Embedded Files
For the Easily Suede project, I used the laser cutter to raster a design onto a leather keychain. Rastering is when the laser cutter engraves a design onto a material as opposed to cutting it. In order to achieve this, an image must be converted into a bitmap, vector image. There are two types of images: raster images and vector images. Raster images are "pixelated" and cannot be scaled without losing quality. When engraving, it is extremely important to convert a raster graphic into a vector graphic. This is accomplished with the Outline Trace feature in Corel Draw, a 2D graphics software. During cutting, the laser cutter will vector cut (cut through) all areas where the lines are hairline. Hairline lines have a width of 0.001in. The laser cutter will raster (engrave) everything else.
First, I had to design an outline of the keychain in Corel Draw. To accomplish this, I took a picture of the keychain (far left) and imported it into Corel Draw. I did not use the grid feature in Corel Draw because it was unnecessary for this project. Then, I used the bitmap trace feature to convert the image to a vector format. I selected line art as the format and adjusted the detail and smoothing sliders until there was just the keychain. Then, I set the fill to nothing and set the outline to black and hairline width (using the Object Properties window), because that signals to the laser cutter that a vector cut is required. Finally, I changed the page dimensions, grouped the design, and ensured there were no double-ups. If there had been double-ups in the final design, it is likely that a fire could have been started during laser cutting. Also, because I was only using the trace feature for my design, I did not need to use two-point lines or the virtual segment delete tool. In the "Thinking Outside of the Box" project, I utilized these tools to design my box from scratch and moved the two-points lines together using their nodes, but this project did not require those tools. Then, I uploaded the CDR file to Google Drive, downloaded it on a computer connected to the laser cutter, and followed my workflow (a list of instructions) on how to use the laser cutter: I turned on the laser cutter and the ventilation system, adjusted the preferences/settings (power, frequency, and speed), changed the dots per inch (DPI) to 300, selected auto-focus, sent the job to the job queue, and cut it out of cardboard. Because I was working on the small laser cutter, I was not required to select the thickness of the cardboard, and I did not need to focus the laser cutter/lens manually because I selected auto-focus. Also, if I had been using the big laser cutter, I would have oriented my design on the cardboard using a camera, but this was not necessary on the small machine. Originally, the outline was too big, and after several adjustments, the outline was the perfect size.
Failed Attempts:
Finally, after many attempts, the outline fit perfectly. On the left is an image of all of the attempts, and on the right is a comparison of the final cardboard cut and the actual, leather keychain.
Also, during the cardboard test cuts, I rastered the International Fencing Federation's logo onto the keychain. I first downloaded the image from Google. Then, I imported into Corel Draw and bitmap traced it. This converted it from a raster graphic into a vector graphic. Now, it was ready to raster engrave, so during the cardboard test cuts, I simply put the logo on top of the outline, as you can see in the images above. Also, the color of the fill does not matter for this project, as it only indicates the darkness of the engraving. Had I wanted to select a different color, I could have used the "Eye Dropper" tool to select another color in the CDR file.
IMG_0086.MOVBelow are several videos of laser cutting.
IMG_0078.MOVIMG_0087.MOVIMG_0095.MOV
Finally, I positioned my design on the class cardboard. Each student was assigned a box, and when we laser cut the final product, each student's keychain will be cut in their own box. This design had two layers, a layer for the boxes, and a layer for my design. This allowed me to only laser cut the laser with my design instead of re-cutting all of the boxes and numbers. This was accomplished using the Object Manager.
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