Computer Aided Design

Laser Cutter Results:
This is a very simple design made just for proof of concept. The idea that I am working towards is reconfigurable Chinese Characters. This week in the laser cutting phase I was exploring ways of making uniform parts that can be put together to make literally ANY chinese character. These are the characters for Mouth (the square) and Ground/Dirt (the one resembling a lower case t)

What I learned:
- My design needs perhaps 8 points of connection. 4 points are not enough to make curving and some of the oddly shaped characters. For a concept study this was successful but for a design study it needs work. Another potential design change is smaller pieces to allow for more fine detail.
- For the laser cutter I learned that I should have taped down the edges to give a more consistent surface. The variation of the height of the z-axis caused some of the laser passes not to go completely through the cardboard.

Vinyl Cutter Results:
For experience on design and shop training with regard to the vinyl cutter I made 3 simple chinese characters of my name in Chinese. I found this process to be quite easy and straight forward without any problems. I designed and produced the simple vinyl graphic for my computer in a matter of less than an hour from start to finish.