Embedded Files
setup
setup
getting my project ready to be cut out
getting my project ready to be cut out
The next step was to make my sign able to be cut out. To do this, I first needed to decide how big I wanted my sign, what parts I wanted to cut out on the CNC, and what I wanted to do on the laser cutter. After figuring these things out, I painted my board and added a plastic layer to protect my first color from the second color that I would add after I cut out my sign.
Start by finding my design
Start by finding my design
The first big step of this project was figuring out what I wanted to do for my project. After a wider search, I figured out that I wanted to do something to do with racing. I then narrowed this search to the Indy Car logo.
illustrator
illustrator
my next big step was to get my illustrator image to work with the fusion 360. luckily the image was already a illustrator file so it had the shapes already cut out making the process of getting my files ready relatively easy all I had to do was close some gaps. and expand some thin parts so they could be successfully cut out with out being to brittle I then separated my project in to different layers to send to fusion 360
fusion 360
fusion 360
turning it 3D
turning it 3D
the first step was to turn my illustrator file in to a 3D object I did this by using the lines that I had from illustrator to extrude my project turning it into a 3D sign.
making the cut lines
making the cut lines
I then set up my cuts and tool paths for the CNC machine I did this by using the the 2D pocket tool I chose to do the car and letters on the laser cut so I added the poket to the letters and the car.
on the CNC
on the CNC
I made my sign big, which made the cutting process for my project a bit lengthy. The first part was securing my sign down, which took a while due to all the tape I had applied. The cutting part also took a while because of how big my sign was
painting
painting
After cutting out my sign, I added my second color to the inside
laser cutter
laser cutter
I then cut out the letters and the car from acrylic I then spry painted it white
assembly
assembly
The next step was assembly. For assembly, I line up my letters using a stencil and push my acrylic car into my cut out piece of wood.
Final Sign
Final Sign
After doing the final assembly of my sign, I touched up some of the paint and the sign was done. do to time constrants I was unfortunatly not able to add a layers of clear coat.
The 5 Questions
The 5 Questions
1. In your own words describe the major steps to successfully design something in illustrator, use it to model in fusion, and use laser cutter after cutting on the CNC.
For me, there weren't many steps that I had to do in Illustrator due to the fact that the image that I chose was pixelated and was already made of shapes that the illustrator could use. The one big step that I had to do in Illustrator was to make sure the inner shape that I wanted to cut out was a single shape and not just lines. The next step was to export my file as a DXF to Fusion 360. I then turned the dxf file into a sketch that I was then able to extrude in Fusion. The laser cutter is relatively simple with the main thing being making sure to put all the things you want to cut out into a layer and make everything else you don't want cut out invisible, and set the stroke thickness to 0.001. The rest of the laser cutter operates similarly to a printer.
2. What did you learn about the process of painting and masking?
The biggest thing that I learned was to spend more time sanding my Sign after it came off the CNC. Because I did not sand the sign down thoroughly, you could see the path of the CNC bit in the wood. Even after adding several layers of paint, the bit lines were still visible.
3. What part of CAD/CAM did you find most complicated or confusing?
The most confusing part of CAD was remembering where all the tools that you needed were located and remembering all of the little steps that were somewhat important but too small and frequent to take notes on
4. What lessons did you learn along the way about working through a multi-step project?
The biggest thing that I learned from this project had to do with the fact that there were so many steps. Learning that I need to pay more attention to polishing and planning throughout my project. I believe doing this would have elevated my final product. If you look closely at my sign, you can see many imperfections in the paint and wood. If you just take three steps back, the sign looks perfect but I believe these close-up imperfections hold It back from feeling truly finished.
5. What tools/software did you learn to use in order to create your piece?
I didn't necessarily learn any tools during this project, but I improved my ability to use almost all the tools that I did use I was able to use the CNC machine without help, and I was able to do many necessary steps in Fusion 360 without having to ask questions.
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