3. Computer-Controlled Cutting¶
Group Assignment:
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do your lab’s safety training
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characterize your laser cutter’s focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types
Individual Assignment:
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cut something on the vinyl cutter
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design, laser cut, and document a parametric construction kit, accounting for the laser cutter kerf, which can be assembled in multiple ways, and for extra credit include elements that aren’t flat
Download Design Files¶
Group Work Reflection¶
For the group work assignment, we were tasked with characterizing our laser cutter’s focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types. I worked with Angelina Yang and Richard Shan. The main thing I learned from our group work is to evenly distribute roles; I ended up not doing as much as Angelina or Richard because we did not discuss who would do what parts of the project. Additionally, I learned that documentation needs to be clear. Even the most accomplished engineers, with too ambiguous wording, are hard to understand.
See our group work here: Group Work Page
Vinyl Cutting¶
To create my sticker, I first found a design I liked online and then downloaded it. The picture had a background to it, so I uploaded the image to removebg, clicked remove background, and downloaded the new file.
I then imported the image into Silhouette Studios. I then resized the image to make it bigger so when I trace it I can easily see details. I opened the trace tab, clicked “Select Trace Area,” and positioned the trace area so that all of the image was inside. I then fiddled around with the settings to find the trace that best captures the image (keep in mind that the trace lines will be cut out from the vinyl). I decided on the following settings:
Trace Quality: medium
Trace Preview: outline
Threshold: 20%
Despeckle Threshold: 0%
High Pass (Off): 0%
Low Pass (Off): 0%
Scale: 10
Trace Style: Trace
I then clicked “Trace.” Once the image is traced, it will remain in the document so I pulled it to the side and deleted it. I was then left with the trace outline (in red).
Next I scaled the trace outline so that the width was 3.5 inches.
Tip: A trick Teddy Warner taught me is to make a small box in the corner of your design. Then, when you separate the design to cut only what you want to for each color, keep the box in all the designs (copy the design, remove unwanted cut lines, cut, paste the design back and repeat). The box will stay in the same place so you can use transfer tape and line up the boxes as you assemble your sticker’s layers and it will stay aligned properly. You can then remove the box once your sticker is all put together.
Next I grouped the trace outline and the box together. I then saved the design, named it, and exported it to my computer’s downloads. I uploaded the file to my Google Drive so that I can access it on the PC connected to our lab’s vinyl cutter.
On the PC connected to our lab’s vinyl cutter, I opened my file. Next I ungrouped the design, copied it to clipboard, and deleted the lines I did not want cut for the corresponding color (referencing the image my trace is based on). I then retrieved a cut mat, a weeding tool, scissors, and three pieces of vinyl: pink for the brain, black for the stick-man outline, and white for the background. Note it’s often easier to use the same type of vinyl as the settings will be consistent for all colors of vinyl you are using.
I then aligned the black vinyl in the upper left corner of the cut mat and used the squeegee to adhere it to the mat and ensure no air bubbles are between the vinyl and cut mat. Next, I lined the cut mat with the blue line on the vinyl cutter and hit “Load.”
The “Send” tab settings are as follows:
Material: Vinyl matte
Action: Manual blade, 1mm
Tool: cut
Blade depth: 1
Passes: 1
Force: 10
Speed: 5
I then hit “send” on the computer and the vinyl cutting starts! Once the job was complete, I hit “Unload.”
I followed the same steps as above for the pink vinyl, however, I changed the material setting on the “Send” tab to “vinyl glossy.”
I did not cut the white vinyl on the laser cutter as I do not need to make any precise cuts with it as it is only the background for my sticker. Instead, I took scissors and cut an outline around the design once the pink and black vinyl cuts were transferred onto the white background.
To remove the unwanted black and pink sticker parts, I used a weeding tool.
Black vinyl after weeding:
I then used transfer tape to transfer the pink part of the brain onto the white vinyl and then the black vinyl on top of the pink (lining up the squares as I mentioned before). Once lined up, I removed the squares I used to help line the vinyl pieces. I then trimmed the white vinyl with scissors to outline the stickman.
Final Sticker:
Laser Cutting¶
Laser Cutting Process (adapted from Griffin Orsinger):
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Place material to cut into the bed of the machine
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Close the laser cutter lid
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Slightly lower the bed using the manual bed control button
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Move the head of the laser to where your material is
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Select autofocus
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Upload your design to Corel Draw on the PC connected to the laser cutter
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Change the lines you want to cut to hairline
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Press “Ctrl+P” to cut your design
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Click “OK”
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Change the material settings in the Epilog software
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Move your image to where you want it to cut
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Click “print”
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Press the play button on the laser cutter
After the cut is finished…
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Check to see if your parts have been fully cut
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If they have not, re-run the job without moving the material. If the parts are fully cut, carefully remove them from the bed
The Parametric Process¶
A parametric design is a design where you can scale the design and it will work for all sizes. To accomplish this, I created parameters for my Fusion360 design.
To create parameters I in Fusion360 I typed “s” to open the search tab and typed “change parameters” and hit “enter.” This then took me to the parameters menu. In the top left corner of the menu I hit the plus sign. The add user parameters menu then opened up in which I typed the name of my parameter, specified the parameter’s units, and entered my desired measurement value as the expression.
For kerf, I realized I needed to account for it in my other parameters. I went into my TabLength, TabWidth, SideLength, and Diameter parameters and put “+ Kerf” after the value I entered in the expression section.
When dimensioning my design, instead of typing a numerical value, I typed the name of the parameter I wanted to use.
Parametric Design¶
For my parametric design kit I needed to make a kit that can be assembled in multiple ways. First, I consulted the joint types picture provided to us by Neil.
I decided I wanted to use chamfer joints and to see what I could make using only semi-circles.
For the semi-circle, I created a center point circle with diameter dimensioned as the “Diameter” parameter. I followed the same process as before for creating a tab. I then used the circular pattern tool with quantity 6 to equally distribute the tabs around the circle. Again, I used the trim tool to remove the outermost line and create tabs that indents into the circle. I then put a line with diameter dimensioned “Diameter” down the center to create the semi-circle.
Next, I used the chamfer tool to create chamfer joints out of the press-fit joints currently on the design. For the circle, using the chamfer or filet tool did not work. For now, I decided to print my current design and see if it even worked before editing the design more.
I exported the file as a .dxf and imported it to my Google Drive. On the PC connected to our Lab’s Epilog Fusion M2 laser cutter, I opened my file in Corel Draw. After ensuring my lines were black, hairline, and to scale, I clicked “Print” under the file dropdown. In the print menu I then clicked “Preferences” and changed my settings to the following:
Job Type: Vector
Resolution: 300 DPI
Piece size:
Horizontal = 32 in
Vertical = 20 in
Vector Settings:
Speed = 15%
Power = 100%
Frequency = 25%
I then clicked “OK,” “Apply,” and “Send.”
After putting cardboard in the printer bed and focusing the laser cutter, I clicked “Go” on the laser cutter.
Once cut, I removed the pieces from the bed.
Image of Final Kit Pieces:
Parametric Design Kit¶
With the 12 semi-circles, I found multiple ways to assemble different shapes. Some of my favorite ways are shown below:
Crown:
Pokemon:
Problems Encountered¶
In my first parametric design kit iteration, my “TabWidth” dimension was too big. I then adjusted it to be the size of the cardboard thickness, 0.15 in (note the settings I listed earlier are the updated, correct settings that I used in my final working designs). Furthermore, the pieces were really big so I scaled my design down in Corel Draw so that I could more economically make my kit.
Reflection¶
Through this week, I encountered many problems. I really had to dig deep to not become discourage and, instead of feeling embarrassed by my mistakes, I had to ask for help. And when asking for help, I had to make sure I was asking them to explain how to do certain things instead of asking them to do it for me. And again, I learned how valuable my fab-academy peers are to my success, growth, and sanity through this process :)
References¶
Griffin Orsinger 2023 Fab Academy
Alana Duffy Digital Portfolio: EDMI: Thinking Out of the Box