Computer Controlled Cutting

Vinyl Cutting

Vinyl Cutter: Roland CAMM-1 (ACT)
Material: Scraps of unmarked shiney black vinyl
Design Softwares: Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape

I found the design in the online archive of the Museum of International Folk Art. It is originally a paper cutting created by an unknown artist from the Santee Sioux around the 1930s.

It was challenging to properly feed the vinyl and place the design on the material. I got lucky when it worked but don't know what I did.

- Export your design as an AI or EPS file
- For standard vinyl, start with 80-120 gf force and medium speed
- Perform a test cut on a small area to verify settings
- Set the origin point using the cutter's control panel
- Click print in "File" drop down. This is also where you can adjust material size settings

In the images, you can see that the vinyl wasn't stable, which resulted in the cut lines looking scribbly. The Cricut machine is much easier to use, so I plan to use it in the future unless I need to cut something large.

I'd also like to try using water to apply the design next time to prevent air pockets.

Download Design
Final vinyl cutting result Original paper cutting design from Santee Sioux archive Issue with vinyl cutter showing unstable feeding

Laser Cutting

Machine: xtoolP2
Material: Cardboard (Provided)
Material Thickness: 5mm
Power: 75%
Speed: 25%
File Type: .DXF
Kerf Width: Cutting into a shape its 0, but if there a protruding notch add 1mm

Let the exhaust fan run for several minutes after cutting is complete to clear all fumes

Monitor for hot spots and small fires, especially on detailed curves where higher power concentrations can cause ignition

Joints: When designing interlocking pieces, measure and design for the slots and the tabs. The laser removes material (kerf width), so tabs will be smaller than designed, while slots will be larger.

Bends: I found smoother curves when the cardboard corrugation lines run perpendicular to the cut/score lines

Download Kerf bend pattern tests

Note from future Sophia: In speaking with Anthony weeks after this assignment I realized I grossly missunderstood what parametric design is. Initially, I used Illustrator to create my triangles, and it never occurred to me to use CAD. So, I went back and created a new set of interlocking triangular pieces, addressing the issues I encountered with the first test. I'm sure there is a faster and better way to do this, but I set parameters to specific measurements and then used the line tool to outline the shapes. I have not tested this version.

Download Triangles
Initial triangle cutting experiments Triangle pattern variations Pattern experimentation Final laser cut design with geometric pattern Detail of laser cut bending pattern Burnt test piece from high power setting Three-dimensional folded result