Welcome On My Fab Academy Page!
Please, Take A Look Around!
Tell Me More

Computer-Controlled Cutting

Exploration of parametric design, laser and vinyl cutting


Quick reminder of this week assigment : (the vinyl part will be done Monday when the machine arrives!)

Learning outcomes:
  • Demonstrate and describe parametric 2D modelling processes
  • Identify and explain processes involved in using the laser cutter.
  • Develop, evaluate and construct the final prototype

    • Have you:
  • Explained how you parametrically designed your files
  • Shown how you made your press-fit kit
  • Included your design files and photos of your finished project

    • ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    What I have done?

    I have used the fusion 360 / Illustrator combo for this assignment.
    I have design a simple square to focus on the parametric process


    The goal here is to have something that, when I change only the material and the kerf, will be correctly adapted
    The parameters and constraints are set during the first phase with the creation of the square form and it's extrusion


    I use another form to drill the square with a mirror and a circular pattern


    You can see below all the parameters that i have used for the press fit kit


    The rest of the group already make some tests about the kerf of our machines and I have made mine with trials and errors until it fit perfectly (0.3mm)
    You can see the results in the images below :

    More speaking examples


    I have made another example thanks to Victor!

    The design is made like a comb. The first cut is 6.25mm wide and each following cut has an increaded of 0.05mm


    The cutting was done when the heat wave at it's worst and the machine was barely fonctionnal, you will see it in the measures


    The cut was supposesd to be 6.25 and I get 7.22 (kerf +0.97mm)


    The cut was supposesd to be 6.75 and I get 7.86 (Kerf +1.11mm)


    The heat was a huge factor for this assignment, in a classic day, the kerf is more about 0.3-0.2mm
    I have used Smartcarv on a Cyborg 1080K to cut my project and i have adjusted my design with the kerf. It slide easily!











    Update Vinyl cutting!


    For the vinyl cutter, I have designed and then cut a wonderful Psychokwak :)r

    Design



    I have used Inkskape to quickly realised my design. You have to pay attention that the cutter need vectors and nothing else.



    You need to use only "closed" lines only, otherwise the machine will simply not consider it. You need also to think when you draw about the fact that the pen is a knife so doing very tiny details close to each others is not a great idea.

    The cutting itself


    You have to imagine that a vinyl cutter is a 2d printer with a knife :) Your design will tell it where to move and cute if needed. No more no less

    The machine itself, a Roland GS-24


    You need to place the vinyl exactly between the white marks and put the small guide to tell the machine 'the piece is here'


    Once it's done, you lock it in place via the lever on the picture


    For my assignment, I'm working with a small piece of vinyl so I choose that option in the menu. You can also work with roll


    The cutting head will move to the zone marked by the guide and check the size of the piece


    As you can see, it has determined the size of my piece


    The last detail is the select the force for the knife. I will try with this settings, 90g, should be good


    After that, you just need to use the vinyl cutter as a printer (here the roland GS-24). There is a communication with the cutter so I can double-check the size of my piece


    The cut was almost perfect. The design needs few adjustement (enlarge the trace of the design) and the force of the knife need to be reduce of 10g. Overall, it's quite good!


    Proudly on my laptop now!


    Summary :
    parametric design is really powerful when you understand the game of constraints and parameters.
    You can design a form who will change according to your needs with one or two modifications instead of re-doing everything from scratch.
    The kerf of our laser cutter is really important to know and with this parameter, we succeed to cut the same file easily on another laser with a single modification of the kerf parameter.

    sources

    The week's laser files
    The week's vinyl files

    • Date: February 2017