Assignment 3 - Workflow

Landscape/Contours Base:

Default Method:

1. Sketch Design
2. Blue Foam - Hot Wire Cutter
3. 123D Catch - Camera
4. Model Clean Up - Sketchup

Option 1: "homogenous"

• 3D print blocks in grid

Option 2: "streamlined hybrid"

• Slicer - Rubyscript
• Lasercut - Boxboard/Acrylic(?)

Option 3: "foam perfection"

• Model more precisely in Blue Foam

Colours and Cuts

 LED Facade

Kerf experiments

Progress work

Troubleshooting the VLS

Gone are the days of "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Time for some HARD TO THE CORE TROUBLESHOOTING.

The fact that the laser cutter was able to produce nice clean cuts on Day 1 leads me to believe that "something" has occurred over time.
I attribute any of the following to be a cause:

• We are all collectively digitally untalented when using the console
• Nullified - we're successful in operating the ILS + good cuts in the early days
• 
  

First proper job (eg: not just a test square) after cleaning the third aperture yielded VERY impressive results!
The cut was the cleanest I've ever seen after day 1 (installation) and although the cut didn't cut through all the way (DSC_1763.jpg), it was all i'd ever ask for. With a 90% cut rate, I'm happy.

It seems WHSmith brown boxboard yields diminishing returns (see books 4-7). Where book 4's cut is marginally better than book 7.

HOWEVER, grey boxboard seems quite unaffected at settings: (while cutting sample Kerfs (Booby ones)

• Material: Matboard
• TH: 2.6mm
• Power: 100%
• Speed 15%
• PPi: 500
• Throughput: Max

EDIT:

* After cutting the DIrectional Arrow sample Kerf, it seems the problem is not getting "much" better. I feel the only reason the booby cuts were more successful was because of a slower speed due to the distance travelled for the curve or the fact that I didn't run the command OVERKILL in autoCAD and the laser was running the paths twice over.
** The only other possibility is all the lenses are fogging up once again requiring clean up - something I'll do next time.

VLS vs ILS

Note: Observations are just that. Observations. They may not be right but hopefully with time and communal input we'll be able to better understand the limitations and advantages of either machine.

VLS 3.50 - 50w Desktop

• Bed size: 24" x 12"/609.6mm x 304.8mm

Advantages:

• The VLS seems to recognise the size of a raster and therefore, the laser head only moves the distance (along x-axis) the raster spans. This occurs to each raster in the job (so, assuming no two rasters are concurrent on the x-axis, the laser rasters the span of the black fill individually)
• Whereas the ILS' laser head actually travels the entire length of the document (eg: the x-value of the furthest vector point) regardless of whether there is rastering to be performed along it.
• This may be attributed to better/higher version firmware.

Assignment 2 Work Log

WARNINGS:

• If you have moved the laser arm along the Y axis (eg: bumped it during a pause, etc), you will have to cancel your job and home XY on the console. Otherwise, the laser will still think it's back where it was before it was paused and will have shifted the distance it was bumped.

Method:

• Book 1 (TRIAL MOCK UP) - if successful, use as FINAL
  (Pages)

1. Model 
2. Slice 
• Slice TH: 0mm, Spacing: 1.2mm
• Setting TH to 0mm means you just get the double sided face and hence, no doubling up of lines
• The Sketchup exports seems to account for any underlying lines and therefore you get a doubling up of lines in Illustrator (BAD since laser cutter will cut twice or more in the same location leading to increased cut times and charring to material)
• Do NOT say "yes" to equalise, seems to mess it all up.
• When flattened, the slice orders goes down and left to right.
3. Flatten
4. Arrange into 4's (since each one is 148.5mm -total 594mm- and max board length is 600mm)
5. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
1. Delete Numbers
2. Delete Overlapping lines (inside borders, thicker than usual red lines)
3. Relocate towards upper part of page
4. Send all .ai to Lasercutter
6. Input settings
7. Lasercut
8. Number cut pieces left to right
9. Additional cutting
10. Start next job
11. Assemble
    (Cover)
12. Turn off Book Pages Layer and Turn on Book Cover
13. Use faces only and 60mm Spine 
14. Total width = 2(155)+60 = 370mm
15. Flatten
16. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
17. Lasercut

Settings Log: Pages/Setting/Vector Boost/TH/Comments and Remarks
Material: Boxboard 1.2mm (600x300)

1. 1-4: Default, +20% Cut Boost, 1.2mm - 40% additional cutting req
2. 5-8: Default, +30% Cut Boost, 1.7mm - 35% additional cutting req, thick lines
3. 9-12: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.7mm - 30% additional cutting req, thick lines
4. 13-16: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.7mm - 30% additional cutting req, thick lines (smaller items completely burnt off)
5. 17-20: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.2mm, Vector Thoroughput (max) - 25% additional cutting req, thinner lines
6. 21-24: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.2mm, Vector Thoroughput (max) - 25% additional cutting req, thinner lines
7. 25-39: As above - additional cutting req down to 15%
8. Conclusion: 
• Cuts within 250mm of left border always require additional cutting
• Setting "Vector Thoroughput" to "max" helps in: Settings>Manual Control>Vector Tab>Vector Performance.

Settings Log: Cover/Setting/Power/Speed/PPi/TH/Comments and Remarks

1. Book 1: Default, 100%/5%/500/2.6mm

• Book Pages

1. Model
2. Slice
3. Flatten
4. Arrange into 4's (since each one is 148.5mm -total 594mm- and max board length is 600mm)
5. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
6. Lasercut
7. Assemble

• Book Covers

1. Turn off Book Pages Layer and Turn on Book Cover
2. Use faces only and whatever you worked out the spine length to be
3. Total width = 2(155)+(spine.width)
4. Flatten
5. Import Spine Design
6. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
7. Lasercut
8. Leave the template on the laser bed and remove the cover.
9. Flip upside down
10. Laser engrave the Kerfs on the underside of the cover 
• So that the Kerfs are not see on the outside
11. Remove and go back to step 1.

Laser Cutter Experiment and Documentation

Assignment 2 - Mock Up