In this week's module, our challenge is part one of a group project: making a machine. My individual goal is to build a single stage that contributes to the overall entire machine. The finished target is a modular machine that does something and will be automated as next week's assignment.
To start, I went to the Machines That Make website to download the necessary files needed to build my stage. The file itself is a .DXF so I am going to print it from CorelDraw in order to use the lasercutter. I understand that certain lines should be scored/etched (for folding) and the ones outside of those will be cut. So while setting up my print job, I made sure to select lines that were the same color in order to separate scoring versus cutting lines. My print settings were as follows:
- lines to be etched: 50 (Speed); 50 (Power); 500 (Frequency)
- lines to be cut: 25(Speed); 60 (Power); 500 (Frequency)
During this portion of my assignment, I was having slight issues with the results before assembling the stage. One of my issues I encountered was setting the right cutting depth for my cardboard. I've attempted a minimum of 3 different times at getting the right settings. Wrong results that I ran across were cutting into the lines that should only be etched and etching the lines that were suppose to be cut. Once I assembled my stage, it was noticed that some parts were crooked and were not placed in the correct spots. So I had to redo my whole stage for a fourth time. Before cutting out my board, I decided to calculate the setting ratio based upon the fact that our machine is 75W and the online documentation we were following informed us based up a 150W or 120W machine. After my initial stage cut, while creating the framework, I noticed that the screws that were a part of the kit did not fit adequately and would at some point mess up the cardboard; so we used 3x16mm screws to replace the ones that came with the kit and I designed a washer to 3d print and use as a buffer so that the screws would not bite into the cardboard.
During the assembly process, in our lab we had several options for adhesion to choose from: wood glue, tacky glue, and super glue. From my "Make Something Big" week, I knew that between our options, wood glue would take more time to adhere to the cardboard. The tacky glue consistency seemed to be along the lines of possibly rubber cement, but more stable with less drying time than wood glue but takes a bit more time than the super glue. When I built my first stage, I used super glue; but by time I came around in needing to build a second stage we were out, so I used tacky glue for this construction. In utilizing the original design of the modular stages, we also kept some of the same parts that accompanied the kit (along with a few additions: aluminum rods (to guide the stage..), motor mount (for automated stage transportation), screws (to fasten), 3d printed washers, and nuts. In the end, once all of our stages were built, we used velcro to connect them together.
Overall Challenges:
- during the laser cutting process, I did not make sure that I fully understood all the parameters on how to build my stage. Rather than taking the information I was given and tailoring it to the machine access I have, I just used what was said and ran. Sometimes, before beginning any assignment, you may have to iron out certain kinks in your process. First time around, I redid parts of my stage more than once. But, when I went back to reevaluate, assess, and compare the given parameters, I only had to cut out my entire stage once the second time around.