Process ✏️
Laser
Ok, I really love using the laser cutter. I have cut plastic, cardboard, wood and made beautiful gifts, projects, and trinkets. That said, I have never considered creating a
“parametric construction kit, accounting for the laser cutter kerf,
which can be assembled in multiple ways, and for extra credit include elements that aren't flat.”
For this project, I wanted to stretch my ability to mix and match patterns. I started this project at home,
and did not know the width of the cardboard.
I assumed it would be 1/8th” (.125), so I make each puzzle piece that big.
Well…
WRONG
After doing a first pass at this I learned that the width of the cardboard was .150. Probably good to make some measurements
before firing up the laser. Once I tested out a few more pieces and they fit nicely, we were moving!
I wanted to add text on top of each of my squares, so I tried doing so by increasing the stroke to the text. This didn't work either, and I'm wondering if it's because of how thin cardboard is.
Vinyl Cutter
This was my first time using the Cricut vinyl cutter and it was fun. I enjoyed seeing how user-friendly this mini laser cutter was.
From the UI to actually feeding in the vinyl to the machine. I am a big emoji fan, so I wanted to create a “cool sunglasses face emoji.” 😎
The yellow & black on the emoji were a great way to test different materials with the vinyl cutter.
Reflection 🤔
While my balls were fun to assemble, I wish I made them bigger. That said - I am still always mesmerized by the speed of the laser cutter & its precision. However, it’s not perfect. Sometimes it slips up so it’s always good to have spare cardboard!
