Week 3 - Journal

From a young age, I have been fascinated by the mysteries of space and the beauty of stargazing. This passion has always fueled my imagination and curiosity. It’s what inspired me to design my pen holder with a space theme, incorporating elements that reflect my love for the cosmos and the endless possibilities it represents. To add a playful touch, I included the phrase "I need some space," cleverly designed to go in two directions, symbolizing both the literal and metaphorical need for space. 

The faces of the pen holder: 

Each face has a simple representation of a planet and a star. 

The note holder: 

Designed a note holder with only two sides to provide flexibility in note size. 

Laser cutting of the pen holder: 

Designing process: 

1) Used fusion 360 to design the body because it allows you to design your sketch from scratch and then extrude it to 3mm to have a better imagination of how it would look like printed. 

Also, I was able to create all the components of my design and join them together to have a better imagination of how it would look like after the assembly. 

2) Used RDworks to have a better vision of which parts will be speed cut and which parts will be cut or scanned. 

Printing process: 

Printer: Laser printer 

Material: 3mm Plywood

Laser cutting of the pen holder: 

Step 1: Using Fusion 360 

• Started the process by applying rules 0 and 1 (save and create a new component) 

• I sketched a rectangle and added to it two slots of opposite directions as shown in the images. This way, I didn't need to design two different faces, but rather one face multiplied by four. 

• I then created text and added it to the design. 

• I also added a star, to draw the star I sketched a circle, and several lines. I also used the "circular pattern" tool to make it symmetrical. 

• I added a planet to the design by sketching different arcs. 

• I extruded the design by 3mm, everything showed perfectly well except for the text. yet when I exported the file as a DXF file (just to try), the text was there in the DXF file. so I continued with my design. 

• I created 4 copies of that face (each body as a separate component) 

• All 4 faces now have T-slots to hold the face to the base of the pen holder (T- Slot dimensions were shared several times in week 3 tasks). 

• Changed the appearance of all bodies to look like wood. 

• Used the "assemble" tool to join all the four faces together "joint". 

• I then created a sketch of a new component (the note holder). 

• Extruded the sketch and made two copies from it. 

• Added all the components next to each other, sketched the base of the pen holder and then used the tool "Project" to locate the locations of all the tabs designed with T-slots.  

• Extruded the base and used the "assemble" tool to join all the components together.

• Exported the file as a DXF file by exporting every face on its own and added all files on RDworks to create one PLT file to get them ready for laser cutting after adjusting the cutting speed to be 40 and power to be 45.  

N.B: The dimensions' reference is uploaded in the image carousel.

To laser cut my DXF file, I opened it on my PC and connected my PC to the laser cutter. 

Added the following parameters to RDworks: 

Cut areas, had speed of: 40 and power of: 45

Speed cut areas, had speed of: 300 and power of: 10 

I turned on the laser cutter and then made sure that I inserted my plywood sheet inside of it and kept it steady using the connectors. 

I pressed "download" in RDworks and named the file "Space". 

I then went to the laser cutter, pressed file and looked at the display. I then noticed that the text was flipped (mirror image). So I went back to RDworks, pressed "configure" and then selected  "axis X mirror"

I then downloaded the file to the laser cutter once more, this time I named it "Planet" and moved the nosle until it reached the place where the printing would start, I then pressed "origin" 

I pressed "frame" to see where the design will be placed and to make sure that it is within the plywood. 

I made sure I closed the glass door of the laser cutter and then pressed "start". 

Because of some updates that happened to the laser cutter, some of the "speed cut" features in my design were actually cut. 

While working on Week 3 assignment: 

While designing my pen holder, I found it to be very challenging to sketch more "fully defined" components to my design. And that's when my friend "Ahmed Tallat" suggested to copy the design elements using RDworks to facilitate adding more elements using the laser cutter. 

The suggestion enabled me to have a nicer design while reducing the time spent. 

While working on the lantern in the end of week session: 

Me and Aya were responsible for making the bracket for the lantern. At first I was the navigator and Aya was the driver, and I was listening to the video and navigating to make sure that everything is working well with the bracket. 

After that, Aya was the navigator and I was the driver and the continuation of the learning process was impressive. 

The laser cutter, 3D printer, and Fusion 360 are indispensable tools for my final project, which focuses on creating an interactive learning board for visually impaired students. These tools enable the precise and tactile elements essential for the board’s design. Fusion 360 allows me to craft detailed 3D models and 2D sketches, ensuring that each component meets the project's specific requirements. Additionally, I can now create components in Fusion 360 and assemble them, which significantly enhances my imagination and design process.

The laser cutter translates these designs into intricate, raised textures on the board’s surface, while the 3D printer brings to life customizable components such as buttons, shapes, and textures for students to interact with. This combination of technology ensures that the project delivers a hands-on, sensory-rich experience tailored to the unique learning needs of visually impaired students—a result that would be unattainable without these advanced tools.