Weekly Assignments Final Project About me

Week 03.Computer Controlled Cutting

This week is all about digital fabrication through 2D cutting, with a focus on vinyl cutting and laser cutting as tools for turning parametric designs into physical objects. We will explore how CAD and CAM workflows translate designs into cuts, learn how different machines, materials, and settings affect results, and dig into concepts like kerf, joint clearance, and press-fit construction. We will get hands-on experience making stickers on the vinyl cutter and designing a parametric laser-cut construction kit, while also working as a group to characterize our lab laser cutter and review safety. By the end of the week, we will have tangible, customizable results that reflect experimentation, iteration, and design intent.

Group Assignment

The group assignment can be found on this group assignment.

The week began with understanding lab safety protocols and the workflow, specifications, and operating parameters of the laser cutter and vinyl cutter. We focused on machine characterization by studying focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, and joint clearance.

Safety Training

Strict safety measures were followed during operation:

  • Never leave the laser cutter unattended.
  • Ensure exhaust ventilation and air assist are functioning.
  • Verify materials to avoid hazardous plastics.
  • Keep the lid closed while operating.
  • Allow fumes to clear before opening the lid.
  • Remove scrap pieces immediately after cutting.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
  • Stop the machine immediately if visible smoke appears inside the chamber.
  • In case of smoldering material, it can be covered with a flat board to extinguish it.
  • Continuous supervision is essential to prevent fire hazards.

    • The group assignment can be found on this group assignment.

    Process

    Through hands-on testing, I developed a clearer understanding of how parameters such as power, speed, and focus affect cutting and engraving performance. A key concept explored was kerf, the material width removed by the laser, which directly impacts press-fit assemblies. Before cutting, design files were color-coded using standard conventions to distinguish between cutting and engraving operations. To obtain the kerf value, we laser-cut a 40 × 40 mm square with a 20 × 20 mm inner cutout from cardboard. After cutting, we measured the inner dimension of the larger square and the outer dimension of the smaller square. The difference between these two measured values gave the total kerf, which was then divided by two to calculate the kerf for the material. We also experimented with engraving settings, observing that lower power produced lighter surface marks, while higher power and slower speeds resulted in deeper engravings. This helped in understanding how to balance power and speed to achieve desired engraving effects on different materials. These tests were then repeated on birch wood and acrylic sheet as well

    The final values we figured for the parametric press-fit pieces for Cardboard are:

    The effective kerf was found to be approximately:

    Individual Assignment

    Vinyl Cutting

    Making Stickers using Vinyl Cutter

    The next part of our assignment was to create stickers using vinyl sheets. For this task, we used the

  • Vinyl CutterRoland GX-24.
    • available in our lab. This machine is designed for accurate cutting of thin materials such as adhesive vinyl, heat transfer vinyl, and stencil sheets.

    For this design, I used Inkscape for creating and editing the vector graphics. For more detailed documentation and design process, you can visit my Week 02 Documentation .

    Before using the machine, we first needed to prepare the sticker graphics. For this assignment, I selected I made a second sticker design based on a mechanical shaft and gear graphic sourced from Google, and prepared it for vinyl cutting.

    image source

    To make sure the design edges were not cut off, I added an offset stroke of about 2 3 mm around the traced image. After that, I resized the canvas (Ctrl + Shift + R). Then I removed the stroke since it was only needed for spacing. Finally, I selected the full design and saved it as an SVG file.

  • Vinyl CutterRoland GX-24.
    • First, we loaded the vinyl roll into the machine and adjusted the rollers to hold the sheet properly. After that, we locked the roll in position and ensured the cutter sensor was covered by the vinyl sheet so the machine could detect the material correctly.

    We can select the material feed type such as roll, sheet, or piece. From the control panel, we can also set the origin point, and adjust the cutting force and cutting speed based on the material.

    Vinyl Cutter Control Panel Settings

  • Power switch is used to turn the machine ON/OFF.
  • Test button used to make a test cut to check the required cutting force.
  • Origin button is used to set the origin point.
  • Pause button used to stop the machine if there is any problem.
  • Control panel (arrow keys) used to move the tool up, down, left, and right
  • Menu button is used to change the parameters shown on the display.
  • Force button is used to set the cutting force.
  • Enter button is used to confirm the selected option.
  • Display is shows the machine settings and status.

    • Roland CAMM-1 Servo machine settings

  • Speed (Feed Rate): 2 cm/s
  • Force (Cutting Pressure): 100 g
  • Blade: Standard blade
  • Test Cut: Done before final cutting to confirm depth
  • Sheet Placement: Vinyl fixed properly to avoid slipping

    • Workflow in ModsCE for the Roland GX-24 Vinyl Cutter

    To follow the Software Workflow (Mods), connect the machine with the computer. I used https://modsproject.org/ .

    In ModsCE, the workflow begins at Selection by right-clicking the canvas to navigate through Programs → Open Program → Roland → Vinyl Cutter → GX-24, which loads the appropriate cutting environment for the machine.

    Once the program is loaded, the SVG file is imported during the Conversion stage, where the offset is set to 1 to ensure the cut paths are correctly interpreted and scaled for the cutter.

    With the file prepared, we move to Origin, where the tool head is manually positioned to the desired start point on the vinyl sheet, and the Origin button on the GX-24 is long-pressed to register that position as the reference point for the cut.

    Finally, at the Send stage, the file is transmitted to the cutter using the WebSocket serial node, which communicates directly with the GX-24 to initiate the cutting operation.

    Next, we opened the MODS software and imported the SVG file we prepared. MODS is an open-source, browser-based tool developed by MIT that converts design files such as SVG, PNG, and DXF into machine-readable formats. It allows us to customize toolpaths, set cutting parameters, and send commands directly to machines like vinyl cutters, laser cutters, and CNC machines. After importing the design, we set the required cutting parameters in MODS before sending the file to the vinyl cutter

    Here are the steps to use mods project.

  • Select and import the SVG file from your device.
  • Set the plotter parameters such as cutting speed and force.
  • Click Calculate to generate the toolpath.
  • Click Send File to send the job to the plotter

    • If we Click the view button in 'vectorize module' after calculation that will show the vinyl cutter tool path in New Tab

    The other modules shows offset and how much detail we can get and etc...

    We needed to set the machine origin based on the vinyl roll position. After setting the origin, I made a few test cuts to check and adjust the cutting depth.

    Cutting Parameters

  • For our vinyl cutting setup, the feed rate was set to 2 cm/s
  • the cutting force was set to 100 g to cut the vinyl sheet properly.
  • After setting the correct cutting depth, I went back to the software and adjusted the machine speed as well. Then, I clicked “Send File” to start the cutting job.
  • Once the cutting was completed, we removed the vinyl and proceeded to transfer the stickers onto the required surface

    • I decided to apply the first sticker on my lap top . First, I removed the unwanted vinyl parts (weeding). I used a cooling film as transfer sheet peeled off the backing, and carefully placed it on top of the vinyl sticker

    Then, I placed the vinyl along with the transfer paper onto my laptop. After positioning it properly, I slowly peeled off the transfer paper while ensuring the vinyl stayed on the surface smoothly without creating any air bubbles.

    I would like to create more sticker designs in the future, because I really enjoyed this process and found it fun.

    Making a parametric construction kit.

    Trotec Speedy 100

  • Trotec Speedy.

    • The Trotec Speedy 100 Flexx is a high-performance machine used for both laser cutting and laser engraving. It belongs to Trotec Speedy series, which is well known for its quality and reliability.

    Trotec Speedy 100 vs Speedy 400

    The Speedy 400 machine at the Super FabLab is significantly more powerful than the Speedy 100 and also features a larger work area, as shown above.

    The feature means the machine combines both a CO2 laser and a fiber laser in one system. This allows it to process a wide range of materials using a single machine.

    To cut materials of different thicknesses, the laser head and the workpiece must be kept at the correct focus distance. This tool is used to set the focus distance on the Speedy 100 laser machine. We must adjust the focus manually each time we use a different material thickness.

  • Dual Laser Technology
  • High Speed
  • High Performance
  • Versatile Applications

    • This is the control panel used to move the laser head and select the work area. It also includes other controls such as the fan control, pause button, and Z-axis bed leveling options.

    To cut materials of different thicknesses, the laser head and the workpiece must be kept at the correct focus distance. This tool is used to set the focus distance on the Speedy 100 laser machine. We must adjust the focus manually each time we use a different material thickness.

    Parametric design

    We had to design a shape that could be repeated and joined in different ways. I used Fusion 360 and created the model using the Modify the Change Parameters tool. This method is useful because the dimensions can be changed easily by updating the parameter values, instead of editing the sketch manually. It is a powerful feature and can be used in many different design applications.

    So, if you change one value, the whole model updates automatically

    parameters

  • Material thickness
  • Slot width (thickness and kerf)
  • Number of joints
  • Circle radius / pattern count

    • I began by setting the parameters first. Go to modify and at the bottom of the drop down you can see change parameters.When you click on it you will be taken to a dialogue box where the user can set the parameters. I set the values for the thickness of the material, kerf value of the materials and compression .I then took these parameters to make equations to set the width of the slot.

    You can type in the parameter that was set previously into the dimensions . The software will automatically resize the dimension to fit the parametric values

    then i gave value of thickness+kerff+compression

  • I created the shapes using the parametric functions. Then, I performed a test cut to check the press-fit and confirm the dimensions.
  • Next, I exported the drawing as a .DXF file and imported it into Inkscape. I selected the shape outlines and adjusted the stroke settings: set the stroke width to 0.1 mm, change the stroke colour to red (255, 0, 0), and make sure there is no fill.
  • After that, I resized the canvas to fit the shapes by selecting them and pressing Ctrl + Shift + R.
  • Finally, I went to Print and selected the printer as Trotec JobControl Printer, which opened the Trotec software. I then dragged and dropped the file onto the printing area.

    • Operating the laser machine

    Job Control

  • First, the machine and exhaust were turned on. Then, we placed the cardboard properly on the bed. The laser was focused by pressing the focus keys together. After focusing, we used the arrow keys to move the laser head to the exact starting point for the cut.
  • Next, in the software, the laser position appears as a cursor on the print area. We snapped the file to this cursor point. Then we clicked the settings icon, which opened a dialog box where we selected the material type and set the cutting parameters such as speed and number of passes.

    • Click Ready to give the print .The laser will start the cutting process.

    Click Ready to give the print .The laser will start the cutting process.

    After removing the pieces from the cardboard, I checked the press-fit. The fit was satisfactory, so I used DeepNest to generate multiple copies of the shapes and arrange them efficiently to reduce material waste.

    I used Deepnest.io.io to arrange the design on the cardboard efficiently, which helped reduce material waste and save space.

    In Deepnest software, I entered the required quantity, and the software automatically generated and arranged the parts closely to each other without wasting material.

    After cutting, the press-fit components were ready for assembly

    Finally the pieces were cut and i started to create intresting figures with the kit i made.

    Hero Shot

    Overall, this assignment helped me understand how to operate the machine safely and achieve precise cuts for our designs. I also learned how to use parametric values to create CAD models. I really enjoyed this week of parametric design. I made two models, and they are shown above.

    References

    Software & Tools

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