Week 1 - Journal

Ideation

Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)

This week's task consists of two parts: one related to the CNC laser cutting, and the other to the 3D printing machine. Why did I choose this design? First, I really love the look of this tree. Second, I feel like it represents a part of me—I thought about how I’m 'spread out' or how I love learning about so many different things, so this branching idea suits me. Another thing is that its roots represent my thoughts and principles

I chose this design because, first, I love the shape of the bulb—especially this vintage style—and I feel like it represents several things. The first is knowledge. Second, whenever I learn something new, I feel like there’s literally a bulb lighting up in my brain, like when an idea suddenly pops into your head. Third, to me, the concept of the bulb (or electricity) was the first thing invented after many failed attempts. And lastly, because my major is physics 😊

Tool Chain

Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?

Below are the soft wares and the machines I learned to use this week and they helped me to do the weekly assignment

RRDworks V8 software to perpare DXF files for CNC laser machine and saved the file with RLD extension

laser cutting machines

Cura soft ware was downloaded and used to prepare the STL file for 3D printing

The 3D printing machine

Ply wood material

PLA filament

Design/Preparation Process

Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?

For the laser cutting, I got the design from 3 axis.co website. Then I made sure that the file extension was dxf and opened it via laser work and started inserting the parts that were to be cut (black) speed (25) power (50), to be scanned(red) speed (300) power (25). Not only this I changed the size of the shape to be larger. finally, I saw the simulation of the machine.

source link:- https://3axis.co/laser-cut-tree-of-life-celtic-style-wall-art/m1dgd8l1/

These images show the 3D file to be printed. I took the file from thingiverse website . Then I made sure that the file extension was STL. and start changing the infill to 20 % and layer hight 0.2. Also, I changed the print scale to 25%(with dimensions of x = 56.17 mm, y=95.9mm , and z= 1.25mm) to reduce the time , no support needed and with adhesion skirt then I pressed save to the desk to save the file in the g-code format to be printed later on. Additionally, I saw the simulation of the layers.

source link:- https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3157143

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?

For Laser Cutting :-

First, I converted the file to the (.ai) extension file format and started adjusting the settings. I set the cutting speed to 40 and power to 45. I also adjusted the scanning settings to a speed of 300 and power of 25. After that, I downloaded the file to the machine, aligned the origin and its frame. Once I secured the wooden board and adjusted the focus, I started the machine

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For 3D printing:-

I downloaded my design as an stl. file from Thingiverse, then By using Cura, I imported the stl. file then I checked all the design settings including the dimensions, infill (20%), time (22min ), and layer height (0.2mm). then I export it as g-code for the 3D printer.

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Overcoming Challenges

When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?

At first, I made the file extension for the laser cutting machine(.rld), and after I put the flash drive in the computer , it doesn't work

soln:- Iman pointed out to me that it should have this extension(.ai).

I also wanted to change the color of the PLA filament in the 3D, and Iman also helped me on how to do that.

soln:- go to Settings and select 'Unload Filament'. Then we choose PLA and wait for the heating process(T=215). When the filament comes out, we should cut a new one at an angle before reinserting it into the machine for proper loading. Next, we select 'Load Filament' and wait for the remaining old filament to purge out before the new filament starts feeding. Finally, we clean any residue with a toothbrush-like tool to prevent any impact on our print quality.

Final Project

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

I can use the knowledge of preparing files to prepare the final project for the fabrication process also I can use online sources to choose the outline of my design

WOW!

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

The thing I’ll never forget is when I did my assignment on the laser cutting machine, and the machine cut so smoothly. I was amazed because before that, during our session, even though we increased the power, the dog design still wasn’t cutting properly

Weekly Digest

Tell us about any other cool things that you've made this week: in the Hands-on activity, tutorial examples, exercises, or any other cool mini-project that you tried out aside from the assignment.

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Assignment Design Files

CNC laser cutting.rdl

3D printing.gcod

CNC laser cutting.ai

3D printing.stl

Laser cutting link source

3D printing link source

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