Week 3 - Laser Cutting¶
Assignments¶
Design and cut with the laser cutter an object that can be used in your classroom (e.g. to support any of your lessons, or as part of your infrastructure) Document in the learning diary what you did and include two pictures of the final object (hero shot). Explain how are you planning to use it
Process¶
- Steps followed
My first prototype out of the lasercutter
First I made a model using inkscape and drew some outlines for it to cut I made it too haphazardly and made some elementary mistakes.
The first iteration:
Pictures:
Here I forgot the laser itself doesn’t have a broad enough cut, that it’s enough to put 4mm plywood in it.
Mistakes and miscalculations: Firstly I didn’t get the cut-outs wide enough to fit a piece of plywood into it. Also the calculations of the plywood gaps needed to be with 0.2mm of the cutter itself. It doesn’t have an “inside” and an “outside” for cutting. It cuts around the middle of the line.
Second model fix:
Rework and second round of cutting and testing
Challenges and solutions: Reworked some bits where the slots for the 4mm wood was too small. With my new calculations it just fit as it was reworked. Drawing 2D while 3D imagining is a challenging task for me.
Reflection¶
Answer the following reflection questions:
Think on one or two educational activities in which you could integrate the laser cutter at some stage of the activity. Explain briefly the activity. Do not forget to clearly indicate the learning objectives.
Reflect on your own practice. When you prepare a lesson activity what are the things that you take into consideration?
What are the critical aspects? What additional aspects do you need to take into consideration if you utilize digital fabrication processes?
Reflect on your past educational activities. How have you considered Socio-Emotional learning (or soft-skills) when preparing the activities? Could you provide some concrete examples? How have you changed your perspective on socio-emotional learning / soft-skill / horizontal competences after this lecture.
Tasks in the Fab
Tools¶
Tools and/or software used: For this assignment I used Inkscape for the drawings that could be lasercut. I used the laser cutter to build the phone/camera holder for my projects. I also used a bit of sanding paper(100) to widen gaps, smoothing the edges.
References or tutorials followed Most instructions came directly from my Fablab instructor. But I got an external reference manual and instruction paper to work with alongside. For Inkscape I used some online tutorials. Mainly for connecting and disconnecting paths.