Brian's HTMAA Diary 2024

Week 01: Computer Controlled Cutting

For week 1, I was interested in the capabilities of flexures to transform flat materials to 3D. Unfortunately, I ran into a whole host of problems while using the laser cutter, leading to this pile of failures:

I also ended up burning a few pieces. I was using the correct settings so I think it might have been a lens issue.

I got a few pieces to work, and tested out various cut patterns to see how each pattern stretches.

I realized that after stretching, the flexures have trouble holding their shape, so I also tested selectively cutting only some all the way through:

Front side of test pieces

Back side of test pieces

Ultimately I like the third test flexure the best, as it provided enough give to twist the flat material, but still retained its shape.