Assignments:

Group Assignment:

• Do your lab’s safety training

• Characterize your lasercutter’s focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types.

• Document your work to the group work page and reflect on your individual page what you learned.

Individual Assignments:

• 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.

Helpful Notes:

• Begin with your lab’s safety orientation — note fire safety, ventilation, and material rules before cutting.

• Use calibration tests to find ideal laser settings for each material (start with small squares and adjust focus and power).

• Record your kerf value accurately: measure the difference between design and cut size to calculate material loss.

• When designing your parametric kit, include parameters like slot width, material thickness, and tolerance — this will allow quick adjustments.

• Keep files vector-based for cutting (e.g., .svg, .dxf, .ai) and make sure paths are closed and clean.

• For vinyl cutting, check cutting pressure and speed to avoid tearing; remember to mirror designs for heat-transfer vinyl.

• Include photos or hero shots of the final assembled kit and vinyl-cut object.

• Document any issues (burn marks, alignment errors, material warping) and how you corrected them — reflection is key.

Checklist:

• Linked to the group assignment page

• Explained how you created your parametric design

• Documented how you made your press-fit construction kit

• Documented how you made something with the vinyl cutter

• Included your original design files

• Included hero shots of your results