3rd. Week - Journal

Goal

Design a pen and pencil holder that may rest on a flat surface .

Examples

Tool Chain

This week I needed to use fusion 360 and laserwork.

For this week , I should design a pen and pencil holder that's totally fabricated by laser cutting machine ( except Brackets if needed will be printed on 3d printer).

I Used fusion 360 to design and assemble my idea .

Then I used laser work to prepare the file to get cut by laser cutting machine.

LaserWork

fusion360

I used laser cutting machine to fabricate my pencil holder's parts as that was the requirement for this week . The requirement was creating a pencil holder that totally laser cut ( except brackets ) .

As usual I used wooden sheets with 3 mm thickness to fabricate my new pencil holder .

El Malky ML149 CO2 Laser Cutter

Design/Preparation Process

First : Preparing Laser cutting files.

I wanted to design a pencil case that also could be used as a photo frame . I don't like my working place to be filled with too many stuff and I also want to see my darlings faces for support . That's what encouraged me to create this design .

1- I started my process with manual sketches to imagine parts and joints .

2- I started my design on fusion 360 making every single part a component . I start sketching the side then , the back , the front , the frame and finally the bottom .

3- After finishing any sketch , I extrude it 3 mm to create 2.5d design.

4- When I finished sketching and extruding process , I used joints to assemble my design . I needed to make sure that all my slots will be easily assembled in real life .

5- For this task I Used T-Slots as joints to assemble my design.

6- I added appearance for the components to simulate reality .

7- I saved all sketches as DXF files as a preparation for the next step.

AI file for parts

DXF files

1- I imported files to laser work and rearranged them. I wanted them to as close as possible reduce usage of wooden sheet.

2- I colored all lines in black and gave it speed 40 and power 55 . I increased power to avoid any possible breaches ( don't be shy for making mistakes but at least learn from them ) .

3- I exported the file as rld file and AI file .

4- I copied the file to the machine's SD card . Then downloaded file to laser cutting machine , edit origin , draw a virtual frame and started the process .

5- I started to assemble parts using M3 Screws and nuts as T-slots .

I painted parts using poster colors in purple and golden colors . My color palette was inspired of Monica Geller's famous frame from Friends TV show.

I added another compartment to the design to hold the pencil case and sticky nnites or anything else.

Development/Implementation Process

Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?

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1- I changed the position of the sheet meny times to get the most suitable orientation to use as less wood as I could .

My parts needed 260*202 mm so, I rotated the sheet to use the width of the sheet instead of the length .

I fixed the sheet using wooden clips .

And finally I started the process after pulling down the machine's cover .

Overcoming Challenges

What kinds of challenges or problems did you face while doing the assignment, tutorials, or exercises? How did you solve them? Did you ask for help from an instructor or peer? Please provide a link to the tutorial or article that you used to solve your problem (if any)

When creating the halls on the frame , I used rectangular pattern and totally forgot that I need one of them to be parallel to that one on the front part to allow screw to join the nut in T- slot .

Final Project

How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?

I learnt how to design multi parts design using fusion360 , creating components and assemble parts to simulate reality .

I also learnt how to design T- slots , X- slots and Brackets to assemble parts .

WOW!

What is the coolest thing that you've learned this week? What is something that you will never forget from this week?

The coolest thing I learnt this week is creating Brackets as joints to assemble parts together . I think it's so cool to design something using more than one material or method . That gives me insights and inspiration for more flexibility of fabrication .

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