17. Wildcard Week

This week is all about trying out a digital fabrication process not covered in the other assignments. I reached out to a friend working at an engineering firm to see if I could get access to their Bodor CT Fiber Laser Cutter.

The Individual assignment for this week:

Design and produce something with a digital process (incorporating computer aided design and manufacturing) not covered in another assignment, documenting the requirements that your assignment meets, and including everything necessary to reproduce it. Possibilities include but are not limited to wildcard week examples.

The Plan

The plan was to get access to the machine and operate it myself, Cut a part and document the process from design to fabrication.

The Reality

Due to a communication mixup and some scheduling issues the part ended up being cut for me rather than by me, due to the timing mix-up (The only available time was during the Icelandic FabLab Bootcamp in Húsavík).

I never got to see the machine in person and by the time I needed to write all of this down it was too late for a visit. Especially as they’re located over an hour’s drive away from my usual part of Reykjavík. (And I don’t drive). I did however get perfectly cut parts and some images of the process. I’ll do my best documenting what I’ve got.

The Machine: Bodor CT Series

The Bodor CT is a hybrid sheet and tube fiber laser cutter. Way more high-end than anything we have in the lab. This thing can cut materials we’d never dream of working with.

Key Specs:

• Laser Power: 1.5kW – 6kW
• Working Area (Sheet): Up to 3048mm x 1524mm
• Tube Support: Up to 230mm diameter, 6000mm length
• Positioning Accuracy: ±0.05mm
• Max Speed: 100 m/min
• Software: BodorThinker
• Automation: Auto-focus head, dual table switching, intelligent nesting

More details on Bodor’s official site

The Process

1. File Preparation

I designed the piece in AutoDesk Fusion. It’s a simple platform for lifting the cards in my Final Project.

Here’s the Sketch:

and here’s the piece:

I exported it as a DXF.

2. Machine setup

Here is the nesting setup screen in BodorThinker. It scans the bed and automatically positions the parts once you’ve defined the plate dimensions and thickness.

Above: Nesting setup screen in BodorThinker. Not the actual config used for my part.

Here’s a preview of the AutoNesting:

Here’s a preview showing the order of cuts. The CAM starts cutting in the center then moves outwards and completes the circle.

3. Cutting

Didn’t get any images or footage of this. Here is a youtube link to one of the other models in action.

4. Final Part

Here’s the final piece after cutting:

It’s a flat platform I intend on using in the Final Project, It’s used to lift the stack of cards up to dispense them.

While I didn’t get to operate the machine itself I got a look into the world of high-end industrial laser-cutting machinery. Especially metalworking stuff I’ve never gotten to play around with.

Summary

Even though I couldn’t operate the machine directly I did get a glimpse of how high-end Industrial laser cutters are operated. The nesting capabilities were particularly impressive. A machine like this, while neat, doesn’t necessarily belong in a Fab Lab setting where a much smaller and more economical machine can accomplish more than enough already. In the end I could’ve made this part out of CO2 Laser Cut Plexyglass but it wouldn’t have the cool factor that aluminum has.

Design Files:

Filename	Type	Program	Link
Card Lift Platform	.f3d	Fusion	Link
CardLiftPlatform	.dxf	N/A	Link