Week 2 (Part 2)

Computer Controlled Cutting

Group Assignment

  • Do your lab's safety training (Completed 11/09/25)
  • Characterize your lasercutter's focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types

Individual Assignment

  • Cut something on the vinylcutter
  • Design, lasercut, and document a parametric construction kit,accounting for the lasercutter kerf,which can be assembled in multiple ways

Getting to know the lasercutter

To start, Matti and Ben and I decided to meet on Thursday to Characterize the lasercutter. I used the parametric tools in SolidWorks (under Equations) to build a small comb. We opted to use the X-Tool lasercutter and used a calipher to measure the thickness of the cardboard. We overestimated the kerf quite a bit, we also incremented using inches and don't we comprehended how large increment we selected. Matti also designed a comb with a square inside using mm that we actually used to calculate the kerf. For power and speed, we tested with some different settings and found the following to be the optimal settings:
  • 50% power
  • 30% speed
  • Kerf: 0.159 mm

Flower Construction Kit

Inspiration: Lego Flowers

Sketching in One Note

To think through my ideas I sketched them out in one note...however, I am not sure how much meaning they convey. Hopefully, they will improve throughout the course.

Building in SolidWorks

First, I built each component using parametric Equations tool in SolidWorks then created an assembly.
  1. Center
  2. Connector
  3. Petal
  4. Stem

Assembly

LaserCutting

Iteration 1

During the first iteration, I observed that the height of the cardboard differed from previous measurements, prompting me to use the auto height tool in the XTool software to correct this. I also noticed that the stem length was inaccurate, leading me to make necessary adjustments. Additionally, the corrugation of the cardboard required me to increase the width of certain parts to ensure proper fit and stability.

Iteration 2

Very successful!

Vinyl Cutter

Inspiration: Wilson, my sister's adorable 195lb Saint Bernard

Preparing Image to be Vinyl Cut

A combination of Windows Paint, Inkscape, and PowerPoint to create a silhouette of Wilson

Vinylcutter

I checked out Sarah blog on vinyl cutting before getting started. Downloaded the Circuit software, connected via USB and followed the instructions to print I placed the sticker on my water bottle!