3. Computer Controlled Cutting (CNC)¶

In this week, we learned about the definition of CNC and defined whether it was a subtractive or additive manufacturing type. Additionally, we had our first group assignment, which was about how the laser cutting machine operates and its specifications, along with safety procedures for using it. Moreover, some essential tests were done to ensure the laser cutting progress is done efficiently which consisted of:
• Focus
• Power and speed
• Rate
• Kerf (and joint clearance)
Laser cutting is an additive type of manufacturing due to its less waste production. In comparison to subtractive manufacturing, it produces more wasted material than the additive type does. Therefore, it is more efficient due to saving more material by producing less waste.

Group assignment link¶

Click here.

CO2 laser machine¶

It was the machine that we used to do laser cutting for our designs, it was chosen due to minimum waste production, greater amount of power and faster speed with a quick setup.

File formats¶

The CO2 laser cutter can read four types of cutters which are Raster (GIF, JPES and PNG), Vector (SVG), SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) and DXF (Drawing Exchange Format).

Parametric designs¶

For my parametric design, I made three shapes which included a square, triangle and a circle.

Triangle design STL

Triangle design Fusion

Square design STL

Square design Fusion

Circle design STL

Circle design Fusion

Parametric confirmation¶

To confirm that the design of each shape is parametric, the following steps were done below:

1. Click on parameters as listed below modify.
   

1. Check the dimensions shown in all sketches that were created to define the desired lines that you want to change.
   

1. Add your custom parameters by clicking on the plus sign.
   

1. Name your custom parameter along with the amount in millimeters then click ok.
   

1. New user parameters were created and can be used to label any dimensions of the design to apply changes faster and make the design parametric.
   

Creating the designs using the Laser cutting¶

The CO2 laser cutter was used to cut down cardboard slabs with the thickness of 2mm approximately to create my own parametric designs.

Designs were added to the digital lined board which is the schematic of the laser cutter. At the first attempt, the design included a few lines that were added from the original sketch which will cause an issue on the final design’s outcome as shown below.

That issue was fixed by creating new sketch on the final design and save it in a DXF format since I am using Fusion for creating my parametric designs.

Creating the other designs continued after fixing the previous issue and were placed on the digital schematic of the laser cutter software as shown below.
Note: laser cutter position on the cardboard can be adjusted anywhere by assigning the origin location of the cutter from the machine.


Next, define the speed and power of the laser cutter then download the schematic to be delivered to the CO2 laser cutting machine.


Digital display on the laser cutter will look like this as shown above. Click on the file button to download the file which is KCNC which is the one that is highlighted in blue. Be sure to fit the level of the bed for more efficient cutting of the cardboard.

A glimpse of the laser cutter is displayed above.

Final design¶

Vinyl cutter¶

A vinyl cutter is a computer-controlled device that uses a sharp blade to cut letters, forms, and drawings from sticky vinyl sheets. It produces decals, signs, stencils, and unique artwork using digital drawings from specialist software, making it popular in sign-making, graphic design, and handicraft sectors.

Chosen logo¶

As a fan of the platforming video games genre since I was a kid, I chose Sonic the Hedgehog as the logo that I will be attempting to create for this individual assignment.


After sending the logo that I will be creating to the program’s email, steps for the final logo will be shown below:

Step one¶

Place the chosen sticker’s paper color on the mat then click first option which is the load cut mat.

Step two¶

Choose the preview trace option and select the whole logo using solid fit.

Step three¶

Choose the first trace option. After tracing the whole logo outlines, drag the normal logo away.

Step three¶

Click on the send button located on the corner; the cutting force was changed to 13, and speed and the other options remained the same.

Step four¶

Logo is cut on the colored sticker paper.
Note: stickers of the eyes were removed using the tong shown below.

Step five¶

Extracting the logo from the colored sticker paper using scissors.

Finalized logo¶

I installed my final logo on my gaming laptop since it represents one of my favorite video game characters.

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