Week 3 - computer controlled cutting
Solo Assignments
Vinyl Cutting Solo Assignment
I chose to create a dead Among Us character as my vinyl sticker. David Van and Connor Cruz both created Among Us Characters as well and you will see the final product at the end. To cut out the vinyl cut sticker, I used a combination of Silhouette Studio and Inkscape.
Design
In Inkscape, I created the trace of the among us image I found online and turned it into lines using the workflow mentioned in week 2 which I have brought in below.
- Create a bitmap of your image with black and white area cutouts
- Delete the trace image
- Go to path > stroke to path
- Path > Cut path
- remove extra lines
- ensure all lines are hairline. (Object > Fill and Stroke > Stroke Style > width > 0.005)
Cutting
To cut the vinyl out, I used Silhouette Studio to turn the hairline lines from inkscape into paths for a Camero 3 vinyl cutter to cut out.
Then, I used 3 different color sheets and cut the design out on all 3.
After they were cut out, I had to weed each color and combine them on one sheet.
Lastly, I transferred the sticker to the class window.
Laser Cut Solo Assignment
For the laser cutting solo assignment, I created a pull out drawer that attaches to the roof and can be assembled like a kit.
Cading
I decided that for the CAD of my drawer, I would use global variables and make the box's dimensions be easily changeable without ever hafting to go into the sketches.
Parametric Process
I used many variables to make my box highly adjustable. Below is a table showing what my variables are :
Examples of how the box changes with different variable values :
Difficulties
One of the biggest difficulties I had while creating the drawer was the making the top shelve wedge areas align when expanded using variables. To solve this problem, I tried many different formulas and ended up using a formula such as #Length/3-#materialThickness and #Length/3 to properly place the wedge areas.
Another difficulty I experienced was applying a joint clearance dimension to every joint area. To fix this problem, I entered each sketch and applied a +#jointClearance onto each dimension allowing for a hypothetical joint
Step by Step Assembly Images
The first step of any laser cut kit is to cut out the pieces. For this specific kit, open this file.
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Second, insert the large walls into the slots on the bottom plate
Third, add the overhang brackets to the long but thin plate and have each one placed between each 2 small holes
Once aligned, add in the small cardboard stops to make the brackets stay in place
Fourth, bend the end at the top of the overhang brackets for hanging
Lastly, use adhesive, brackets, screws, or more to attach the folded part of the brackets to a ceiling or top of shelf
Final Product
When your done, it should look like this!
Group Assignment
This is the page containing our Group Assignment Page
Group Members
Group Mates : Kabir Nawaz, David Van, and me
Division of tasks :
Me : - Create a kerf testing piece - for caliper measurement and joint width measurement - Create a snap joint and a wedge joint
David Van : - Create the press-fit, chamfer, snap-fit, flexture, pinned, and finger joint
Kabir Nawaz : - create a sheet to test focus, power, speed, and rate
Reflection from This week
During the group assessment, I used onshape to create the 1 by 1 square. When exporting from onshape, I used Kiri:Moto software to turn a 3D object into a 2D trace which I then brought into correl. When I did this, I noticed that the square was 1.03 by 1.03. For experimentation, I cut both the Kimi:Moto square and a square that correl said was 1 by 1. After cutting, the result was that the Correl square was 0.97 in and the Kimi:Moto was exactly 1 in. This tells me that unlike Correl Draw, The Kimi:Moto plugin account for kerf and exports my part in the dimensions I specified. I also learned of many joint types and there uses such as a wedge joint and chamfered joints.
During the solo assignments I learned how to use parametric modeling in Onshape and how to export svg files from onshape as well. I also gained new knowledge about the vinyl cutter such as the proper way to weed and the importance of having correct cutting settings.