The process
Group assignment:
01: Lab's safety
01| We are using the XTool S1 laser 40W
02| Wearing goggles and keeping a fire extinguisher close to us while someone keeps an eye on the device as long as it's working
03| Using air assist to blow air on the cutting path and make sure the smoke is moved to the filter faster
04| We also use the xTool filter connected to the laser machine to make sure smoke and gases are treated immediately
05| We used a cardboard 2mm
06| Fixing the cardboard on the bed to make sure it does not move during the cut
07| Having the tool check the height of the material used on xTool
- Feedback: It was not difficult to get to know xTool.
- Challenge: Using cardboard increases the risk of burning and fire, but it's the most environmentally friendly material, in addition to being cheap for training and practice.
02: Characterize lasercutter's
01 | Testing the scoring guide on paper
02| Testing the cut guide on paper
03| Testing the engraving guide on paper
04| Aligning the designs on the print space as it was defined
05| The results of cutting were clean; best power was between 45% and 50% and speed was between 45 and 50 (mm/s)
06| The results of scoring were clean; best at a power of 45% and a speed of 150 (mm/s)
07| The results of engraving were clean; best at a power of 40%–50% and a speed of 300–350 (mm/s)
08| I designed triangles and compared the cut with different kerfs: 0, 0.3, 0.5
09| Even visually, the difference between the kerfs is clear
10| While fixing the pieces, the joints were too tight at 0.5 kerf and loose at a kerf of 0.
11| We also tested the joints
- Feedback: The design rules will help a lot in any project to select the best speed and power with a kerft of 0.4
- Challenge: the cardboard has a bend in the middle and that might effect the performance of the laser cut.
Individual assignment
I also have basic experience designing some of the items I needed for my work, especially designing and printing medals and award plaques.
Option 01: Parametric Design on FreeCAD
01 | I followed this tutorial to create a parametric design
02| I added a pad to the X-Y plate and a pocket on the top surface
03| I created a spreadsheet to connect main values of length, width and depth
04| I added alias names to the values of length, width and depth
05| I switched to the Part Design page
06| I added equations on the box to reference the values on the spreadsheet by their alias name
07| Then I changed the values on the spreadsheet to see how they would be applied
06| The dimensions of the box changed as expected, but the reference with the pocket added at the top did not work
06| The dimensions of the box changed as expected, but the reference with the pocket added at the top did not work
- Feedback: There are many nice features in FreeCAD and it seems interesting. The parametric design was interesting and I can see how valuable it is in future projects
- Challenge: As a new IDE, the learning curve is very challenging and I really don't have much time to learn right now. I am planning to keep using it for a while before I try Fusion.
02: Vinyl Cut
We are already using the cutter to create the stickers we give away to all teams participating in WRO Kuwait
01 | The design is made in Canva, exported as PDF, and imported to the SignMaster application on Windows where I start defining the cut areas
02| After printing the stickers, we fix them on the cutting board
03| The settings of the cutter and defining the force to make sure the stickers are not completely cut off
05| We have prepared hundreds of sticker sheets for season 2026 of WRO KWT
- Feedback: One of the most useful tools we use, in a cost-effective process. Labor costs in Kuwait are very high. Doing it ourselves made a huge difference in the cost.
- Challenge: We still didn't find a way to have a role of stickers feed in to the machinee and we have to fix each stiker page on the cutting mat
Option 02: Shoulder Pads
01| I used Adobe Illustrator to create the vector 2D design for the shoulder pad prototype for my final project.
02| I defined the size in "mm" and also merged the main shapes into one
03| Then I started creating 2mm cutout shapes in this pattern to make the cardboard flexible in this area
04| I repeated the same process for the strap that will go around the arm
05| I selected all the shapes and created a compound shape
06| There were some errors and I was fixing them as I went. I noticed here that the patterns are not correct and need to be changed
07| I noticed that the patterns created on the strap are not correct and the cardboard will be cut into pieces
08| When I was done, I exported the design in SVG and imported it to Xtool Software
09| I imported the file to xTool Studio and set the speed to 45 and power to 50
10| The cut was only on the surface and didn't go through the cardboard.
11| I adjusted to power 70 and speed 40, and the cardboard caught on fire. It was a serious situation and I couldn't take a picture of it
- Feedback: Because I'm making a wearable device, I really need to make sure my design and size will fit different body sizes and shapes.
- Challenge: This prototype helped me eliminate this design, but I might use laser cutting to make the case.