< to see our group's kerf experiment and [here](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.21/Harvard/people/GabbyPerry/joints.html) to see our group's joint experiment. Through these experiments (and my own kerf experiments), we figured out the kerf of our laser cutter. Generally, the faster our laser cutter went, the less the kerf was (at power 80%). For the joint tests, we found that certain joints didn't work great with cardboard. THe cardboard would often deform or bend, and ruin the effectiveness of the joint. For different materials that are more sturdy, those snap joints would have been much more effective.
## Vinyl Cutting | Angry Duck
This week, I cut out a duck sticker that I saw on Reddit. First, I drew the sticker in Procreate, creating a simple black and white outline. Then, I emailed it to myself and cut it on the cutter in the Harvard shop. The first time, I used the black vinyl and made the size far too small. This made the outline lines incrediby delicate and thin, and I couldn't separate the filler material from the outlined sticker.
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/01_too_thin.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
I went back to my drawing, and used a thicker line to reoutline the art. Then, I also cut it to a larger size on the cutter. This made a sticker that I was actually able to work with (though it still took super long to actually remove all the parts).
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/01_thick_sticker.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
Halfway through removing the vinyl, I saw a holographic vinyl material I wanted to use instead. I redid everything using that material. This vinyl was actually easier to use. I could easily distinguish between the front and the back because they were different colors, and the vinyl stuck to the backing plastic a little more, making the smaller lines far easier to separate. In the end, I had two stickers: one black, one holographic.
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/01_final_stickers.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
To actually attach the holographic sticker, I used the transfer paper to remove the vinyl from the original backing material. Then, I transfered it to my laptop, using a credit card to remove any bubbles and really nail down the tacky material to the laptop.
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/01_final_vinyl.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
## [Laser Cutting | Pencil Holder](../cad/pencil_holder.stl)
To start, I did some cutting just to see what the kerf value was. I just cut out a small rectangle, and different sized slots to see what the best friction/width was. After trying out different slot sizes, I concluded that the kerf was about .42 mm.
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/kerf.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
Then, I decided to make a pen holder/holder for various bits and bobs around my dorm room. I used Onshape as my CAD software of choice -- I have experience using Onshape, and also I thought it would make the transferring of files a lot easier (since it's accessible from any computer). I made my design parametric, with three global variables keeping track of material width, kerf, and insert width (how wide I wanted the tabs to be).
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/global_variables.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
I didn't have experience using a laser cutter before, so wasn't super clear about the best way to export DXF files. I ended up just exporting each part individually, and then using the laser cutter machine software to actually layout the various parts + repeat them the appropriate number of times. That's why all the pieces are layed out in a fairly haphazard manner.
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/parts.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
Finally, it was up to putting them all together! At this point, I was pretty tired and just hoping that it would all fit together with minimal issues. The cardboard definitely was a little sticky at times, but I was able to fit all the pieces together on the first try! Final product pics below :)
<figure><img src="../images/full/01/final_laser.png" width="500"/>
</figure>
]]>