Week 1 - CCC
Computer Controlled Cutting and other Curious Conundrums
This week we dived in the deep end to cut with laser and razor. We started off by gaining access to the shop (thank you Dan) and meeting the machines. Theres an Epilog, an XTool P2, an XTool F1, a Thunder that should be ressurected soon and another XTool for all your metalic needs. I promptly found a favorite in the Xtool P2- unfortunately, it was by far the favorite for everyone else too.
With these machines in mind, I started designing for calculating the right kerf and the best cutting power and speed. The first thing to do was a grid. The idea was to vary the speed and power of the laser and figure out which combination would produce the best results.
Since it was a 8 by 8 grid, I decided to do 12, 25, 37, 50, 62, 87 and 100 for the values. In the case of power, this is a percentage, in the case of speed, it is mm/s.
So even though several combinations worked, I prioritized the fastest, which is 37 mm/s at 87% power.
For the kerf test, I made a design that was just a series of square holes and squate tabs. The middle square and tab was 10mm, and the size increased towards the right and decreased towards the left. The idea was to measure the cut vs the real value and see which tabs fit which holes to confirm.
After measuring every tab, we can say the kerf is 0.1mm.
Confident in the parameters, I turned to the next fun stuff. I originally was very ambitious. I wanted to make one of those animal puzzles. And I wanted the pieces to actually shape a different animal as well, a very different one. In my head, I could make a giraffe and the neck pieces could become a tail, so I was making sketches of how I could make a kit that could be a giraffe when assembled one way and a lizard in another. I started researching how the puzzles are made but promptly realized the CAD design of organic shapes is currently beyond me. I shifted into a brand new idea, which was making a globe, and I wanted it to be able to unfold into a flat map. I needed it to be somehow flexinle so the projection would work out.
Vynil
Literally just realizing I put it the wrong way up in my stuff. F.
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