Cayden Pierce's HTMAA

Week 2

Computer Controlled Cutting

Vinyl Cutter

I wanted to put the MIT, Media Lab, and Fluid Interfaces Group logos on my laptop in black.

By the time I started, all the sticky black vinyl was gone, so I went with red.

So I cut it in red:

It was pretty hard to do the weeding since the features were so small. I pulled off the dot of one the “i”s and lost it, so I cut another logo and stole the tip of the “i” from that.

Tried to transfer onto my phone but it seemed this vinyl backing is not very sticky… next time I’d try with a stickier one.

Laser Cutter

Characterizing the laser cutter:

I started with the default parameters:

Speed == 2
Power == 100
PPI = 250

This didn’t cut all the way through. Some trial and error led to good success with:

Speed == 1.8
Power == 100
PPI = 310

Kerf: I messed around with the kerf and then realized it only really mattered in the joint notch, so I removed the kerf offset parameter and just changed the joint notch width parameter until it fit.

Design

I want to make a hat-like object that I can mount some EEG hardware in. I ussually default to making something that goes on one’s head. In future weeks, I will give myself more time than the night before so I can spend some time ideating and thinking/working outside the box. But for this week - it’s a nice parametric construction kit that I’m turning into a hat.

I design the parametric kit in Fusion 360 I did a pentagon so that it would be regular but have enough of an angle.

Ok first cut was to just understand what is going on. I had a hard time visualizing it so I made the most basic notch and printed it… I immediatlely realized that I should have made the notch roughly the size of the cardboard thickness, and of course everything needs at least two notches… but it got me started using the laser cutter.

Now I switch to a pentagon to get some angles. I constrained every notch seperately on the pentagon sides and can’t help but think this was not the most efficient way. I will ask some mech people and watch more CAD videos to figure out how to do this less stupidly next time.

Ok, now this shape works and sticks together! Let’s print a ton!