad..
Group Work¶¶
In addition to our individual assignments, Our group assignments. were to characterize our lasercutter’s focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types. Our lab has a Roland laser cutter.
You can see group work part on our this Group-Assignment
You can find my files for this week here:
