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Week 3. Computer-Controlled Cutting
Back to Fab Academy 2024. Fran Sanchez
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:::{.note .yellow}
1) Characterize your laser cutter (focus, power, speed, etc.)
2) Cut something on the vinyl cutter.
3) Design, laser cut, and document a parametric construction kit,\
  • considering the kerf of the laser cutter,\
  • that can be assembled in various ways,\
  • and, for extra credit, include non-flat elements.| :::

Characterize... the laser cutter?

[I'd love to get my hands on Neil's laser cutter]{.smallcaps}. My laser cutter doesn't stick to a fixed kerf. The power and cutting speed influence the kerf, the material impacts the kerf, the thickness of the material plays a role in the kerf, even the color1 of the material messes with the kerf. I have to follow a process to characterize each material with the laser. Even though I usually don't showcase it in the documentation, I go through this process every time I tweak any material parameter. It's a hassle, I know. But skipping these minutes can cost you hours of setbacks and frustration later on or even ruin all your hard work. Here's my free advice of the week:

*spend those minutes wisely*

The first thing I do is hunt down the optimal cutting or marking parameters. I grab a sample2 of the material I want to characterize. Pop it on the platform and make sure the focus is spot-on. The goal is to find the lowest possible energy3 that cuts the material without warping or toasting it. I create a pattern in Inkscape with copies in different colors and assign a setting to each line. As a starting point, you can use settings for a material and a machine similar to yours. Some machines come with a library of materials and default cutting settings. I usually kick off at +5% from the known setting and drop 5% on each line. The key is to jot down those settings on the same material and save them for future reference. These settings come in handy every time I want to cut or mark the material.

Example of characterization for engraving an aluminum sheet

Only then do I move on to measure the kerf. But remember, if you change any parameter, that kerf is no longer valid.

Cutting "something" on the vinyl cutter

[The vinyl cutter is my preferred machine]{.smallcaps}. It's versatile, fast, clean, emits no smoke or vapors, and requires no chemicals.

^[{-} Some stickers I've cut with the vinyl cutter. From left to right, Snow Lion (8 layers), The Empty Man (5 layers), Beach Lab (2 layers), and Kali (5 layers)] ![](../../img/w03/stickers.webp)

In the latest review, Neil mentioned wanting to see designs for the final project.
→ not whatever you feel like
→ not something random
→ for the final project

Following that philosophy, I'm going to cut the logos of my projects. There are two reasons why all my projects have a name/brand.

  1. The first reason is that I intend to commercialize them. In a few weeks, there's a class called Invention, Intellectual Property, and Income. Throughout many years following Fab Academy, I hear people completely ignoring that week, saying they "aren't motivated by commercial interest," they do it "for the love of art," "for the good of humanity." How lovely. Dear friends: As far as I know, you can't pay taxes with your final project, nor with courses for your community, nor with aquaponics lettuces. They only accept money.
  2. The second reason I give a short name is that cutting is easy; the machine does it. But weeding the figure from the background with tweezers is torture, especially if the sticker is this:
*modular mono-digit split-flap open-source mechanical panel*

to be continued...

Flexible Mechanisms

This week I'm spending a good chunk of my time learning about flexible mechanisms. These mechanisms apply a lot of the theoretical knowledge from structural analysis that I studied, only instead of avoiding structural failures, the goal here is to control the effects of the failure. Any structural engineer gets goosebumps when they hear the word buckling4. But here, I'm supposed to be happy about it.

Footnotes

  1. Dark colors absorb more radiation and are easier to cut ↩

  2. 5x5 cm is sufficient ↩

  3. It's a combo of power, speed, number of passes, and frequency, if it has one. My laser (Full Spectrum 5th gen) doesn't have frequency control. Whenever possible, I aim for maximum speed. If it's a heat-sensitive material (like corrugated polypropylene), I make multiple passes at low power. ↩

  4. A structural failure that occurs when a slender column is subjected to compression. ↩